CalCOFI.io CalCOFI.io open data ecosystem
Species · accepted · checked 2026-08-05

Phaethon aethereus

Red-Billed Tropicbird

WoRMS 137177ITIS 174673key itis:174673
i

2026-08-05: worms_id 137177 via WoRMS TSN crosswalk (status accepted)

Silhouette · T. Michael Keesey · CC BY 3.0 · PhyloPic, drawn from Phaethon rubricauda
Red-Billed Tropicbird50 cm
bongo net ring71 cm

max · sealifebase

Red-billed tropicbird
Photo · Nicolas Völcker · CC BY-SA 4.0 · commons

The red-billed tropicbird is a tropicbird, one of three closely related species of seabird of tropical oceans. Superficially resembling a tern in appearance, it has mostly white plumage with some black markings on the wings and back, a black mask and, as its common name suggests, a red bill.W CalCOFI holds 145 observations of it in 1 dataset between 1987 and 2022.R

145
observations
145
records
145
sampling events
1987–2022
years
1
datasets

Observed in
i

One row per dataset, one cell per year, darker with more observations — the same strip the front door draws per dataset. Each row ends with the name that dataset uses (dataset_taxon); the accepted name is written once, in the title above. A quiet pill marks a name the authority does not accept.

  • Seabirds & Marine Mammals 145 obs · 145 events · 1987–2022
    name used: Phaethon aethereus Red-Billed Tropicbird · code RBTR

How big is it
i

Every mark is a measured length with its own source — hover one to read it. The reference objects are _data/size_reference.csv: two of them, the 505 µm bongo mesh and the net's ring, are CalCOFI's own sampling gear.

Groups

calcofi:seabirds

Ways in
i

Read from taxa.json of release v2026.09.11, written at release by calcofi4db::build_taxa_catalog(). The catalog's index is /species/.

Explorerdb-query
ERDDAPCalCOFI's own server, the Seabirds & Marine Mammals table constrained to this taxon
https://erddap.calcofi.io/erddap/tabledap/farallon_bird-mammal.html?&taxon_key=%22itis:174673%22