Red-Tailed Tropicbird
Phaethon rubricauda
Family Phaethontidae
About
The red-tailed tropicbird is a seabird native to tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. One of three closely related species of tropicbird (Phaethontidae), it was described by Pieter Boddaert in 1783. Superficially resembling a tern in appearance, it has almost all-white plumage with a black mask and a red bill. The sexes have similar plumage. As referenced in the common name, adults have red tail streamers that are about twice their body length. Four subspecies are recognised, but there is evidence of clinal variation in body size—with smaller birds in the north and larger in the south—and hence no grounds for subspecies.
How to spot it
Real occurrence confirmed near Mt Coot-tha Reserve / D'Aguilar National Park (Atlas of Living Australia, 1981) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.
Documented on these trails
Found in
- Mt Coot-tha Reserve / D'Aguilar National Park — South East Queensland hikes