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Phaethon aethereus (Red-billed
tropicbird)
Rooibekpylstert [Afrikaans]; Roodsnavelkeerkringvogel
[Dutch]; Phaéton à bec rouge [French]; Rotschnabel-tropikvogel [German];
Rabijunco-riscado [Portuguese]
Life
> Eukaryotes >
Opisthokonta
> Metazoa (animals) >
Bilateria >
Deuterostomia > Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed
vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned
fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial
vertebrates) > Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria >
Dinosauria
(dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) >
Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves
(birds) > Order: Ciconiiformes >
Family: Phaethontidae
Distribution and habitat
Occurs across the East Pacific Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean,
the Red Sea and the north-west Indian Ocean. It has been recorded six times in
southern African waters, mainly off the Atlantic coast of Namibia and Cape Town.
Food
It mainly eats fish and squid, caught by plunge
diving, although it may hawk flying fish aerially.
Breeding
It nests in burrows or rocky crevices on tropical islands,
such as Ascension Island and islands of the coast of Brazil.
Threats
Not threatened, although its colonies on tropical islands
are seriously impacted by disturbance due to human activity and predation by introduced mammals.
References
-
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts
- Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
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