---
title: "White-tailed Tropicbird"
description: "Phaethon lepturus — Birds. The white-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) or yellow-billed tropicbird is a tropicbird."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/white-tailed-tropicbird
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# White-tailed Tropicbird

> Phaethon lepturus — Birds. The white-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) or yellow-billed tropicbird is a tropicbird.

- Scientific name: *Phaethon lepturus*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 3284
- Wikidata: [Q528117](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q528117)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4314](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4314)

## Names

- en: White-tailed Tropicbird
- de: Weißschwanz-Tropikvogel
- es: Rabijunco cola blanca
- fr: Phaéton à bec jaune
- nl: Witstaartkeerkringvogel
- pt: Rabo-de-palha-de-bico-laranja
- pl: Faeton żółtodzioby

## Countries with the most observations

US (940), SC (269), BM (232), RE (198), CX (136), PR (131), MU (128), PF (73), PW (65), ST (58), MV (57), ID (54)

## Summary

The white-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) or yellow-billed tropicbird is a tropicbird. It is the smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It is found in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans. It also breeds on some Caribbean islands, and a few pairs have started nesting recently on Little Tobago, joining the red-billed tropicbird colony. In addition to the tropical Atlantic, it nests as far north as Bermuda, where it is locally called a "longtail".

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_tropicbird

## Photo

![White-tailed Tropicbird](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/white-tailed-tropicbird/medium.jpg)

Photo: Steph Brulot-Sawchyn · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/256859194

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/white-tailed-tropicbird?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).