email a friend
printable version
closeLC
Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus
IUCN Red List history
| Year | Category |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Least Concern |
| 2009 | Least Concern |
| 2008 | Least Concern |
| 2004 | Least Concern |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
Species attributes
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | Does not normally occur in forest |
| Land mass type | Average mass | - |
Distribution
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 24,500 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) | 22,500,000 | medium |
| Number of locations | - | |
| Fragmentation | - |
Population & trend
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mature individuals | 3300-13000 | poor | Estimated | 2009 |
| Population trend | Decreasing | - | ||
| Number of subpopulations | - | - | - | |
| Largest subpopulation | - | - | - | |
| Generation length (yrs) | 10.1 | - | - | - |
| Population justification: The population is estimated to number 5,000-20,000 individuals, roughly equating to 3,300-13,000 mature individuals. | ||||
| Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to predation by invasive species and unsustainable levels of exploitation. | ||||
Country/Territory distribution
| Country/Territory | Occurrence status | Extinct | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | Vagrant | No | |||
| Anguilla (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| Antigua and Barbuda | Native | No | |||
| Bahamas | Native | No | |||
| Bahrain | Unknown | No | |||
| Barbados | Native | No | |||
| Belize | Unknown | No | |||
| Benin | Unknown | No | |||
| Bermuda (to UK) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) | Native | No | |||
| Brazil | Native | No | |||
| Cameroon | Unknown | No | |||
| Cape Verde | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Cayman Islands (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | Unknown | No | |||
| Chile | Native | No | |||
| China (mainland) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Colombia | Native | No | |||
| Congo | Unknown | No | |||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | Unknown | No | |||
| Costa Rica | Vagrant | No | |||
| Cuba | Native | No | |||
| Curaçao (to Netherlands) | Native | No | |||
| Djibouti | Native | No | |||
| Dominica | Native | No | |||
| Dominican Republic | Native | No | |||
| Ecuador | Native | No | |||
| Egypt | Native | No | |||
| El Salvador | Native | No | |||
| Equatorial Guinea | Unknown | No | |||
| Eritrea | Native | No | |||
| French Guiana | Native | No | |||
| French Polynesia | Vagrant | No | |||
| Gabon | Vagrant | No | |||
| Gambia | Vagrant | No | |||
| Ghana | Unknown | No | |||
| Grenada | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Guadeloupe (to France) | Native | No | |||
| Guatemala | Unknown | No | |||
| Guinea | Native | No | |||
| Guinea-Bissau | Native | No | |||
| Guyana | Unknown | No | |||
| Haiti | Native | No | |||
| Honduras | Unknown | No | |||
| India | Vagrant | No | |||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | Native | No | |||
| Iraq | Unknown | No | |||
| Israel | Vagrant | No | |||
| Jamaica | Vagrant | No | |||
| Jordan | Vagrant | No | |||
| Kuwait | Vagrant | No | Yes | ||
| Liberia | Unknown | No | |||
| Madagascar | Vagrant | No | |||
| Malaysia | Vagrant | No | |||
| Maldives | Native | No | |||
| Martinique (to France) | Native | No | |||
| Mauritania | Vagrant | No | |||
| Mexico | Native | No | |||
| Montserrat (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| Myanmar | Vagrant | No | |||
| Netherlands | Vagrant | No | |||
| Nicaragua | Unknown | No | |||
| Nigeria | Unknown | No | |||
| Oman | Native | No | |||
| Pakistan | Native | No | |||
| Panama | Native | No | |||
| Peru | Native | No | |||
| Portugal | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Puerto Rico (to USA) | Native | No | |||
| Qatar | Native | No | |||
| Saudi Arabia | Native | No | |||
| São Tomé e Príncipe | Unknown | No | |||
| Senegal | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Seychelles | Vagrant | No | |||
| Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) | Native | No | |||
| Somalia | Native | No | |||
| South Africa | Vagrant | No | |||
| Spain | Vagrant | No | |||
| Sri Lanka | Vagrant | No | |||
| St Helena (to UK) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| St Kitts and Nevis | Native | No | |||
| St Lucia | Native | No | |||
| St Martin (to France) | Native | No | |||
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | Native | No | |||
| Sudan | Vagrant | No | Yes | ||
| Suriname | Unknown | No | |||
| Togo | Unknown | No | |||
| Trinidad and Tobago | Native | No | |||
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| United Arab Emirates | Native | No | Yes | ||
| United Kingdom | Vagrant | No | |||
| USA | Vagrant | No | |||
| Venezuela | Native | No | |||
| Vietnam | Vagrant | No | |||
| Virgin Islands (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| Virgin Islands (to USA) | Native | No | |||
| Western Sahara | Unknown | No | |||
| Yemen | Native | No |
Important Bird Areas where this species has triggered the IBA criteria
| Country/Territory | IBA Name | IBA link |
|---|---|---|
| Anguilla (to UK) | Dog Island |  |
| Anguilla (to UK) | Prickly Pear (East and West) | |
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) | Boven, Sint Eustatius | |
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) | Saba | |
| Cape Verde | Central mountain range of Ilha de São Nicolau - Marine | |
| Cape Verde | Coastal cliffs between Porto Mosquito and Baia do Inferno | |
| Cape Verde | Coastal cliffs between Porto Mosquito and Baia do Inferno - Marine | |
| Cape Verde | Ilhéu Raso | |
| Ecuador | Áreas costeras de Fernandina y del occidente de Isabela | |
| Ecuador | Isla Española | |
| Ecuador | Isla Floreana | |
| Ecuador | Isla San Cristóbal | |
| Guadeloupe (to France) | Falaises du Nord Grande-Terre | |
| Guadeloupe (to France) | Falaises Nord et Îlet de Vieux-Fort de Marie-Galante | |
| Guadeloupe (to France) | Pointe des Châteaux | |
| Oman | Halaaniyaat Islands | |
| Oman | Khor Mughsayl | |
| Oman | Musandam islands | |
| Senegal | Parc National des Iles de la Madeleine | |
| St Helena (to UK) | Ascension Island: mainland and stacks | |
| St Helena (to UK) | Boatswainbird Island | |
| St Helena (to UK) | North-east St Helena | |
| St Helena (to UK) | South-west St Helena | |
| St Lucia | North-east coast | |
| St Lucia | Point Sables | |
| St Martin (to France) | Tintamarre | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Little Tobago Island | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | St Giles Islands | |
| United Arab Emirates | Qarnayn island | |
| Virgin Islands (to USA) | North-west Cays | |
| Yemen | Islands north of Al-Hudaydah | |
Habitats & altitude
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Oceanic | Epipelagic (0-200m) | major | breeding |
| Marine Oceanic | Epipelagic (0-200m) | major | non-breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 0 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
Utilisation
| Purpose | Primary form used | Life stage used | Source | Scale | Level | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food (human) | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | Subsistence, National | Non-trivial | Recent |
| Pets | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | International | Non-trivial | Recent |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Phaethon aethereus. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 23/05/2013.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 23/05/2013.
This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.
To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife
To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Current IUCN Red List category | Least Concern |
| Family | Phaethontidae (Tropicbirds) |
| Species name author | Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Population size | 3300-13000 mature individuals |
| Population trend | Decreasing |
| Distribution size (breeding/resident) | 24,500 km2 |
| Country endemic? | No |
| Links to further information | |
| - Summary information on this species | |
|
|