Red-tailed Tropicbird
Phaethon rubricauda

Family | Tropicbirds |
---|
This graceful seabird ranges widely in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, and may be seen by visitors to Hawaii. In North American waters it has been found far off the coast of California, where it may be a rare but regular visitor more than 100 miles from land. Even more than its relatives, it seems to wander great distances away from its nesting islands.
Photo Gallery
Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Download Our Bird Guide App
See a fully interactive migration map for over 450 bird species on the Bird Migration Explorer.
Learn moreSongs and Calls
Usually silent at sea.Learn more about this sound collection.