Posted by Troy Henderson on May 12, 2016 at 20:16:41
Yes, I mean red-tailed, not red billed. Here's the story. I was busy at work (Old World Exotic Fish, near the intersection of 228th St and 202 Ave) when I heard the cackling calls of parrots or parakeets heading toward me, but they sounded a little odd. I looked up to see a pair of Tropicbirds flying right at me. They passed right over head, not more than 15 feet above me. I could have almost caught them with the dip net in my hand. Then I realized they had bright red tail streamers. I watched dumbfounded as they flew off to the southeast, calling to each other as they flew. Had I seen them from a mile away, I would have doubted my eyes, but I pulled out my phone anyway and looked up Red-tailed Tropic bird, and yes, that's what I saw (nothing else looks like a Red-tailed Tropicbird), then played the call, and that's exactly what I heard. I wish they would have stuck around, but they're surely out to sea now.