Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Cape Verde (B), Cayman Islands, Chile, China (mainland) (B), Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, French Guiana, Grenada (B), Guadeloupe, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Haiti, Iran [Islamic Republic of], Maldives, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Oman (B) (NB) (P), Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Portugal (B), Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia (B), Senegal (B), Somalia, St Helena (B), St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates (B), Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British) (B) (NB), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (B) (NB), Yemen (B).
Vagrant to Angola, Bermuda, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, India, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritania, Myanmar, Netherlands, Qatar, Seychelles, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, United Kingdom, USA, Vietnam.
Unknown to Honduras.
Population
Estimated population is 5,000 - 20,000 (2010).
Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus) [XC15010]
by Micah Riegner from Little Tobago, Trinidad & Tobago (call)
Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus) [XC622397]
by Isain Contreras Rodr\u00edguez from Fuerteventura (near La Oliva), Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain (begging call, hatchling or nestling)
Subspecies
The following 3 subspecies are recognised: