Kauaʻi record · kba_bird_white_tailed_tropicbird
White-tailed Tropicbird
Phaethon lepturus
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About White-tailed Tropicbird
White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) is recorded as a breeding visitor on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum island checklist (version 2, 2017) lists Kauaʻi status B: breeding visitor. See original island table. A Hawaiʻi-level record is available, but the species needs a documented Kauaʻi observation before local ecological conclusions are drawn.
Occurrence evidence
bishop_island_checklist_2017
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Phaethon lepturus
- Common names
- White-tailed Tropicbird
- Family
- Phaethontidae
- Order
- Phaethontiformes
- Record type
- Species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Kauaʻi documented: breeding visitor (2017 island checklist)
- Origin
- Indigenous
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
- Evidence date
- 2026-09-13
- Evidence limits
- Island occurrence supported by the 2017 checklist; abundance and current year presence are not established here
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Shorelines · Cliffs
- Food and resource needs
- Flyingfish and diet similar to Red-tailed Tropicbird
- Reproduction
- Suitable nesting or roosting sites, seasonal food, and protection from disturbance and predators.
- Shelter
- Shelter and structure within shorelines, cliffs.
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Rats and feral cats threaten adults and nests · Cliff/canyon access and predator pathways are central risk controls
- Conservation actions
- Retain cliff and canyon nest protection, predator surveillance, and Kilauea/Na Pali/Waimea Canyon place tracking
- Monitoring
- Document date, place, observer, habitat, behavior, and supporting media for any Kauaʻi observation.
- Data gaps
- Update island status with dated contemporary records · Specific Kauaʻi habitat and abundance need local evidence
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Kauai Breeding Species March October Window
- Seasonal description
- White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) is recorded as a breeding visitor on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.