The Red Tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda or Payanke Lake Rouz in Creole is similar to the more common White-tailed Tropicbird but is bigger, with a pure white body, red bill and a very thin red tail, which is not always visible in flight.
During the breeding season, the feathers of some birds take on a pinkish flush. The Red-tailed Tropicbird is very rare as a breeding species on the granitic islands, perhaps because it is unable to coexist with rats and cats, or because of human persecution in the past.
Red-tailed Tropicbirds spend most of their life far out to sea, except when they come in to land to breed.
Facts:
Scientific name: Phaethon rubricauda
Wingspan: 104 – 119 cm
Population in the Seychelles: Not many in the granitic islands; many more (over 2,000 PAIRS) at Aldabra
World distribution: Throughout the Indian Ocean and the Pacific
Distribution in Seychelles: Aldabra, Aride
Nest: On cliffs, under a granite overhang, One egg laid.
Diet: Flying fish
Identification: A white seabird with a thin red tail, and an obvious red beak
See more
Species Fact Sheet at BirdLife Data Zone
(Photo credit: Peter Chadwick)