Celebrating Caribbean Birds
The annual event, Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival is going on April 22 through May 22, with activities for folks of all ages being planned across the region. The festival, now in its 15th year, is led by BirdsCaribbean, the largest organization devoted to wildlife conservation in the Caribbean. The month-long festival includes Caribbean-wide activities beginning Earth Day (April 22), through to International Biodiversity Day (May 22), in more than twenty countries. The event celebrates the 173 bird species that are found only in the Caribbean, known as endemics. The highly successful program attracts over 80,000 participants and volunteers each year.
I’ll be updating this page regularly to add stories about my favorite endemic birds of the region, plus fun bird sketching tutorials! In the mean time….
Books I recommend on Caribbean Birds
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several authors during my travels in the Caribbean including those of the excellent bird watching guides below.
Endemic Birds of Cuba: A Comprehensive Field Guide
by Nils Navarro
I met author Nils Navarro in 2015 at the annual BirdsCaribbean conference in Jamaica. He has quickly become one of my favorite bird illustrators for his beautiful paintings of the endemic birds of his island home.The 168-page guide is divided into five chapters: general information about Cuba; species accounts; guide to habitats with photographs of the birds in their habitats; levels of threat; and finally, maps, datasheets and space for notes. Click book image at left to visit its Amazon page.
A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica
by Ann Haynes-Sutton, Audrey Downer, Robert Sutton, Yves-Jacques Rey-Millet
Author Ann Sutton is another author and photographer who I had the pleasure to meet, staying with her in her intimate guest lodge in central Jamaica. Her Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica covers every species and is specially designed for easy, at-a-glance reference in the field. This unique illustrated guide features 650 stunning color photographs as well as detailed species accounts that describe key identification features, voice, habitat, confusion species, status, and distribution. There is also a distribution map for resident and migrant birds. On the bookshelf or in the coat pocket, this is a one-of-a-kind photographic guide to the birds of Jamaica.Click book image at left to visit its Amazon page.
Endemic Birds of the Caribbean
(The term ‘endemic’ refers to a species that only resides in a particular geographic region. It is a more specific term than ‘native’, meaning a species lives naturally in that region, not introduced by man. Thus you might say that the Blue-winged Teal is native in the Caribbean, but it is not endemic to that region, since it only passes by through the area during winter. While the West Indian Whistling-Duck is endemic, spending its whole life in the region.
List of all 173 species of Birds Endemic to the Caribbean region
West Indian Whistling-Duck
Gundlach’s Hawk
Cuban Black Hawk
Ridgway’s Hawk
Zapata Rail
Caribbean Coot
Scaly-naped Pigeon
Plain Pigeon
Ring-tailed Pigeon
Blue-headed Quail-Dove
Crested Quail-Dove
Gray-fronted Quail-Dove
White-fronted Quail-Dove
Key West Quail-Dove
Bridled Quail-Dove
Grenada Dove
Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo
Bay-breasted Cuckoo
Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo
Great Lizard-Cuckoo
Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo
Ashy-faced Owl
Puerto Rican Screech-Owl
Bare-legged Owl
Cuban Pygmy-Owl
Jamaican Owl
Least Pauraque
Greater Antillean Nightjar
Puerto Rican Nightjar
Lesser Antillean Swift
Antillean Palm-Swift
Antillean Mango
Jamaican Mango
Purple-throated Carib
Green-throated Carib
Bahama Woodstar
Vervain Hummingbird
Bee Hummingbird
Cuban Emerald
Hispaniolan Emerald
Puerto Rican Emerald
Blue-headed Hummingbird
Antillean Crested Hummingbird
Streamertail
Cuban Trogon
Hispaniolan Trogon
Cuban Tody
Broad-billed Tody
Narrow-billed Tody
Jamaican Tody
Puerto Rican Tody
Antillean Piculet
Guadeloupe Woodpecker
Puerto Rican Woodpecker
Hispaniolan Woodpecker
Jamaican Woodpecker
West Indian Woodpecker
Cuban Green Woodpecker
Fernandina’s Flicker
Red-necked Parrot
St. Lucia Parrot
Black-billed Parrot
Yellow-billed Parrot
Cuban Parrot
Hispaniolan Parrot
Puerto Rican Parrot
Imperial Parrot
St. Vincent Parrot
Cuban Parakeet
Hispaniolan Parakeet
Jamaican Elaenia
Greater Antillean Elaenia
Cuban Pewee
Jamaican Pewee
Hispaniolan Pewee
Lesser Antillean Pewee
Sad Flycatcher
Grenada Flycatcher
Rufous-tailed Flycatcher
La Sagra’s Flycatcher
Stolid Flycatcher
Puerto Rican Flycatcher
Lesser Antillean Flycatcher
Loggerhead Kingbird
Giant Kingbird
Jamaican Becard
Thick-billed Vireo
San Andres Vireo
Jamaican Vireo
Cuban Vireo
Puerto Rican Vireo
Flat-billed Vireo
Blue Mountain Vireo
Palm Crow
Cuban Crow
White-necked Crow
Jamaican Crow
Golden Swallow
Bahama Swallow
Zapata Wren
Cuban Gnatcatcher
Cuban Solitaire
Rufous-throated Solitaire
White-eyed Thrush
La Selle Thrush
White-chinned Thrush
Red-legged Thrush
Forest Thrush
White-breasted Thrasher
Scaly-breasted Thrasher
Pearly-eyed Thrasher
Brown Trembler
Gray Trembler
Bahama Mockingbird
Palmchat
Bahama Yellowthroat
Whistling Warbler
Plumbeous Warbler
Elfin-woods Warbler
Arrowhead Warbler
Olive-capped Warbler
Bahama Warbler
Vitelline Warbler
Adelaide’s Warbler
Barbuda Warbler
St. Lucia Warbler
White-winged Warbler
Green-tailed Warbler
Yellow-headed Warbler
Oriente Warbler
Lesser Antillean Tanager
Cuban Grassquit
Orangequit
Puerto Rican Bullfinch
Greater Antillean Bullfinch
Lesser Antillean Bullfinch
Barbados Bullfinch
Cuban Bullfinch
Yellow-shouldered Grassquit
St. Lucia Black Finch
Puerto Rican Tanager
Black-crowned Palm-Tanager
Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager
Western Chat-Tanager
Eastern Chat-Tanager
Western Spindalis
Jamaican Spindalis
Hispaniolan Spindalis
Puerto Rican Spindalis
Lesser Antillean Saltator
Zapata Sparrow
Red-shouldered Blackbird
Tawny-shouldered Blackbird
Yellow-shouldered Blackbird
Jamaican Blackbird
Cuban Blackbird
Greater Antillean Grackle
Hispaniolan Oriole
Cuban Oriole
Bahama Oriole
Puerto Rican Oriole
St. Lucia Oriole
Montserrat Oriole
Martinique Oriole
Jamaican Oriole
Jamaican Euphonia
Antillean Euphonia
Hispaniolan Crossbill
Antillean Siskin
