White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus 白尾鸏
Category I. Accidental, one record.
IDENTIFICATION
May 2008, Michelle and Peter Wong.
60-80 cm, including 30-40 cm tail streamers. Tropicbirds are highly distinctive due to their large size, large bills, mainly white plumage and, in adults, extremely long central tail feathers. On immatures a black patch extends from bill through eye to side of head and the upperparts are mottled black.
May 2008, Michelle and Peter Wong.
In flight immatures lack long central tail feathers, and show a black mottled bar across inner wing, black on the outer primaries and have a dull pale pink bill.
VOCALISATIONS
Rather harsh and fairly high in pitch.
DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT PREFERENCE
The only HK record occurred at sea in southern waters.
OCCURRENCE
A juvenile was present near Waglan on 4 May 2008 (Turnbull 2011).
BEHAVIOUR, FORAGING & DIET
No observations.
SYSTEMATICS & RANGE
Occurs in tropical and subtropical seas around much of the world, with breeding populations in the Caribbean, mid Atlantic, Indian Ocean and the west Pacific (Lee and Walsh-McGee 2020). In China has been recorded in Hong Kong and Taiwan (Liu and Chen 2020).
Six subspecies are recognised of which two are most likely to occur in the South China Sea. Probably the most likely is P. l. dorotheae, which occurs in the tropical west Pacific, while the nominate occurs in the Indian Ocean.
CONSERVATION STATUS
IUCN: Least Concern. Population trend decreasing.
Lee, D. S. and M. Walsh-McGee (2020). White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whttro.01
Liu, Y. and Y. H. Chen (eds) (2020). The CNG Field Guide to the Birds of China (in Chinese). Hunan Science and Technology Publication House, Changsha.
Turnbull, M. (2011). White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus in waters southeast of Po Toi Island. The first Hong Kong record. Hong Kong Bird Report 2007-08: 217-220.
