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Tropicbird
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{{short description|Family of birds}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Tropicbirds | fossil_range = [[Early Eocene]] to present | image = Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus) (4089464789).jpg | image_caption =Red-billed Tropicbird | taxon = Phaethon | parent_authority = [[Johann Friedrich von Brandt|Brandt]], 1840 | authority =[[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]] | type_species = ''Phaethon aethereus'' ([[red-billed tropicbird]]) | type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = * ''[[Red-billed tropicbird|P. aethereus]]'' (red-billed tropicbird) * ''[[Red-tailed tropicbird|P. rubricauda]]'' (red-tailed tropicbird) * ''[[White-tailed tropicbird|P. lepturus]]'' (white-tailed tropicbird) | synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web | title=''Part 7- Vertebrates'' | year=2007 | website=Collection of genus-group names in a systematic arrangement | url=http://mave.tweakdsl.nl/tn/genera7.html | display-authors=etal | access-date=30 June 2017 | archive-date=5 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005114629/http://mave.tweakdsl.nl/tn/genera7.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> | synonyms = * ''Leptophaethon'' <small>Mathews 1913</small> * ''Lepturus'' <small>Moehring 1752 nom rej.</small> * ''Lepturus'' <small>Brisson 1760</small> * ''Scaeophaethon'' <small>Mathews 1913</small> * ''Phoenicurus'' <small>Bonaparte 1855 non Forster 1817</small> * ''Tropicophilus'' <small>Stephens 1826</small> }} '''Tropicbirds''' are a [[family (biology)|family]], '''Phaethontidae''', of tropical [[Pelagic zone#Pelagic birds|pelagic]] [[seabird]]s. They are the sole living representatives of the order [[Phaethontiformes]]. For many years they were considered part of the [[Pelecaniformes]], but genetics indicates they are most closely related to the [[Eurypygiformes]]. There are three species in one [[genus]], '''''Phaethon'''''. The scientific names are derived from [[Ancient Greek]] ''phaethon'', "sun".<ref name= job90>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher = Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 |page = [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n301 301]}}</ref> They have predominantly white [[plumage]] with elongated tail feathers and small feeble legs and feet. ==Taxonomy, systematics and evolution== The [[genus]] ''Phaethon'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=134 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727039 }}</ref> The name is from [[Ancient Greek]] ''phaethōn'' meaning "sun".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=301 }}</ref> The [[type species]] was designated as the [[red-billed tropicbird]] (''Phaethon aethereus'') by [[George Robert Gray]] in 1840.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Gray | first=George Robert | author-link=George Robert Gray | year=1840 | title=A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus | location=London | publisher=R. and J.E. Taylor | page=80 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13668997}}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1979 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=1 | edition=2nd | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=155 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16108795 }}</ref> Tropicbirds were traditionally grouped in the [[order (biology)|order]] [[Pelecaniformes]], which contained the [[pelican]]s, [[cormorant|cormorants and shags]], [[darters]], [[Sulidae|gannets and boobies]] and [[frigatebirds]]; in the [[Sibley–Ahlquist taxonomy]], the Pelecaniformes were united with other groups into a large "Ciconiiformes". More recently this grouping has been found to be massively [[paraphyletic]] (missing closer relatives of its distantly related groups) and split again. Microscopic analysis of eggshell structure by Konstantin Mikhailov in 1995 found that the eggshells of tropicbirds lacked the covering of thick microglobular material of other Pelecaniformes.<ref>{{cite journal | author= Mikhailov, Konstantin E. | title=Eggshell structure in the shoebill and pelecaniform birds: comparison with hamerkop, herons, ibises and storks |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |year= 1995 |issue=9 |volume=73 |pages= 1754–70 | doi=10.1139/z95-207| bibcode=1995CaJZ...73.1754M }}</ref> Jarvis, ''et al''.'s 2014 paper "Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds" aligns the tropicbirds most closely with the [[sunbittern]] and the [[kagu]] of the [[Eurypygiformes]], with these two clades forming the sister group of the "core water birds", the [[Aequornithes]], and the Metaves hypothesis abandoned.<ref name="Jarvis">{{cite journal | last1 = Jarvis | first1 = Erich D. | display-authors = etal | year = 2014 | title = Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds | url= | journal = Science | volume = 346 | issue = 6215| pages = 1320–1331 | doi = 10.1126/science.1253451 | pmid=25504713 | pmc=4405904| bibcode = 2014Sci...346.1320J }}</ref> * '''Family Phaethontidae''' <small>Brandt 1840</small> ** Genus †''[[Proplegadis]]'' <small>Harrison & Walker 1971</small> *** †''[[Proplegadis fisheri]]'' <small>Harrison & Walker 1971</small> ** Genus †''[[Phaethusavis]]'' <small>Bourdon, Amaghzaz & Bouya 2008</small> *** †''[[Phaethusavis pelagicus]]'' <small>Bourdon, Amaghzaz & Bouya 2008</small> ** Genus †''[[Heliadornis]]'' <small>Olson 1985</small> *** †''[[Heliadornis ashbyi|H. ashbyi]]'' <small>Olson 1985</small> *** †''[[Heliadornis minor|H. minor]]'' <small>Kessler 2009</small> *** †''[[Heliadornis paratethydicus|H. paratethydicus]]'' <small>Mlíkovský 1997</small> ** Genus ''Phaethon'' <small>[[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]</small> *** [[Red-billed tropicbird]] ''P. aethereus'' (tropical Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and Indian oceans) *** [[Red-tailed tropicbird]], ''P. rubricauda'' (Indian Ocean and the western and central tropical Pacific) *** [[White-tailed tropicbird]], ''P. lepturus'' (widespread in tropical waters, except in the eastern Pacific) The red-billed tropicbird is basal within the genus. The split between the red-billed tropicbird and the other two tropicbirds is hypothesized to have taken place about six million years ago, with the split between the red-tailed and white-tailed tropicbird taking place about four million years ago.<ref name="KennedySpencer2004">{{cite journal|last1=Kennedy|first1=Martyn|last2=Spencer|first2=Hamish G|title=Phylogenies of the frigatebirds (Fregatidae) and tropicbirds (Phaethonidae), two divergent groups of the traditional order Pelecaniformes, inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=31|issue=1|year=2004|pages=31–38|issn=1055-7903|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2003.07.007|pmid=15019606|bibcode=2004MolPE..31...31K }}</ref> ''[[Phaethusavis]]'' and ''[[Heliadornis]]'' are prehistoric genera of tropicbirds described from [[fossil]]s. ===Extant species=== {{Species table |genus=[[Phaethon]] |authority-name= [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]]|authority-year= [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]] |species-count=Three|no-note=y|narrow-percent=75}} {{Species table/row |name= Red-billed tropicbird|binomial=[[Phaethon aethereus]] |image=File:RED BILLED TROPIC BIRD.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Linnaeus |authority-year= 1758 |authority-not-original= |range= Central Atlantic, East Pacific, Caribbean, and East Atlantic, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea |range-image=File:Phaethon aethereus map.svg |range-image-size=180px |size= |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Three subspecies |bullets=on |''P. a. aethereus'' Linnaeus, 1758 |''P. a. mesonauta'' J. L. Peters, 1930 |''P. a. indicus'' A. O. Hume, 1876 }} }} {{Species table/row |name= Red-tailed tropicbird|binomial=[[Phaethon rubricauda]] |image=File:Red-tailed Tropicbird - Nosy Ve - Madagascar MG 1985 (15108469068).jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Boddaert|authority-year= 1783 |authority-not-original= |range= southern Indian, and western and central Pacific Oceans, from the African coast to Indonesia, the waters around the southern reaches of Japan, across to Chile |range-image=File:Redtailedtropicbirdrge.png |range-image-size=180px |size= |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Four subspecies |bullets=on |''P. r. rubricauda'' Boddaert, 1783 |''P. r. westralis'' Mathews, 1912 |''P. r. roseotinctus'' Mathews, 1926 |''P. r. melanorhynchos'' Gmelin, 1789 }} }} {{Species table/row |name= White-tailed tropicbird|binomial=[[Phaethon lepturus]] |image=File:White-tailed Tropicbird - Phaeton lepturus 2.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Daudin |authority-year= 1802 |authority-not-original= |range= tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans |range-image=File:Phaethon lepturus map.svg |range-image-size=180px |size= |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status=LC |population= |direction= |subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Six subspecies |bullets=on | ''P. l. lepturus'' | ''P. l. fulvus'' | ''P. l. dorotheae'' | ''P. l. catesbyi'' | ''P. l. ascensionis'' | ''P. l. europae'' }} }} {{Species table/end}} ==Description== [[File:Red tailed tropic bird.jpg|thumb|right|Red-tailed tropicbird at [[Midway atoll|Midway Atoll]]]] Tropicbirds range in size from 76 cm to 102 cm in length and 94 cm to 112 cm in wingspan. Their plumage is predominantly white, with elongated central tail feathers. The three species have different combinations of black markings on the face, back, and wings. Their bills are large, powerful and slightly decurved. Their heads are large and their necks are short and thick. They have totipalmate feet (that is, all four toes are connected by a web). The legs of a tropicbird are located far back on their body, making walking impossible, so that they can only move on land by pushing themselves forward with their feet.<ref name=EoB/> The tropicbirds' call is typically a loud, piercing, shrill, but grating whistle, or crackle<!--should be "cackle"?-->. These are often given in a rapid series when they are in a display flight at the colony. In old literature they were referred to as boatswain (bo'sun'/bosun) birds due their loud whistling calls.<ref>{{cite book|author=Green, J.F.|year=1887|title=Ocean Birds|publisher=R.H. Porter|place=London|page=52|url=https://archive.org/stream/oceanbirds00gree#page/52/mode/2up}}</ref> [[File:Red-billed Tropicbird JCB.jpg|left|thumb|Red-billed tropicbird, Genovesa Island, Galapagos]] ==Behaviour and ecology== Tropicbirds frequently catch their prey by hovering and then plunge-diving, typically only into the surface-layer of the waters. They eat mostly fish, especially [[flying fish]], and occasionally squid.<ref name=EoB>{{cite book |editor=Forshaw, Joseph|author= Schreiber, E.A.|year=1991|title=Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds|publisher= Merehurst Press|location=London|pages= 63|isbn= 978-1-85391-186-6}}</ref> Tropicbirds tend to avoid multi-species feeding flocks, unlike the [[frigatebirds]], which have similar diets. [[File:White-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus).jpg|thumb|right|White-tailed tropicbird nesting on the ground on [[Cousin Island]]]] Tropicbirds are usually solitary or in pairs away from breeding colonies. There they engage in spectacular courtship displays. For several minutes, groups of 2–20 birds simultaneously and repeatedly fly around one another in large, vertical circles, while swinging the tail streamers from side to side. If the female likes the presentation, she will mate with the male in his prospective nest-site. Occasionally, disputes will occur between males trying to protect their mates and nesting areas. Tropicbirds generally nest in holes or crevices on the bare ground. The female lays one white egg, spotted brown, and incubates for 40–46 days. The incubation is performed by both parents, but mostly the female, while the male brings food to feed the female. The chick hatches with grey down. It will stay alone in the nest while both parents search for food, and they will feed the chick twice every three days until fledging, about 12–13 weeks after hatching. The young are not able to fly initially; they will float on the ocean for several days to lose weight before flight. Tropicbird chicks have slower growth than nearshore birds, and they tend to accumulate fat deposits while young. That, along with one-egg clutches, appears to be an adaptation to a pelagic lifestyle where food is often gathered in large amounts, but may be hard to find. ==Notes==<!-- Auk64:65. See 2006 thesis "L'avifaune du Paléogène des phosphates du Maroc et du Togo" - note that "Abdounornis" = Prophaeton. Thus, suggests that tropicbirds are an early offshoot of the "higher waterbirds", basal to or among the pelican-stork-cormorant-tubenose lineages. --> {{Reflist}} ==References== *{{cite journal | last1 = Boland | first1 = C. R. J. | last2 = Double | first2 = M. C. | last3 = Baker | first3 = G. B. | year = 2004 | title = Assortative mating by tail streamer length in red-tailed tropicbirds ''Phaethon rubricauda'' breeding in the Coral Sea | journal = [[Ibis (journal)|Ibis]] | volume = 146 | issue = 4| pages = 687–690 | doi = 10.1111/j.1474-919x.2004.00310.x }} (HTML abstract) *Oiseaux.net (2006): [http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/pelecaniformes/red-billed.tropicbird.html Red-billed Tropicbird]. Retrieved 4-SEP-2006. *{{cite journal | last1 = Spear | first1 = Larry B. | last2 = Ainley | first2 = David G. | year = 2005 | title = At-sea behaviour and habitat use by tropicbirds in the eastern Pacific | journal = [[Ibis (journal)|Ibis]] | volume = 147 | issue = 2| pages = 391–407 | doi = 10.1111/j.1474-919x.2005.00418.x }} (HTML abstract) ==External links== {{Commons category|Phaethon}} {{Wikisource1911Enc|Tropic-bird}} *[http://www.montereybay.com/creagrus/tropicbd-id.html Tropicbird Identification] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509102823/http://montereybay.com/creagrus/tropicbd-id.html |date=2008-05-09 }} by Don Roberson *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060313135307/http://www.patteson.com/image3.htm Tropicbird Photos] by Brian Patteson *[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/tropicbirds-phaethontidae Tropicbird videos] on the Internet Bird Collection {{tropicbirds}} {{Birds}} {{Eurypygimorphae|E.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from1=Q19264|from2=Q17189371}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Phaethontidae|*]] [[Category:Seabirds]] [[Category:Extant Eocene first appearances]]
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