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Friends of Midway Atoll

Friends of Midway Atoll

Preserving, protecting, and restoring the biological diversity and historic resources of Midway Atollal Wildlife Refuge

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Home/Explore & Learn/Plants & Wildlife/Birds/Red-tailed Tropicbird

Red-tailed Tropicbird

Hawaiian name: Koa‘e Ula

Scientific name: Phaethon rubricauda

Red-tailed tropicbird
Photo credit: Daniel Clark/USFWS
  • Life Span: > 15 years
  • Size: 44–47 cm (17-19 in); 80-102 cm (31-40 in) with tail streamers
  • Breeding Ecology:
    • Breeds in tropical and subtropical areas of the Indian and Pacific oceans
    • Complex aerial courtship displays
    • 1 egg/clutch, may replace lost eggs
    • Incubation lasts about 39-51 days
  • Courtship displays include circular, reverse loops and rapid dives, often in groups of a half dozen or more.
  • Midway hosts the largest nesting colony in the Hawaiian archipelago (5,000 nesting pairs).
  • 12,000-14,000 breeding pairs in the Pacific ocean; 30,000-40,000 breeding pairs worldwide.
  • Tropicbirds are “squawkers,”  both on the ground and in the air, earning them the nickname of “bosun bird” for the call's similarity to the boatswain's whistle.

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Friends of Midway Atoll

17 Katrina Lane
San Anselmo, CA 94960

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