Phaethon Lepturus Research Articles

CHICK GROWTH AND PROVISIONING OF SURVIVING AND NONSURVIVING WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRDS (PHAETHON LEPTURUS)

Abstract We examined variation in meal size, feeding frequency and daily food delivery in relation to age, nest, day, year, and weather by White-tailed Tropicbirds (Phaethon lepturus) using repeated weighing of chicks. We focused particularly on the differences between chicks which survived and those which died. Unsuccessful chicks became significantly lighter than successful chicks at the age of 30 days; however, some were fed until they were 60 days old. Feeding frequency and meal size differed significantly between both age classes and between surviving and nonsurviving chicks. In surviving chicks, feeding frequency remained relatively constant until chicks reached 60 days and dropped progressively thereafter. In this group, meal size was significantly lower in chicks up to 20 days old and over 70 days old than those aged 21–70 days. We found significant relationships between chick food provisioning and day, nest, and year. Feeding frequency was more important than meal size in explaining the differenc...

Trends in Seabird Numbers on Aride Island Nature Reserve, Seychelles 1988-2000

Abstract Count data for twelve species of seabird from Aride Island Nature Reserve, Seychelles were reviewed from 1988 to 2000. The numbers of six of the ten breeding species remained relatively stable during the period, while those of one species, the White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) underwent a 60% decline. Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) numbers significantly declined between 1987 and 1993, followed by a significant increase between 1994 and 2000. Current count data for Audubon’s Shearwater (Puffinus l’herminieri) and the Wedge-tailed Shearwater (P. pacificus) are insufficient to establish trends. The maximum annual count of roosting non-breeding frigatebirds (Fregrata spp.) increased steadily throughout the period. The island has internationally important numbers of breeding seabirds (330,000-720,000 pairs per annum), including the largest known colony of Audubon’s Shearwater, the largest colony of the declining Roseate Tern in Seychelles, and the largest known colony of the nominate subspe...

Geographical variation in the White‐tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, with the description of a new subspecies endemic to Europa Island, southern Mozambique Channel

Geographical variation in measurements and colouration among populations and subspecies of White‐tailed Tropicbirds Phaethon lepturus, including birds from Europa Island (southern Mozambique Channel] was examined worldwide. Two groups were distinguished: the ‘large subspecies’(lepturus and fulvus from the Indian Ocean, catesbyi from the western Atlantic Ocean) and the ‘small subspecies’(ascensionis from the central and eastern Atlantic Ocean, dorotheae from the Pacific Ocean, and the birds from Europa Island). No clinal variation was found in the Indian Ocean, the birds from Europa Island being the only ‘small’ ones. This population also had a high frequency of golden morphs, a feature that does not exist elsewhere in the western Indian Ocean. These results indicate that Europa's population is isolated from all nearby colonies in the Indian Ocean, and does not belong to any of the two previously known subspecies of the area. It also differs from the birds of the two small subspecies by the frequency of the colour morphs and the distribution. Consequently, we propose to treat this population as a previously undescribed subspecies, endemic to Europa Island, for which we propose the name Phaethon lepturus europae. Geographical isolation of Europa Island and oceanic conditions in the Mozambique Channel are discussed to explain the isolation of this population.

Notes on breeding and conservation of birds on Niuafo'ou Island, Kingdom of Tonga

Niuafo'ou lies very isolated in the Pacific, is well forested and not densely populated by humans. These facts as well as the lack of larger rat species make it a refuge for birds rare elsewhere in the region. This paper covers all 17 breeding species and gives breeding data for 14 of them, collected from October 1991 to December 1992. Ten species had a well-defined breeding season of 2?7 months somewhere between September and April, which often differed from other adjacent islands: Audubon's Shearwater Puffinus Iherminieri, Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa, Banded Rail Rallus phillippensis, Spotless Crake Porzana tabuensis, Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio, Barn Owl Tyto alba, Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer, Polynesian Starling Aplonis tabuensis nesiotes, and Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus. The Blue-crowned Lorikeet Vini australis nested in October, November and July. It did not only breed in tree hollows, but also inside a rotten log on the ground. Other observations suggest that it visits ground holes as well, either for nesting or resting. A breeding colony of Audubon's Shearwater is the first one confirmed for Tonga. Four species nested in the wet and dry season: White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, Pacific Reef-heron Egretta sacra, Pacific Pigeon Ducula pacifica and Polynesian Megapode Megapodius pritchardii. Since September to March is the main breeding season for birds on Niuafo'ou, it is proposed that hunting and egg collecting, both important parts of the local tradition, are restricted to the other months of the year. In case of the endangered Polynesian Megapode we suggest a restriction of egg collecting and propose a translocation programme to another island. Additionally, we suggest that the islets in the crater lake become protected as they are free of feral cats, and some birds occur in higher densities there. Niuafo'ou also deserves attention as resting place for six vagrant and migrant species; large numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus pacificus are hunted when they visit between October and June.

Food Provisioning by White‐Tailed Tropicbirds: Effects on the Developmental Pattern of Chicks

Food provisioning of White—tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) chicks by their individually identified parents was studied at Cayo Luis Pena, Puerto Rico, in 1985—1986. This paper describes the pattern of this provisioning from the perspectives of both the chick receiving the food, and the individual parents delivering the food. The interval between feedings delivered by an individual adult was more variable than food payload mass (higher coefficients of variation), and there was no day—to—day relationship between the feeding interval and feed mass. Moreover, adults demonstrated the ability to lift and transport food payloads substantially larger than the mean feed mass. Energetic considerations suggest that there is strong selection for parents to decrease the feeding frequency and increase feed mass, to some limit imposed by either the limits of the parents' delivery capabilities, or the limits of the chick's food receiving (swallowing) capabilities (the volume a chick can ingest in one feeding bout). In fact, the limits of the chick's swallowing capabilities occur well before the parents' delivery limits are reached, and thereby set the feed mass at a weight and volume that is easily within the adults' lifting and transporting capabilities. The mean feed mass is viewed as reflecting a particular “target” payload mass that parents strive to collect as quickly as conditions, and their own individual foraging abilities, will allow, and is a practical compromise between the short—term interests of the chick and those of the adult. While parents are able to collect an abundance of food for their single chick, their pelagic foraging creates an intermittent, or “feast or famine” feeding situation for the chick which promotes the characteristic developmental pattern of slow growth and large fat accumulations. The developmental pattern of White—tailed Tropicbirds and other pelagic birds may be better understood by examining the temporal pattern of feeding, and thus there is a need for more comparative and experimental ecological and physiological studies focusing on patterns of food delivery and their possible effects, as well as the average rate of energy flow.

Foraging Flights of the White-Tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus): Radiotracking and Doubly-Labelled Water

-Radiotracking transmitters were fitted to White-tailed Tropicbirds nesting at Culebra, Puerto Rico. Foragers were located by light aircraft out to 89 km SSW of the nesting colony, over a deep-water foraging area south of Vieques Island, Puerto Rico and west of St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands. Two birds were followed out to 176 km NNW from the colony, over the Puerto Rico Trench, but these did not subsequently return. Foragers carrying radio transmitters performed similarly to those without, in terms of duration of absence from the colony, and mass of food brought for the chick. However, measurements of energy consumption by the doubly labelled water method indicated that birds with transmitters consumed significantly more energy than those without. Received 15 March 1990, accepted 7 June 1990.

The breeding biology of White‐tailed Tropicbirds Phaethon lepturus at Cousin Island, Seychelles

During 1981–1983 the population of White‐tailed Tropicbirds Phaethon lepturus at Cousin Island, Seychelles, bred aseasonally and asynchronously. The mean interval between consecutive successful breeding attempts was 273 days. Most individuals nested in the same site, and with the same partner, in successive attempts, but 7‐5% of nest sites were used by more than one pair; 21 % of pairs which lost eggs, and 13% of those which lost chicks re‐nested. Incubation lasted 40–41 days, with a mean incubation shift length of 6‐6 days. Fledging periods varied between 67 and 89 days (mean 76‐5 days). Mean fledging weight was not significantly greater than the average weight of breeding adults.Fledging success was 36%. Many of the 39% of eggs which failed to hatch probably did so as a result of exposure to the sun's heat, following temporary desertion by adults which were themselves heat‐stressed during incubation. Of the 41 % of chicks which died, most died young; many were probably killed by crabs Ocypode spp. Not more than 10% of all nest failures were due to nest site competition. A few chicks probably starved to death.At the time of the study, both food and nesting sites were evidently in excess. A considerable increase in the size of the population will be possible before density‐dependent control mechanisms begin to operate.

Extended Post-Fledging Parental Care in the Red-Tailed Tropicbird and Sooty Tern

In an extensive literature search on post-fledging parental care in seabirds, Burger (1980) noted little evidence for the phenomenon in Red-billed and White-tailed tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus and P. lepturus). On the basis of Fleet's (1974) observations of the Red-tailed Tropicbird (P. rubricauda), she concluded that parents feed their chicks up to 30 days after fledging, but that during this period young remain in the vicinity of the nest. The evidence heretofore available suggests that once young tropicbirds leave the colony, they are independent (see also Nelson 1983). Among terns, extended parental care hundreds of kilometers from nesting colonies has been noted for a number of species (reviewed by Burger 1980). Before now, however, there was little evidence that Sooty Terns (Sterna fuscata) care for fledged young anywhere other than in the colony. Evidence that they might do otherwise is confined to two observations of parent-chick groups 8 and 20 km from Bird Island in the Seychelles (Feare 1975). In this paper we report behaviors that indicate extended post-fledging parental care in Red-tailed Tropicbirds and Sooty Terns. Observations were made during seven cruises across the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The cruises were as follows: (1) from Panama City, Panama, to Wellington, New Zealand, 10 to 30 November 1976; (2) from Long Beach, California, to Wellington (via Tahiti), 15 November to 9 December 1977; (3) from Sydney, Australia, to Long Beach (via American Samoa), 13 March to 5 April 1979; (4) from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Long Beach (via Lima, Peru), 19 April to 28 May 1980; (5) from Seattle to the Equator, 90*W to 160*W, and return, 7 October to 5 December 1983; (6) from Miami to the same section of the Equator (via the Panama Canal) to Honolulu, Hawaii and then to Tahiti, 9 April to 4 June 1984; and, (7) Miami to Honolulu (same route), 9 October to 5 November 1984. Seabirds were censused 30 min each daylight hour that our ships were underway, or between 13 and 15 census periods per day (for details, see Ainley and Boekelheide 1983).

Seabird Patchiness in Tropical Oceanic Waters: The Influence of Sargassum “Reefs”

Abstract The relationships of seabirds to the holopelagic macroalga Sargassum were studied during a 2-yr survey in the South Atlantic Bight off the southeastern United States. Seabirds were significantly more abundant in waters with large (>5 m2) patches of the alga, and mean avian density was 32-43 times greater in waters where Sargassum was present than in adjacent waters without the alga. Seabirds aggregate at Sargassum patches formed by Langmuir circulation, convergence fronts, Gulf Stream eddies, and Gulf Stream warm core rings. Twenty-three seabird species foraged at Sargassum. Significantly more than 50% of White-tailed Tropicbirds (Phaethon lepturus), Masked Boobies (Sula dactylatra), and Bridled Terns (Sterna anaethetus) were observed at algal patches. Species that use aerial-dipping and plunge-diving foraging behaviors displayed the greatest affinity for Sargassum. Large-bodied seabirds (large shearwaters, tropicbirds, and boobies) generally were found at large patches, while small-bodied species (phalaropes and Puffinus lherminieri) occurred at smaller patches. The seasonal abundance of the pelagic Bridled Tern corresponded to seasonal variation in Sargassum abundance. Most seabirds associated with Sargassum for foraging, but Bridled and Black terns (Chlidonias niger) also used large algal mats for roost sites. The highly localized biomass of the pelagic Sargassum community and its associated motile macrofauna (zooplankton and fish) may allow seabirds to forage efficiently for prey in the oligotrophic surface waters of tropical marine environments. The patchy occurrence of Sargassum "reefs" may explain part of the local and mesoscale variation in seabird distribution and abundance in portions of the western North Atlantic Ocean.

Breeding of the Trindade Petrel Pterodroma arminjoniana on Round Island, Mauritius

Round Island (19°51'S, 57°47'E), an uninhabited volcanic islet lying 14 miles NNE of the Mauritian mainland, provides locally important breeding grounds for four species of seabirds; the Trindade Petrel Pterodroma arminjoniana, the Wedge‐tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus, the Red‐tailed Tropic Bird Phaethon rubricauda and the White‐tailed Tropic Bird Phaethon lepturus. The landing conditions on the island are notoriously difficult and prior to 1975, visits by naturalists had been limited to short stays, a few days at the most. Accounts of the natural history of the island have been made by Vinson (1965), Bullock (1977) and Bullock & North (1984). This paper gives the results of studies on the breeding biology of the Trindade Petrel during two visits to Round Island from 27 July to 2 September 1978, and from 30 July to 18 August 1982.

POXVIRUS INFECTION OF THE WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD (Phaethon lepturus) IN BERMUDA

Lesions caused by an avian poxvirus were identified on the face and nares of fledgling white-tailed tropicbirds (Phaethon lepturus catesbyi) in the natural environment on Bermuda. Between 1958 and 1978, 6 of 81 fledglings found off the nest and unable to fly at departure time had lesions suggestive of poxvirus infection. More detailed nest-site surveys from 1974 to 1978 indicated an overall prevalence of less than 0.5%, involving the fledgling population only.

BREEDING PERIODICITY, NESTING SUCCESS AND NEST SITE SELECTION AMONG RED‐TAILED TROPICBIRDS PHAETHON RUBRICAUDA AND WHITE‐TAILED TROPICBIRDS P. LEPTURUS ON ALDABRA ATOLL

IbisVolume 122, Issue 1 p. 76-81 BREEDING PERIODICITY, NESTING SUCCESS AND NEST SITE SELECTION AMONG RED-TAILED TROPICBIRDS PHAETHON RUBRICAUDA AND WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRDS P. LEPTURUS ON ALDABRA ATOLL R. P. Prys-Jones, R. P. Prys-Jones British Museum (Natural History), Tring, Hertfordshire, Great Britain Institute, Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PSSearch for more papers by this authorC. Peet, C. Peet Royal Society Aldabra Research Station, P.O. Box 336, Victoria, Mahe, SeychellesSearch for more papers by this author R. P. Prys-Jones, R. P. Prys-Jones British Museum (Natural History), Tring, Hertfordshire, Great Britain Institute, Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PSSearch for more papers by this authorC. Peet, C. Peet Royal Society Aldabra Research Station, P.O. Box 336, Victoria, Mahe, SeychellesSearch for more papers by this author First published: January 1980 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1980.tb00873.xCitations: 13 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume122, Issue1January 1980Pages 76-81 RelatedInformation

A Specimen of the Yellow-Headed Blackbird from the Panama Canal Zone

In my recent paper on the birds of the Galapagos Archipelago (Condor 75:265 1973), two nesting species were omitted due to confusion in the typescript. I wish to report them here, together with four species previously unrecorded in the area. Oceanites gracilis. White-vented Storm-Petrel. Common resident. Although the Galapagos population is subspecifically distinct, as galapagoensis, from that of western South America and apparently resident, no nest has been found. Virtually all the small sea-bird islands and isolated rocks have been searched so it may be that the colonies are in some of the inaccessible high cliffs of the main islands. Oceanodroma melania. Black Storm-Petrel. A single bird seen for 20 min feeding in ship's wake midway between Pinta and Pta. Albemarle (Isabela) 12 December 1973. It was in very worn plumage and showed outer primary molt (D. Day, MH). Although in plumage this species is virtually identical with O. markhami, its behavior and flight are very different. Having had experience with both these all-black storm-petrels off South America, I am confident of the identification. Phaethon aethereus. Red-billed Tropicbird. Nests throughout the islands but uncommon in the cold waters in the west between Isabela and Fernandina. Several reports of White-tailed Tropicbirds (P. lepturus) almost certainly refer to juvenile P. aethereus. Limosa haemastica. Hudsonian Godwit. Single at Academy Bay (Santa Cruz) for several days from 26 November 1973 (Tj. de Vries, D. Day, MH). Larus dominicanus. Dominican Gull. Single adult seen with two Franklin's Gulls (L. pipixcan) around ships anchored at Tagus Cove (Isabela) 15 December 1973 (D. Day). Chlidonias niger. Black Tern. An immature picked up dead at James Bay (James) 17 November 1973 (Tj. de Vries, MH). Skull at Charles Darwin Research Station. This species is common at sea off the Gulf of Guayaquil and its occurrence is not unexpected. In my previous paper, I treated the Large Ground Finch (Geospiza magnirostris) as being extinct on Fernandina because of the lack of records since 1899. However, on a visit to the crater rim on 13 December 1973, I watched a single female or immature for some 10 min at ranges down to 6 ft. It is impossible to decide whether the species has been present but unobserved for the last 70 years, or whether this bird was a straggler. At the same time G. magnirostris was seen on the small island of Daphne (P. R. Grant, J. N. M. Smith) where it does not normally breed, so perhaps something was causing unusual movements of this species.

A Melanistic White-Tailed Tropicbird

Journal Article A Melanistic White-Tailed Tropicbird Get access Storrs L. Olson Storrs L. Olson National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Condor, Volume 76, Issue 2, 1 April 1974, Pages 217–218, https://doi.org/10.2307/1366738 Published: 01 April 1974 Article history Accepted: 16 February 1973 Published: 01 April 1974

Notes on the Distribution of Some Puerto Rican Birds and on the Courtship Behavior of White-Tailed Tropicbirds

Journal Article Notes on the Distribution of Some Puerto Rican Birds and on the Courtship Behavior of White-Tailed Tropicbirds Get access P. A. Buckley, P. A. Buckley Department of Biology Hofstra University Hempstead, Long Island New York 11550 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar F. G. Buckley F. G. Buckley Department of Biology Hofstra University Hempstead, Long Island New York 11550 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Condor, Volume 72, Issue 4, 1 October 1970, Pages 483–486, https://doi.org/10.2307/1366407 Published: 01 October 1970 Article history Accepted: 19 February 1970 Published: 01 October 1970

Notes on the Seabirds of Round Island, Mauritius

As one of the few seabird breeding stations in the western central Indian Ocean, Round Island, 14 miles north of Mauritius Island, provides nesting sites for two tropic-birds (Phaethon lepturus and P. rubricauda), a shearwater (Puffinus pacificus), and the only known Indian Ocean breeding colony of the South Trinidad Petrel (Pterodroma arminjoniana). The paucity of information on the biology of the petrel, which was only discovered on Round Island in 1949 (Murphy and Pennoyer, 1952) despite numerous previous visits by naturalists, prompts us to record here the observations we made during three visits to Round Island in the fall of 1964. We also include a few notes on the other three, more widespread, Indian Ocean species. Landing difficulties usually limit access to Round Island to October and November when the seas are calmest, but even then trips can be planned only on a day-to-day basis. Furthermore, field work on the island is productive only during the few morning hours before the intense midday heat develops and one's energy is expended in climbing the steep, unshaded hillsides. Our visits to Round Island were as follows: 16 October 1964 from 07:00 to 10:00 (Gill), 22 October 1964 from 09:30 to 12:30 (Gill and Storer), and 21 November 1964 from 09:00 to 12:00 (Jouanin).

White-Tailed Tropic-Bird, an Addition to the Philippine Avifauna

White-Tailed Tropic-Bird, an Addition to the Philippine Avifauna

SUB‐FOSSIL BIRD REMAINS ON ASCENSION ISLAND

SUMMARYBird bones and feathers found in phosphate deposits and fumaroles on Ascension during the B.O.U. Centenary Expedition were used to supplement the historical records in building up a picture of the original avifauna of the island. The remains which can be definitely identified provide strong circumstantial evidence that the sea‐bird colonies on the main island included at least the following species: Oceanodroma castro, Phaethon aethereus, Sula sula, S. dactylatra, Fregata aquila and Sterna fuscata: a skull apparently of Gygis alba was also obtained. No remains definitely referable to Phaethon lepturus, Sula leucogaster or Anous stolidus have yet been found, but it seems very likely that these species also nested in numbers on the main island of Ascension, while Anous tenuirostris, which still nests on the cliffs of the main island, doubtless also did so in the past.In addition to sea‐birds, a skull and a tarso‐metatarsus of a small rail, found in separate localities, probably represent the extinct flightless species described by Peter Mundy. The rail whose bones were obtained is provisionally considered as a new member of the genus Rallus.The only surviving species that is endangered locally is the Red‐footed Booby Sula sula: the history of this species on Ascension is discussed.

THE TROPIC BIRDS (GENUSPHAETHON) OF ASCENSION ISLAND

SUMMARYThis paper is an account of investigations into the breeding cycles and breeding biology of two species of tropic bird, Phaethon ae. aethereus and Phaethon lepturus ascensionis, on Boatswain Bird Island, Ascension Island, in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Investigations covered the period November 1957–March 1959, and involved 700 marked nests and over 1,400 marked birds.Both species were found to lay in every month of the year, although the number of eggs laid per month varied according to cyclical patterns peculiar to the two species. Individually, birds were found to breed at intervals of five to ten months (P. lepturus) or nine to twelve months (P. aethereus) according to the success or failure of their previous cycle; in either species those which were previously successful laid again towards the higher end of the range, those which were previously unsuccessful laid earlier, according to the length of time taken over incubating or rearing before loss. The interval between successive layings was determined in successful breeding by the length of the sexual cycle, i.e. the time taken by courtship, incubation, the rearing of the chick and the complete moult of body feathers, and was some 20% longer in P. aethereus than in the smaller P. lepturus. Unsuccessful breeders occasionally re‐laid soon after the loss of egg or chick, but were more likely to lose their nest‐site to usurpers, fail to lay again, and undergo a post‐nuptial moult similar to that of the successful breeders.The overall pattern of breeding, i.e. the shape of the curve showing the number of eggs laid per month, was in either species determined by (a) the ratio of successful to unsuccessful breeders and (b) the length of the successful sexual cycle. Red‐billed Tropic Birds (P. aethereus) followed a pattern showing marked peaks and low points of activity, with peaks spaced eleven months apart. Yellow‐billed Tropic Birds showed a pattern in which successive peaks were spaced only nine months apart and laying was spread more evenly throughout the year. These differences are related to differences in the size of the two species, the larger P. aethereus taking longer to breed and being more successful in interspecific competition for nest‐sites.Details of breeding behaviour, food, egg measurements, rates of growth of chicks, nest mortality and fledging success are given, with especial reference to P. lepturns which on Boatswain Bird Island outnumbered P. aethereus approximately in the ratio 2:1. A partial sexual dimorphism of colour in P. lepturus is also described.

The White-tailed Tropic-bird: Additional New South Wales Records

(1957). The White-tailed Tropic-bird: Additional New South Wales Records. Emu - Austral Ornithology: Vol. 57, No. 1, pp. 66-67.