David Rooks'
Partial Birding List Of The Birds Of Tobago
Tobago is a tiny Caribbean island
located 11ºN 61ºW, or just north of South America, or
the north coast of Venezuela, hence it has acquired the flora
and fauna of that immense and diverse land mass.
The island of Tobago, with 210
bird species in its 116 square mile area has the highest concentration
of species found anywhere. The forest reserve of Tobago is largely
still intact, having been protected since 1776, and there are
two offshore island sanctuaries. Birds are everywhere you look,
on the trees, on overhead power lines, on the road, in gardens,
forests, and the sky is speckled with them.
These are three of the main
habitats we tour as well as other locations, The Main Ridge Forest
Reserve, the Off-Shore Sanctuaries of
Little Tobago and St.Giles Islands, and the mangrove swamps and
marshes. Following is David's list of some of the more common
birds seen in Tobago.
The Main Ridge Forest Reserve
Hummingbirds;
- White-Tailed Sabrewing
- White-Necked Jacobin
- Rufous-Breasted Hermit
- Copper Rumped
- Green-Throat Mango
Other birds seen in
this habitat
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- Blue-Crowned Mot-Mot
- Blue-Backed Manakin
- Crested Oropendola
- Orange-Winged Parrot
- Buff-Throated Woodcreeper
- White-Necked Thrush
- Yellow-Legged Thrush
- Rufous-Breasted Wren
- Rufous-Tailed Jacamar
- Rufous-Vented Chachalaca
- Great Black Hawk
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Little Tobago was declared a
sanctuary in 1926. It is the biggest and is quite easily accessible.
Here one finds many perching birds such as
Off-Shore Sanctuaries
Little Tobago and St.Giles Islands
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- Blue-Grey Tanager
- Tropical Kingbird
- Brown-Crested and Venezuelan
Flycatcher
- Yellow-Bellied Elaenia
- Shiny Cowbird
- White-Tailed Dove
- Pale-Vented Pigeon
- Short-Tailed Swift
- Caribbean Martin
- Tropical Mocking-Bird
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However the real attractions
are the seabirds, many of which nest here.
- Brown and Red-Footed Boobies
- Magnificent Frigate Bird
- Brown Noddy
- Laughing Gull
- Bridled and Sooty Tern
- Audubon Shearwater
- Red-Billed Tropic Bird
Often spotted birds
of prey
- Osprey
- Peregrine Falcon
- Broad-Winged Hawk
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The best birding location is
the Buccoo Marsh which is a mixture of mangroves, reed marsh and
open water. Each marshland has its distinct bird species but there
is also a great deal of overlapping.
The Buccoo Marsh has an incredible variety of avifauna which can
be seen flying, sunning on branches, on the ground or water
Swamps and Marshes
- Anhingas
- Osprey
- Peregrine Falcon
- Merlin
- Red-Crowned Woodpecker
- Green -Rumped Parrotlet
- Crested Oropendola
- Eared Dove
- Blue-Grey Tanager
- Pale-Vented Pigeon
- Black-Bellied Tree Duck
- White-Cheeked Pintail
- Blue-Winged Teal
- Muscovy Duck
- Great Blue and Little Blue
Heron
- Green-Backed Heron
- Great Egret
- Snowy Egret
- Little Egret
- Southern Lapwing
- Plovers
- Sandpipers
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- Prothonatary Warbler
- Ruff
- Jabiru Stork
- Common Gallinule
- Purple Gallinule
- Moorhen
- Wattled Jacana
- Cattle Egret
- Whimbrel
- Ani
- Barred Ant-Shrike
- Scrub Greenlet,
- Copper-Rumped
- Rufous-Breasted Hummingbird
- Black-Throat Mango Hummingbird
- Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird
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Let us take you on an interesting
and scenic hike into Tobago's beautiful natural environment.