Phaethon aethereus

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Phaethontidae

Tropicbirds have large, powerful and slightly decurved bills. Their heads are large and their necks are short and thick. Legs are very short and feet are totipalmate.

Physical Description

Habitat

Vegetation: freshwater marshes, coastal waters, freshwater marshes, pelagic waters • Foraging Strata: Water • Center of Abundance: Lower tropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; tropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: High

Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -4,125 meters (0 to -13,533 feet).Mean = -1,039.110 meters (-3,409.154 feet), Standard Deviation = 1,077.680 based on 155 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Ecology:
List of Habitats :9.1Marine Neritic - Pelagic 10.1Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m)

Biology

Migration

Migratory

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

White-Tailed Tropicbird

Members of the genus Phaethon

There are approximately 18 species in this genus:

P. aethereus (Red-Billed Tropicbird) · P. aethereus aethereus (Red-Billed Tropicbird) · P. aethereus indicus · P. aethereus mesonauta (Red-Billed Tropicbird) · P. lepturus (White-Tailed Tropicbird) · P. lepturus ascensionis · P. lepturus catesbyi (White-Tailed Tropicbird) · P. lepturus dorotheae · P. lepturus europae · P. lepturus fulvus · P. lepturus lepturus (White-Tailed Tropicbird) · P. rubricauda (Red-Tailed Tropicbird) · P. rubricauda melanorhynchos · P. rubricauda melanorhynchus · P. rubricauda roseotincta · P. rubricauda rothschildi (Red Tailed Tropicbird) · P. rubricauda rubricauda (Red-Tailed Tropicbird) · P. rubricauda westralis

Bibliography

• Alsop, Fred J. III. Birds of North America - Eastern Region. First American Edition. Smithsonian Handbooks. DK Publishing, Inc. 2001.
• Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
• Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
• BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
• BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
• Collar, N.J. and Andrew, P. 1988. Birds to Watch. The ICBP World Checklist of Threatened Birds. ICBP Technical Publication No. 8. Page Bros. (Norwich) Ltd, Norfolk, England.
• Collar, N.J., Crosby, M.J. and Stattersfiled, A.J. 1994. Birds to Watch 2. The World List of Threatened Birds BirdLife International. Page Bros (norwich) Ltd, UK.
• Ehrlich, P., Dobkin, D., and Wheye, D. (1988). The Birders Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc. (info on clutch size, length of incubation, days to fledge and number of broods.)
• IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
• Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc. (Length and wingspan info.)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• BirdLife International 2004. Phaethon aethereus. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. and lt;www.iucnredlist.org and gt;. Downloaded on 21 October 2006.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 3, 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 10, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 7 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.
• Ocean Biogeographic Information System. Accessed February 27, 2006. www.iobis.org
• Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, "Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds," in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 10, 2008:

• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
• EMAN Provider: PIROP (Shipboard Surveys)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: SEAMAP - marine mammals, birds and turtles
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• UCLA-Dickey Bird Collection (UCLA-Dickey): Bird specimens
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3851685
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-174675
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13809912
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 174673
• IUCN ID: 49534
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABNFA01020
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 177988

Footnotes

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