I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.
A Charles Lindbergh Quotation
White-tailed Tropicbird: Have you seen this bird?
White-tailed Tropicbird
The White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, is a tropicbird, smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes.
It occurs in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans. It also breeds on some Caribbean islands.
In addition to the tropical Atlantic, it nests as far north as Bermuda, where it is locally called a “Longtail”.
Identification Tips:
• Length: 26 inches Wingspan: 37 inches
• Sexes similar
• Pelagic bird only coming ashore to breed
• Tern-sized
• White head and body
• Outer primaries black
• Dark eye patch
Adult
• Long white tail streamers
• Yellow to orange bill
• Black diagonal bar on upperside of inner wing
Immature
• Lacks tail streamers
• Yellow bill
• Finely barred back
Similar species:
Adult Red-billed Tropicbird is larger with a slower wingbeat and lacks black patches on upperwing. Immature Red-billed has less distinct barring on the back. Adult Red-tailed Tropicbird also lacks the black patches on the upperwing.
The White-tailed Tropicbird disperses widely across the oceans when not breeding. It feeds on fish and squid, caught by surface plunging, however, this species is a poor swimmer.
I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.
A Charles Lindbergh Quotation
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I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.
