General

Red-billed Tropicbird: Slender, white, gull-like seabird with long white tail streamers. White back, finely barred black. Black eye stripe curves upward behind eye, almost meets at nape. Black primaries, red bill. Juvenile lacks tail streamers, has black collar, and black-tipped tail.

Range and Habitat

Red-billed Tropicbird: Found in warm open ocean waters, often far from shore. Breeds on remote coastal islands or occasionally coastal mainland of Pacific Mexico and Caribbean. Occasional visitor off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Florida and California. Rare to Gulf Coast, one record for Arizona.

Breeding and Nesting

Red-billed Tropicbird: Monogamous semi-colonial nester. Scrape nest built by both male and female in a cave or burrow, sometimes on ground, always close to shore. Female lays one blotched or spotted red brown or white buff egg. Both sexes incubate for approximately 44 days and tend young until fledging. Young may stay in nest for up to 12 weeks.

Foraging and Feeding

Red-billed Tropicbird: Flies high above water with direct, fast, and shallow wingbeats. Dives into water to catch fish and squid.

Vocalization

Red-billed Tropicbird: Shrill and grating tern-like rattles often repeated in breeding colonies. Usually silent at sea.

Similar Species

Red-billed Tropicbird: Red-tailed tropicbird is smaller, with more white overall, and red tail streamers. Lacks fine black barring on back. White-tailed Tropicbird is smaller with all white back, black "V"-shaped pattern extending from rump to wings, and with much less black in the primaries. Eye stripe is reduced and is downward curving behind the eye.