White-tailed Tropicbird

Phaethon lepturus - Phaéton à bec jaune

Systematics

Order
:
Phaethontiformes
Family
:
Phaethontidés
Genus
:
Phaethon
Species
:
lepturus

Descriptor

Daudin, 1802

Biometrics

Size
: 82 cm
Wingspan
: 90 à 95 cm.
Weight
: 220 à 410 g

Longevity

16 years

Geographic range

Distribution

Identification

The White-tailed Tropicbird is the smallest and most graceful of the tropicbirds. The adult has a pure white body. A broad, upside-down comma-shaped black line extends from the lores and extends just past the brown eyes, encircling them. Two black wing bars are present on the long, pointed wings, allowing for very good aerodynamics over the sea. The width of the wingbars can vary from bird to bird. The first black band is located at the tip of the primary feathers without reaching the end of them. The second is on the scapulae, forming a sharp division in flight. The legs are entirely black and webbed. The vivid orange-yellow beak is serrated with slit-shaped nostrils. The tail is also white and wedge-shaped, extended by two large central rectrices that are black.
There is no sexual dimorphism.
The juvenile is white with gray-black stripes on the head, wings, back, and tail. The throat, chest, and flanks remain white. As with the adult, the black comma around the eye is present but less diffuse. The beak is gray-blue with a black tip. It does not have the adult's long rectrices. The juvenile is mature at four years.

Subspecific information 6 subspecies

Phaethon lepturus lepturus (Indian Ocean)
Phaethon lepturus catesbyi (West Indies, Bermuda)
Phaethon lepturus ascensionis (tropical s Atlantic)
Phaethon lepturus europae (Europa I.. Mozambique Channel.)
Phaethon lepturus fulvus (Christmas I.. Indian Ocean.)
Phaethon lepturus dorotheae (tropical w Pacific)

Foreign names

Phaéton à bec jaune,
Rabijunco menor,
rabijunco-de-bico-amarelo,
Weißschwanz-Tropikvogel,
fehérfarkú trópusimadár,
Witstaartkeerkringvogel,
Fetonte codabianca,
vitstjärtad tropikfågel,
Småtropikkfugl,
faeton bielochvostý,
faeton pruhokřídlý,
Hvidhalet Tropikfugl,
pikkutropiikkilintu,
Witpylstert,
cuajonc becgroc,
faeton żółtodzioby,
baltastes faetons,
Белохвостый фаэтон,
Buntut-sate putih,
シラオネッタイチョウ,
白尾鹲,
นกร่อนทะเลหางขาว,
白尾熱帶鳥,

Voice song and call

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The call of the White-tailed Tropicbird is a kind of repetitive, very distinct crackling sound when it flies ke ke ke. It remains silent outside of flying periods. It also emits small, high-pitched sounds reminiscent of frog croaking.

Habitat

The White-tailed Tropicbird is a pelagic bird. During nesting season, it feeds and nests near rocky coastlines.

Behaviour character trait

The White-tailed Tropicbird has a profile and wingspan adapted to the high seas. It approaches the coasts as soon as the nesting period arrives, spending much of its time gliding in search of food.

It catches its prey in the air with its serrated beak, diving from 15 to 20 meters before swallowing the prey and taking off. It rests by floating on the water thanks to its perfectly waterproof wings. During the breeding period, it lives in loose colonies on the coasts where cliffs and rocks are present to allow it to nest in an environment inaccessible to predators. Poorly territorial, there is still a great competition for the best nesting sites. Violent battles with the beak can lead to serious injuries or even the death of an individual. Outside of these periods, it is a solitary bird. Adults and youngsters reside in their distribution region but can wander long distances; only a few individuals from the northern part of the zone (Bermuda) migrate. The White-tailed Tropicbird, so at ease in flight, becomes quite clumsy on the ground.

Flight

The flight of the white-tailed tropicbird is remarkable to observe during the mating season. Its acrobatics are beautiful, it flies in zig-zag and performs ascent up to 100 meters high and then vertiginous descents always parallel to its partner.

Dietfeeding habits

The White-tailed Tropicbird feeds on small fish, particularly flying fish (Exocoetus volitans, Parexocoetus brachypterus, Cheilopogon furcatus), squids (Ommastrephidae) and small crustaceans such as crabs.

Reproduction nesting

The White-tailed Tropicbird reproduces all year round. After performing acrobatic group flights, the breeding site is chosen for a pair.

The mating takes place without preliminary. The male builds the nest in a crevice away from the sun with sometimes a tunnel under the vegetation to access it, under a ledge or in a sheltered depression on the ground. The female deposits a reddish egg covered by both adults who alternate every 13 days. The total incubation period is 40 to 43 days. In the first days the chick is constantly covered before staying alone in the nest for several days while the parents go out to sea for food. The single chick is then subject to many predations by other birds of its species looking for a nest or by other wild species. Adults feed directly by regurgitation into the chick's beak. Flight takes place after 70 to 85 days. The young make their first flights with the adults before becoming independent.
The White-tailed Tropicbird is monogamous and couples can stay together for many years.

Geographic range

The White-tailed Tropicbird occupies the tropical zones of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Of the 3 species that exist, the White-tailed Tropicbird is the most commonly observed.

Threats - protection

IUCN conservation status

Extinct

Threatened

Least
concern

Extinc
in the Wild

Near
threatened

Not
evaluated

EX EW CR EN VU NT LC NE

The White-tailed Tropicbird is the most common species of tropic bird. Although it is legally protected, its population is slightly declining in some areas due to habitat loss. The construction of tourist infrastructure including the disturbance of nests, such as on Christmas Island, is also problematic. Introductions of invasive species such as rats in Puerto Rico have also been problematic. In the Bermudas, the species is subject to predation by stray dogs. Finally in the islands of the South Pacific, Madagascar, and Mayotte, locals do not hesitate to take the eggs and poach them.