BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES This page intentionally left blank BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith, and Janis Raffaele Principal Illustrators: Tracy Pedersen and Kristin Williams Supporting Illustrators: Cynthie Fisher, Don Radovich, and Bart Rulon Princeton University Press Princeton and Oxford DEDICATION To the people of the Caribbean Islands and the conservation of the unique avifauna which is their heritage. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors, artists, and publishers would like to express their gratitude to the following organizations for providing sponsorship and support in the production of this book: World Wildlife Fund U.S., National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service. ARTIST CREDITS Tracy Pedersen: 1–3, 6 (Franklin’s Gull), 8 (Black Noddy), 10–14, 15 (Wood Sandpiper), 16 (Curlew Sandpiper), 19 (Common Greenshank), 22, 23 (except grebes), 24 (Orinoco Goose), 25–7, 35, 39–41, 44–58, 60 (thrushes), 61–2, 65–6, 69 (Townsend’s Warbler), 83–4, 86 (Tawny-shouldered Blackbird, Yellow-shouldered Blackbird), 91–2, 94 (Swamp Sparrow, Northern Wheatear). Kristin Williams: 4, 5, 6 (exc. Franklin’s Gull), 7, 8 (exc. Black Noddy), 9, 23 (only grebes), 24 (exc. Orinoco Goose), 31–4, 36–8, 42–3, 59, 60 (solitaires), 63–4, 80–2, 85, 86 (exc. Tawny-shouldered Blackbird, Yellow-shouldered Blackbird), 87–90, 93, 94 (exc. Swamp Sparrow, Northern Wheatear). Don Radovich: 67–8, 69 (exc. Townsend’s Warbler), 70–9. Cynthie Fisher: 15 (exc. Wood Sandpiper), 16 (exc. Curlew Sandpiper), 17–8, 19 (exc. Common Green- shank), 20–1. Bart Rulon: 28–30. Copyright © 2003 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press 41 William Street Princeton, New Jersey 08540 Plates and illustrations copyright © 2003, 1998 by Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith, Janis Raffaele, Tracy Pedersen, Kristin Williams, Roman Company, Christopher Cox, Cynthie Fisher, Don Radovich, Bart Rulon All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Birds of the West Indies/Herbert Raffaele … [et al.] ; principal illustrators, Tracy Pedersen and Kristin Williams. p. cm.—(Princeton field guides) Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-691-11319-X (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Birds—West Indies—Identification. I. Raffaele, Herbert A. II. Series. QL688.A1B47 2003 598'.09729—dc21 2003041865 This book has been composed in Galliard (main text) and MetaPlus (headings and labeling) Printed on acid-free paper. www.pupress.princeton.edu Edited and designed by D & N Publishing, Hungerford, Wiltshire, UK Printed in Italy by EuroGrafica 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Introduction 7 Species Accounts and Color Plates 16 SEABIRDS 16 HERONS AND OTHER LONG-LEGGED WADERS 34 MARSHBIRDS AND WATERFOWL 58 HAWKS, OWLS, AND NIGHTJARS 76, 100 GAMEBIRDS AND PIGEONS; PARROTS AND CUCKOOS; SWIFTS, HUMMINGBIRDS, TROGONS, TODIES, KINGFISHERS, AND WOODPECKERS 84, 106 FLYCATCHERS 118 CROWS, SWALLOWS, GNATCATCHERS, THRUSHES, THRASHERS, AND MOCKINGBIRDS 126 VIREOS AND WARBLERS 144 EUPHONIAS, HONEYCREEPERS, TANAGERS, ORIOLES, AND BLACKBIRDS 174 FINCH-LIKE BIRDS 188 Selected References 204 Index of English and Scientific Names 206 90° 80° 70° 60° Grand Bahama I. Great Abaco I. THE WEST INDIES GULF OF FLORIDA BAHAMA New The area within the dotted line is Eleuthera I. Tropic of Providence I. the faunal region covered in this guide Cancer MEXICO ISLANDS Tropic of Nassau Cancer Andros Cat I. 0 100 200 300 400 500 Miles Islands Salvador I. Habana Rum G Exuma I. 0 200 400 600 800 1000 Km R Long I. C E Mayayuana I. U A T Acklin I. B E R Caicos Is. ° A Great 20° 20 N Isle of Turks Is. A Inagua T Pines A A N Isla T I L s C Little Tortue I. L E n a Cozumel S a m a . U Cayman u o ad lla n I J h g ui rti w Y Cayman Santiago T e g a e PUERTO n . n M lom Grand de Cuba HAITI DOMINICAN a t n . ho Brac RICO S S A A t rt Cayman REPUBLIC S Ba t. Saba S Barbuda Santo s Swan Is. Mona ix tiu BELIZE JAMAICA Port-au Domingo ro ta itts Antigua Kingston C us K is Prince St. E t. ev t Désirade las de la Bahia H A t. S N rra Is C I S O L S se P A N I nt pe Marie Galante GUATEMALA A o lou M de Domínica R ua HONDURAS I B G Martinique B LESSER E St. Lucia A N ANTILLES EL SALVADOR S E A St. Vincent Barbados NICARAGUA Grenadines Providencia Carriacou San Andrés Aruba Curaçao Grenada ° Bonaire Isla Margarita Tobago 10 10° Trinidad COSTA PACIFIC RICA A I OCEAN M N A A B A M VENEZUELA P O 90° L O 80° C 70° 60° INTRODUCTION GOAL The primary goal of this guide is to promote an interest in birds among the local people of the Caribbean islands. It is only when people appreciate and respect their birdlife that they ever come to protect it. The book also aims to facilitate the study of West Indian birds by both novice and professional alike. GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE The West Indies are taken to include all islands of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Lesser Antilles, San Andrés and Providencia. Omitted are Trinidad and Tobago and other islands off the north coast of South Amer- ica. Though Trinidad and Tobago appear contiguous to the Lesser Antilles, their origins, and consequently their birdlife, are entirely different. SPECIES COVERAGE The text presents accounts of 564 bird species known to occur in the West Indies. Species included in the book are those for which there exist a minimum of either two specimens or photographs from the region, or six separate sight records by reliable observers. Several species considered by some to be extinct are included in the book. We have cho- sen to do this firstly because there is always a chance that a bird thought to be extinct might be rediscovered after many years of going undetected. The Puerto Rican Nightjar is one example. Collected in 1888, the species went undetected for 73 years until being rediscov- ered in 1961. One can only hope that this will also be the case for the Jamaican Petrel, which occupies remote precipices and is entirely nocturnal during its brief stint on land. Second- ly, it is important to remember what we have lost, or are about to lose. Our hope is that this book will encourage a greater appreciation of what we still have, an awareness of its fragili- ty, and a wider recognition that extinction is irreversible. Numerous other bird species have become extinct in the West Indies during historic time. At least 15 species of parrot alone fall into this category. These birds are not included in this book. TAXONOMY Much more work remains to be carried out before the taxonomy of West Indian birds is ade- quately understood. Recent studies have revised the tanager Spindalis from what was formerly considered to be one very variable species into four distinct ones. Contemporaneous research suggests that the two indigenous Contopus flycatchers should be split into six species, and that the Palm Crow be divided into Hispaniolan and Cuban species. Additional work is under way on several other bird groups. In general, for the purpose of this guide, the authors followed the taxonomy and use of common names proposed in the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) Checklist of North American Birds (1998). There are a few exceptions. We divided the Lesser Antillean Pewee into three species: the Lesser Antillean, St Lucia, and Puerto Rican Pewee. We based our decision upon revisions in progress which, we feel, justify the split and have strong potential to be adopted by the AOU’s classification and nomenclature commit- tee. A few English common names were also changed to better represent certain species. An example is the substitution of the name Rose-throated Parrot for the long-standing, but inac- curate, Cuban Parrot. This change was made to eliminate the implication that this parrot is unique to Cuba when, in fact, it is a flagship species of the Bahamas and Cayman Islands. Efforts to conserve these parrots are not enhanced by such a misnomer. USING THE GUIDE SPECIES ACCOUNTS These have been kept brief in order to fit opposite the bird illustrations. To a large extent they follow the sequence used by the AOU. However, in some cases, particularly among marine and aquatic birds, species have been grouped according to similarity of appearance to help facilitate comparison. 8 INTRODUCTION DESCRIPTIVE PARTS OF A BIRD cheek eyebrow uppertail- scapulars patch stripe coverts nape crown rump wing bars back eye-line eye-ring lores outertail feathers chin secondaries mustache primaries stripe throat undertail coverts breast abdomen side flank belly ( = male & = female WING FROM ABOVE bend of wing wing- coverts primaries WING FROM BELOW secondaries speculum scapulars wing lining primaries underwing- coverts axillaries (wingpit) secondaries INTRODUCTION 9 IDENTIFICATION Size is a basic tool in bird identification. Where length varies, because of the presence or absence of tail plumes for example, several measurements are provided. Only salient field marks are presented. These are key features to look for when identify- ing the bird. No attempt is made to describe the species comprehensively since this is bet- ter discerned in the plates. Most field marks pertain to plumage, but they do sometimes include peculiar habits such as tail-bobbing. Plumages which vary by age, sex, or season are differentiated. So are variations when a species differs substantially among islands. For species that occur in the West Indies for only a part of the year, the plumage most likely to be seen is presented first, with the least likely plumage presented last.