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 as the exit of the U.S. Navy from the island, the eastern end of the refuge was established.
There are a total of 196 species recorded from the island of Vieques as of July 2022, according to Bird Checklists of the World. Some species, such as the Puerto Rican parrot, have been extirpated from the island but are, nonetheless, included in this list. This list presents the following information for each species: common and scientific name of each species.
This list is presented in the taxonomic sequence of the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds, 7th edition through the 63rd Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS). Common and scientific names are also those of the Check-list, except that the common names of families are from the Clements taxonomy because the AOS list does not include them.
The following tags have been used to highlight several categories of occurrence:
(A) Accidental (I) Introduced (Ex) Extirpated
Ducks, geese, and waterfowl Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae
Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to special oils.
Common name Species StatusWest Indian whistling-duckDendrocygna arboreaCanada gooseBranta canadensis (A)Blue-winged tealSpatula discorsNorthern shovelerSpatula clypeata (A)American wigeonMareca americana (A)White-cheeked pintailAnas bahamensisLesser scaupAythya affinis (A)Red-breasted merganserMergus serrator (A)Masked duckNomonyx dominicus (A)Ruddy duckOxyura jamaicensis
Guineafowl Order: GalliformesFamily: Numididae
Guineafowls are a group of African seed-eating, ground-nesting birds resembling partridges, but with featherless heads and spangled gray plumage.
Common name Species StatusHelmeted guineafowlNumida meleagris (I)
New World quail Order: GalliformesFamily: Odontophoridae
The New World quails are small, plump terrestrial birds only distantly related to the quails of the Old World, but named for their similar appearance and habits.
Common name Species StatusNorthern bobwhiteColinus virginianus (Ex)
Flamingos Order: PhoenicopteriformesFamily: Phoenicopteridae
Flamingos (genus Phoenicopterus monotypic in family Phoenicopteridae) are gregarious wading birds, usually tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. 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, uniquely, are used upside-down.
Common name Species StatusAmerican flamingoPhoenicopterus ruber (A)
Grebes Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Grebes are small to medium-large 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.
Common name Species StatusLeast grebeTachybaptus dominicusPied-billed grebePodilymbus podiceps
Pigeons and doves Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae
Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.
Common name Species StatusRock pigeonColumba livia (I)Scaly-naped pigeonPatagioenas squamosaWhite-crowned pigeonPatagioenas leucocephalaEurasian collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto (I)Common ground doveColumbina passerinaRuddy quail-doveGeotrygon montanaKey West quail-doveGeotrygon chrysiaBridled quail-doveGeotrygon mystaceaWhite-winged doveZenaida asiaticaZenaida doveZenaida auritaMourning doveZenaida macroura
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. The Old World cuckoos are brood parasites.
Common name Species StatusSmooth-billed aniCrotophaga aniYellow-billed cuckooCoccyzus americanus (A)Mangrove cuckooCoccyzus minorPuerto Rican lizard-cuckooSaurothera vieilloti (A)
Nightjars and allies Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Caprimulgidae
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is cryptically colored to resemble bark or leaves.
Common name Species StatusAntillean nighthawkChordeiles gundlachiChuck-will's-widowAntrostomus carolinensis (A)
Swifts Order: ApodiformesFamily: Apodidae
Swifts are small birds which spend 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 which resemble a crescent or boomerang.
Common name Species StatusWhite-collared swiftStreptoprocne zonaris (A)Chimney swiftChaetura pelagica (A)Antillean palm swiftTachornis phoenicobia (A)
Hummingbirds Order: ApodiformesFamily: Trochilidae
Hummingbirds are small birds capable of hovering in mid-air due to the rapid flapping of their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backwards.
Common name Species StatusPuerto Rican mangoAnthracothorax aurulentus (A)Green-throated caribEulampis holosericeusPuerto Rican emeraldRiccordia maugaeusAntillean crested hummingbirdOrthorhyncus cristatus
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, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers.
Common name Species StatusClapper railRallus crepitansSoraPorzana carolina (A)Common gallinuleGallinula galeataAmerican cootFulica americanaBlack railLaterallus jamaicensis (A)
Stilts and avocets Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Recurvirostridae
Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the avocets and stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills.
Common name Species StatusBlack-necked stiltHimantopus mexicanus
Oystercatchers Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Haematopodidae
The oystercatchers are large, obvious and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs.
Common name Species StatusAmerican oystercatcherHaematopus palliatus
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.
Common name Species StatusBlack-bellied ploverSquatarola squatarolaAmerican golden-ploverPluvialis dominica (A)Wilson's ploverCharadrius wilsoniaSemipalmated ploverCharadrius semipulmatusPiping ploverCharadrius melodus (A)KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
Sandpipers and allies Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Scolopacidae
Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of legs and bills enable multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
Common name Species StatusWhimbrelNumenius phaeopus (A)Hudsonian godwitLimosa haemastica (A)Ruddy turnstoneArenaria interpresRed knotCalidris canutus (A)Stilt sandpiperCalidris himantopusSanderlingCalidris albaLeast sandpiperCalidris minutillaWhite-rumped sandpiperCalidris fuscicollis (A)Pectoral sandpiperCalidris melanotos (A)Semipalmated sandpiperCalidris pusilla (A)Western sandpiperCalidris mauriShort-billed dowitcherLimnodromus griseusWilson's snipeGallinago delicata (A)Spotted sandpiperActitis maculariusSolitary sandpiperTringa solitaria (A)Greater yellowlegsTringa melanoleucaWilletTringa semipalmata (A)Lesser yellowlegsTringa flavipes
Skuas and jaegers Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Stercorariidae
The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants.
Common name Species StatusParasitic jaegerStercorarius parasiticus (A)
Gulls, terns, and skimmers Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds and includes gulls, kittiwakes, terns and skimmers. They are typically gray or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with gray or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 25–30 years.
Common name Species StatusLaughing gullLeucophaeus atricillaHerring gullLarus argentatusLesser black-backed gullLarus fuscus (A)Brown noddyAnous stolidusSooty ternOnychoprion fuscatusBridled ternOnychoprion anaethetusLeast ternSternula antillarumGull-billed ternGelochelidon nilotica (A)Caspian ternHydroprogne caspia (A)Roseate ternSterna dougalliiCommon ternSterna hirundoForster's ternSterna forsteri (A)Royal ternThalasseus maximusSandwich ternThalasseus sandvicensis (A)Black skimmerRynchops niger (A)
Tropicbirds Order: PhaethontiformesFamily: Phaethontidae
Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their long wings have black markings, as does the head.
Common name Species StatusWhite-tailed tropicbirdPhaethon lepturusRed-billed tropicbirdPhaethon aethereus
Shearwaters and petrels Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae
The Procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterized by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
Common name Species StatusCory's shearwaterCalonectris diomedea (A)
Storks Order: CiconiiformesFamily: Ciconiidae
Storks are large, heavy, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long stout bills and wide wingspans. They lack the powder down that other wading birds such as herons, spoonbills, and ibises use to clean off fish slime. Storks lack a pharynx and are mute.
Common name Species StatusWood storkMycteria americana (A)
Frigatebirds Order: SuliformesFamily: Fregatidae
Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black or black-and-white, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have colored inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week.
Common name Species StatusMagnificent frigatebirdFregata magnificens
Boobies and gannets Order: SuliformesFamily: Sulidae