Listed as a potential split by IOC, Arabian Tropicbird is smaller, with a number of other morphological differences such as a teardrop
shaped eye-patch rather than a stripe. It breeds on Indian Ocean coasts mainly around the Red Sea and Persian Gulf south to Somalia, these birds were photographed in Jordan, a small colony
on the edge of the harbour at Aqaba. Although unlikely, this taxon could be the source of vagrants in the UK, however more western vagrants are likely to originate from Atlantic Island colonies.
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HOMEPAGE
