White-tailed Tropicbird Identification

A medium-sized seabird of tropical and subtropical seas. Adult is mostly white, with bold black patches on the wings and face, and has two spectacular tail streamers. Some individuals have a peach-colored tinge.

Juvenile lacks adult’s long tail streamers and has barred upperparts.

A white-and-black seabird with extraordinarily long tail streamers. Nests in cliffs and other rocky crevices but otherwise rarely occurs near land. Flies on strong, steady wingbeats.

Sometimes feeds or rests on the ocean surface, holding long tail up out of the water.

A powerful flier, with rapid, ternlike wingbeats.

Typically restricted to tropical and subtropical waters, but occasionally strays northward and is regularly blown inland by tropical storms.

Adult bill color varies geographically: orange to red-orange in Caribbean breeders, yellow-green in Pacific birds, and yellow elsewhere. Note mostly white underwing.

Nests in cliffs, caves, and other rocky crevices on remote tropical islands.