Tropicbirds of Zihuatanejo

FAMILY PHAETHONTIDAE

• Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

• Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

• Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

• Birds (Class Aves)

• Tropicbirds (Order Phaethontiformes)

• Tropicbirds (Family Phaethontidae)

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The family Phaethontidae, commonly known as the tropicbirds, is a small family of elegant seabirds found across tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. As the only living family in the order Phaethontiformes, tropicbirds represent a distinct evolutionary lineage of marine birds. They are characterized by their predominantly white plumage, black facial markings, long narrow wings, and especially their elongated central tail feathers, which give them a graceful and highly recognizable silhouette in flight. Tropicbirds spend most of their lives over open ocean, coming to land only to breed on remote islands, coastal cliffs, and rocky shorelines. They feed primarily on fish, squid, and other marine organisms, which they capture by plunge-diving into the water.