Friends of Midway Atoll

National Wildlife Refuge

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Join/Donate
  • HOME
  • ABOUT FOMA
    • Our Story
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • Contact Us
  • LIFE ON THE ATOLL
    • Diversity & Abundance
    • Birds
      • Albatrosses
        • Wisdom, the Albatross
      • Petrels & Shearwaters
      • Tropicbirds
      • Boobies & Frigatebirds
      • Terns & Noddies
      • Waterbirds & Landbirds
      • Migratory Birds
      • Extinct Birds
    • Marine Life
      • Green Sea Turtles
      • Hawaiian Monk Seals
      • Spinner Dolphins
      • Fish & Invertebrates
      • Marine Debris
    • Plants
      • Native Plants
      • Non-Native Plants
  • HISTORY
    • Honoring the Past
    • Timeline
  • STORIES
    • Blog
    • Gooney Gazettes
    • Archives
  • GALLERIES
    • Images
    • Soundscapes
    • Videos
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Join & Give
    • Advocate
    • Volunteer
    • Additional Resources
  • STORE

Tropicbirds

Red-tailed Tropicbird – Koa’e Ula (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.
  • Learn more

White-tailed Tropicbird – Koa’e Kea (Phaethon lepturus)

White-tailed Tropicbird
Photo credit: Forest & Kim Starr
  • Life Span: > 15 years
  • Size: 38-40 cm (15-16 in); 71-81 cm (28-32 in), including tail streamers
  • Breeding Ecology:
    • Nearly pantropical, being scarce only in the Eastern Tropical Pacific
    • Commonly breeds on islands with steep cliffs or large trees (nests in tree cavities)
    • 1 egg/clutch, may nest every 9-10 months
    • Incubation lasts about 41 days, chicks fledge after 70 days post-hatching
  • Rarely breeds on Midway Atoll NWR; 1-3 nests per year.
  • Learn more

More bird photos

GOONEY GAZETTES

Join/Donate

From the Blog

Tribute to Volunteer Shirley Doell

April 10, 2020

BETWEEN THE BATTLES

November 1, 2019

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

Copyright © 2021 Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (FOMA) • Terms of Use • Contact Us • Sitemap • Designed by Websites with Aloha · Log in