List of Vieques birds

This is a list of birds recorded in the island of Vieques. Vieques is an island municipality of Puerto Rico located off the east coast of the main island of Puerto Rico, south of Culebra island and west of the Virgin Islands. It has a total area of 348.15 km², of which only 135 km² is land area. On May 1, 2001, the western end of Vieques National Wildlife Refuge was established and on May 1, 2003, the same day of the exit of the U.S. Navy from the island, the eastern end of the refuge was established.

There are a total of 142 species recorded from the island of Vieques. Some species, such as the Puerto Rican Parrot, have been extirpated from the island but are, nonetheless, included in this list. Extinct species are not included in this list.

This list presents the following information for each species: common and scientific name of each species, preferred habitat, breeding status in Vieques and frequency of occurrence for each season (Winter spans from December to February, Spring from March to May, Summer from June to August, Fall from September to November). Tags (described below) are used to describe this information for each species.

Taxonomy

This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of Clements's 5th edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflects this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced, stray, and extirpated species are included in the total species counts for Vieques.

The following tags have been used to describe the frequency of occurrence of each species in Vieques.
*(a) Abundant, A species that is commonly encountered in Vieques.
*(c) Common, A species that commonly occurs in Vieques.
*{u} Uncommon, A species that occurs uncommonly, it is present but rarely seen in Vieques.
*(o) Occasional, A species that may not occur every year.
*(r) Rare, A species that has been reported once or twice.

The following tags have been used to describe the habitats in which a species occurs. Species may inhabit more than one type of habitat.
*(TS) Thorn Scrub
*(IA) Inhabited Areas
*(ML) Mangrove Lagoons
*(DF) Dry Forest
*(Sh) Shoreline
*(MF) Moist Forest

The following tags have been used to describe the breeding status of each species in Vieques.
*(B) Breeder
*(PB) Probable Breeder
*(NB) Non-Breeder
*(WV) Winter Visitor
*(M) Migrant
*(St) Stray

Grebes

Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae

Grebes are small to medium-large sized freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes, and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land. There are 20 species world-wide and 1 species which occurs in Vieques.

Boobies

Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Sulidae

The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies with only boobies occurring in Vieques. Both groups are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish. There are 8 species world wide and 1 species which occurs in Vieques.

Flamingos

Order: PhoenicopteriformesFamily: Phoenicopteridae

Flamingos (genus Phoenicopterus monotypic in family Phoenicopteridae) are gregarious wading birds, usually 3–5 feet in height, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. They are more numerous in the latter. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly-shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume, and are uniquely used upside-down. There are 6 species world wide and 1 species which occurs in Vieques.

Hawks, Kites, and Eagles

Order: FalconiformesFamily: Accipitridae

The family Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey and include hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. These birds have very large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. There are 233 species world wide and 1 species which occurs in Vieques.

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

Order: GruiformesFamily: Rallidae

Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. The most typical family members occupy dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs, and have long toes which are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers. There are 143 species world wide and 4 species which occur in Vieques.

Lapwings and Plovers

Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Charadriidae

The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water, although there are some exceptions. There are 66 species world wide and 5 species which occur in Vieques.

Terns

Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Sternidae

Terns are a group of generally general medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects of the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species now known to live in excess of 25-30 years. There are 44 species world wide and 7 species which occur in Vieques.

Cuckoos

Order: CuculiformesFamily: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Unlike the cuckoo species of the Old World, North American cuckoos are not brood parasites. There are 138 species world wide and 4 species which occur in Vieques.

wifts

Order: ApodiformesFamily: Apodidae

Swifts are small aerial birds, spending the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. There are 98 species world wide and 1 species which occurs in Vieques.

Woodpeckers and Sapsuckers

Order: PiciformesFamily: Picidae

Woodpeckers are small to medium sized birds with chisel like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward, and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks. There are 218 species world wide and 2 species which occur in Vieques.

Mockingbirds and Thrashers

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Mimidae

The Mimids are a family of passerine birds that includes thrashers, mockingbirds, tremblers, and the New World catbirds. These birds are notable for their vocalization, especially their remarkable ability to mimic a wide variety of birds and other sounds heard outdoors. The species tend towards dull grays and browns in their appearance. There are 35 species world wide and 2 species which occur in Vieques.

Whydahs

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Viduidae

The Viduidae is a family of small passerine birds native to Africa that includes indigobirds and whydahs. All species are brood parasites, which lay their eggs in the nests of estrildid finch species. Species usually have black or indigo predominating in their plumage. There 19 species world wide of which 1 species is introduced to Vieques.

Bananaquit

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Coerebidae or Genus "Coereba" "Incertae sedis"

The Bananaquit is a small passerine bird. It has a slender, curved bill, adapted to taking nectar from flowers and is the only member of the genus Coereba (Vieillot, 1809) and is normally placed within the family Coerebidae, although there is uncertainty whether that placement is correct (hence the assignment Genus: "Coereba" "Incertae sedis").

Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Cowbirds, Grackles, and Orioles

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Icteridae

The Icterids are a group of small to medium, often colourful passerine birds restricted to the New World and include the grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Most species have black as a predominant plumage colour, often enlivened by yellow, orange or red. There are 98 species world wide and 4 species which occur in Vieques.

parrows

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Passeridae

Sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small plump brownish or greyish birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed-eaters, and they also consume small insects. There are 35 species world wide and 1 species which occurs in Vieques, which was introduced.

ee also

*List of endemic fauna of Puerto Rico
*List of Puerto Rican birds

Notes

References

*cite journal
author = Sorrié, Bruce A.
year = 1975
month = June
title = Observations on the Birds of Vieques Island, Puerto Rico
journal = Caribbean Journal of Science
volume = 15
issue = 1-2
pages = 89–103
doi =
id =
url = http://www.uprm.edu/publications/cjs/VOL15A/P089-100.PDF
format =
accessdate = 2006-05-20
*cite web
date =
year =
month =
url = http://www.fws.gov/southeast/vieques/birdlist.html
title = Vieques Birdlist
format =
work =
pages =
publisher = U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
language =
accessdate = May 21
accessyear = 2006
*"Splitting headaches? Recent taxonomic changes affecting the British and Western Palaearctic lists" - Martin Collinson, British Birds vol 99 (June 2006), 306-323