red-tailed tropicbird
phaethon rubricauda latin

Its emblem is the Red-tailed Tropicbird.

Red-tailed Tropicbird, P. rubricauda (Indian Ocean and the western and central tropical Pacific)

Birds breeding on Pitcairn include the Fairy Tern, Common Noddy and Red-tailed Tropicbird.

The Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, is a seabird that nests across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The Red-tailed Tropicbird nests on oceanic islands in large colonies from the Hawaiian Islands to Easter Island and across to Mauritius and the Reunion Island.

It is in octavo format (252 x 190 mm) and contains 264 pages bound in black buckram with a dustjacket illustrated with a photograph of a Red-tailed Tropicbird in flight.

Other birds mentioned by John King Davis are the Buff-banded Rail as a resident, Wood Sandpiper, and Sacred Kingfisher and Red-tailed Tropicbird as occasional visitors.

Other seabirds breeding there include the White-necked Petrel, Kermadec Petrel, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Australasian Gannet, Red-tailed Tropicbird and Grey Ternlet.

Species breeding during 1988 included the brown booby, red-footed booby, Great Frigatebird, Red-tailed Tropicbird, Sooty Tern, White Tern, Brown Noddy, and possibly the Reef Heron.

A second candidate is red feathers from Henderson's parrot, fruit dove, and red-tailed tropicbird, red feathers being another prestigious luxury item used for ornaments and feather cloaks in Polynesia, analogous to gold and sable fur today.

Birds that have been recorded nesting on the atoll include the Red-billed Tropicbird, Red-tailed Tropicbird, Fairy Tern, Great Frigatebird, Bristle-thighed Curlew, Masked Booby and Red-footed Booby.

Among the 14 species of seabird recorded as breeding in the site are the Lesser Frigatebird, Great Frigatebird, Red-footed Booby, Brown Booby, Masked Booby, Black Noddy and Red-tailed Tropicbird.

The avifauna includes 65 species of bird where the more unusual distinctive ones are the Blue-crowned Lorikeet, the Spotless Crake, the Many-coloured Fruit Dove, the Wattled Honeyeater, tropical pigeons, the Samoan Starling, White Tern, Black Noddy and the Red-tailed Tropicbird.

It is an important breeding site for 12 species of seabirds, including the Providence Petrel, Kermadec Petrel, White-necked Petrel, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Australasian Gannet, Sooty Tern (known locally as the Whale Bird), Red-tailed Tropicbird and Grey Noddy.

The Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, is a seabird that nests across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.