Mystery Bird: Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda

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[Mystery bird] Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda rothschildi, photographed on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Midway Island, Hawai'i [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]

Image: Joe Fuhrman, March 2010. I encourage you to purchase images from this professional photographer.

NOTE: Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.

Review all mystery birds to date.

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My first thought was tern, but now I think not.

I think I saw a member of the same family in the Galapagos.

The family field marks include distinctive tail and a red beak, slightly turned down. The field mark for this bird includes that cool eye patch thing (looks different from the one I saw in the Galapagos) and an extra special tail distinction.

What a magnificent portrait! The small black eyepatch should differentiate this guy from the species Bardiac saw in the Galapagos, and I once saw offshore from Nayarit.

By Pete Moulton (not verified) on 24 May 2010 #permalink