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Posted by Toe on 23:45:22 07/03/06
In Reply to: Tropicbird ID (lengthy) posted by Rock Jetty
I couldn't get a good look at the dorsal side or the eyebrow since I was busy driving the boat, but there is one field mark that the photos don't show: the flight. According to National Geographic, the Red-billed "Flies with rapid , stiff, shallow wingbeats, unlike other tropicbirds whose flight is more ternlike." This description matches 100% the flight of our bird. However, I would ask those with more experience with Tropicbirds if this flight characteristic is exclusive to the Red-billed, or do the White-tailed also exhibit this type of flight. Physically, I think it's a subadult White-tailed, but my sample set of Tropicbirds is 1.
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