Nesting.—Yamashina (1932a:406) reports the taking of one egg at Pagan in the Marianas on February 15, 1931.
Remarks.—The Red-tailed Tropic Bird has been recorded from the Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands. On the basis of our present knowledge it appears to be uncommon in most of Micronesia and may be established as a resident bird only in the northern Marianas, as shown by Yamashina (1932a:406 and 1940:676), Coultas obtained an immature male at 3° N and 158° E, which is at a point in the ocean south of the eastern Carolines. Possibly this bird and others obtained in the Carolines are representatives of the subspecies, P. r. melanorhynchos Gmelin, which is known from the Palmerston, Society and Turtle islands.
Phaëthon lepturus dorotheae Mathews
White-tailed Tropic Bird
Phoethon lepturus dorotheae Mathews, Austr. Avium. Rec., 2, 1913, p. 7. (Type locality, Queensland.)
Phaeton candidus Kittlitiz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 382 (Ualan); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1872, p. 57 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 90, 114 (Pelew, Ualan); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 1875, pp. 6, 47 (Palau); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 782 (Ponapé); idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 296, 309 (Ponapé, Kuschai); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus., Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 299, 330, 353 (Ponapé, Mortlock, Nukuor, Ruk); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 52 (Kuschai); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 73 (Pelew, Ruk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, Ualan, Marshalls); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 62 (Agrigan, Palaos, Ruk, Kushai, Marshalls); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 (Marianne).
Phaeton flavirostris Finsch, Ibis, 1880, pp. 329, 333 (Ratak Chain); idem, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105, 109, 115 (Kuschai, Ponapé).
Phaethon candidus Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 426 (Pelews, Carolines, Marshalls); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 23 (Agrigan); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Mariannes); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 50 (Pelew, Ponapé); Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. 489, 492 (Palau).
Phaëthon lepturus Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds British Mus., 26, 1898, p. 453 (Pelew, Carolines, Marshalls); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 10 (Ruk); Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (near Guam); idem, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9 1905, p. 80 (northern Marianas); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 17 (Palau); Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. 535 (Guam); Borror, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 416 (Agrihan); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 524 (Saipan).