Red-tailed tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda

Identification Tips:

• Sexes similar
• Pelagic bird only coming ashore to breed
• Tern-sized
• White head and body

Adult

• Long red tail streamers
• Red bill

Immature

• Lacks tail streamers
• Black changing to yellow bill

Similar species:

Adult Red-tailed Tropicbird lacks barring on upperparts of the Red-billed Tropicbird and the black patches of the White-tailed Tropicbird. The immature Red-tailed is similar to the immature Red-billed but lacks black nape and has less black in the primaries.