Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Western Spindalis
The Western Spindalis is a colorful songbird that lives year-round in The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Mexico. Males have a bold black and white striped head, burnt orange neck, breast and rump, a black or olive back, and black and white wings. Females are much less colourful—grayish olive above and whitish below. Both sexes have short, thick bills. Plumage color varies throughout its range (there are 5 subspecies).
The Western Spindalis feeds mainly on fruits and berries, but it will also eat other plant parts as well as snails. It can live in many different habitats where it is often found in the tree canopy. This species was formerly called the Stripe-headed Tanager with eight recognized subspecies that included birds in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Jamaica. Based on differences in coloration, vocal behavior, nesting, and size, ornithologists split the species into four Spindalis species in 2000. In addition to the Western Spindalis, we now have the Hispaniolan Spindalis, Puerto Rican Spindalis, and Jamaica Spindalis. They are all strikingly beautiful! Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Western Spindalis!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Western Spindalis
The call of the Western Spindalis is a variable thin and high-pitched trill.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Western Spindalis (Photo by Susan Jacobson)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS & ADULTS: Test your Caribbean geography skills: Can you name all of the islands and island groups in the Caribbean? Here’s your chance to try! Fill out each of the names on the Caribbean Map from the Endemic Colouring Book and, if you can’t remember a few, use our Map Activity Key to refresh your memory and learn some new islands. You can colour in the drawings on these pages too!
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Cuban Tody
The Cuban Tody (called Cartacuba or Pedorrera in Cuba) belongs to an endemic family from the Caribbean, the Todidae Family. The five species of this family are confined to the Greater Antilles—one species each in Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, and two species in Hispaniola. They are among the most remarkable and beautiful birds of these islands. The Cuban Tody (Todus multicolor) is the most colorful of all, and the only one with blue feathers on the sides of the neck. It is a small chubby bird with vivid green upperparts, red throat, mostly white underparts, and pink flanks. The bill is long and flat, red below and dark brown above.
Todies mainly eat insects. They feed by sitting on exposed perches from which they dart out to capture their prey, similar to flycatchers. During flight, a curious whirring rattle may be heard, a sound made with their wings. They are common in forests, woodlands and borders of rivers and streams in the Cuban mainland, Isle of Youth, and several north cays. Their small size and green coloration makes it difficult to see them when perched in vegetation. But they call frequently with a strong repeating chatter, and this makes it easier to find them. Todies have a voracious appetite and can eat almost 40% of their own weight in insects each day! In spring, they build a nest in a tunnel-like hole in banks on the sides of roads, mounds of earth, or natural cavities. The rate at which they feed their chicks is the highest of any recorded insectivorous bird. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Cuban Tody!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Cuban Tody
The call of the Cuban Tody is a strong, fast and sustained tot-tot-tot-tot tottottottottot tot-tot-tot-tot tottottottottot tot tot ppreeee.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Cuban Tody (Photo by Aslam Castellon)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Do you know what the different parts of a bird are called? Knowing them can help you to learn how to describe and identify birds, as well as colour them in. Learn the names for the parts of a bird by checking out the diagram in this page. Then test your knowledge by filling in the parts on this sheet.. You can colour in the drawings on these pages too!
FOR ADULTS: Take a virtual trip to Cuba and enjoy some of the birds, scenery and culture of this marvelous country with this short video on the Birds and Natural Life of Cuba. Thanks to Suzanne Abruzzo, participant in our January 2019 Cuba Bird Tour, for creating and sharing this wonderful video!
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Ridgway’s Hawk
The Ridgway’s Hawk is found only on the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the nations of Haiti and Dominican Republic. It is one of the most Critically Endangered raptors in the world, with fewer than 500 birds remaining. It hunts by maneuvering through the thick forest with the help of its broad wings and long tail, or by perching low to the ground in open areas scanning for prey. It feeds on snakes, as well as lizards and skinks, frogs and toads, small rodents, bats, and birds.
This hawk often builds its nest right on top of an active nest of the Palmchat, the national bird of the Dominican Republic. The hawks add larger twigs on top of the existing Palmchat nest, without causing any harm to the smaller birds nesting below. It’s like a two-story building for birds! The Ridgway’s Hawk is not shy around people and will even nest close to settlements and roads. However, nesting pairs are quick to defend their territory against humans or any other predator—they will vocalize loudly and chase off the intruders.
Since the late 19th century, the Ridgway’s Hawk population has been in steep decline. Much of their native habitat is disappearing through clear-cutting of forests and wildfires. Birds are also shot or chicks taken from the nest and killed as people fear these beautiful hawks will prey on their chickens. Fortunately conservationists at The Peregrine Fund, working in partnership with local communities, are making great progress in saving this species from extinction. BirdsCaribbean is supporting on-the-ground conservation work for this species through its Betty Petersen Conservation Fund. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Ridgway’s Hawk!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Ridgway’s Hawk
The Ridgway’s Hawk call, is a loud, shrill repeated wee-uh.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Adult Ridgway’s Hawk (Photo by Pedro Genaro)Immature Ridgway’s Hawk (Photo by Guillermo Armenteros)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Complete our Ridgway’s Hawk Word Scramble! How many words do you know? If you need help, check out our Glossary for some definitions that will help you figure out this word scramble. And here is a the Answer Key to the puzzle.
FOR ADULTS: Learn more about what is threatening the Ridgway’s Hawk survival and how conservationist Marta Curti and communities in the DR are working to save it, thanks to the Betty Petersen Conservation Fund and The Peregrine Fund. Donate here to support this project and save the hawk for future generations to enjoy!
Members of the community of Los Brazos create a home-made sign that reads “Welcome to Los Brazos. This community protects the Ridgway’s Hawk” to show their support of the conservation projectOur field crew in Los Limones organized the painting of a beautiful mural at the entrance to the community to highlight the importance of conserving Ridgway’s Hawk in the area (Photo by The Peregrine Fund)
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Bridled Quail-Dove
The Bridled Quail-Dove is a mostly orange-brown dove with a white stripe below its eye. Its mournful who whooo call can usually be heard in May during peak breeding season. It is endemic to the West Indies and can be found in forested areas where it forages on the ground for seeds, fruits and the occasional gecko. They use their bill to toss aside leaf litter while searching for food.
It is exciting to see this species because they are quite shy and afraid of humans. If you’re lucky enough to see one, move slowly or stand very still and you may get a glimpse of its shimmering turquoise neck feathers. More often than not, the quail-dove will walk away rather than fly, allowing you a little time to admire its beauty.
The Bridled Quail-Dove is found in the Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Its natural habitats are tropical dry forests or moist lowland forests. It is considered uncommon or rare everywhere in its range and isolated populations are declining. Habitat loss from development and hurricanes threaten this species, as well as predation by cats and rats.
Unfortunately, not much is known about the quail-dove due to its secretive nature, but BirdsCaribbean is working with partners to try to learn more about its status on different islands and how we can help. If you want to help too, you can start by teaching others about this bird, as well as supporting conservation of forests in the Caribbean where it occurs.Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Bridled Quail-Dove!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the song of the Bridled Quail-Dove
The Bridled Quail-Dove call is a mournful who-whooo, on one pitch or descending towards the end, getting loudest in the middle of the second syllable, and then trailing off. Note that there is also a Zenaida Dove calling in this recording; it’s call is coo-oo, coo, coo, coo, the second syllable rising sharply.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Bridled Quail-Doves forage on the forest floor but they frequently perch on rocks or downed tree trunks to rest and preen. (Photo by Hannah Madden)Bridled Quail-dove (Geotrygon mystacea) in the Quill (photo by Hannah Madden)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Complete our All About Birds Crossword Puzzle! How many words do you know? If you need help, check out our Glossary for some definitions that will help you complete this puzzle. And here is a the Answer Key to the puzzle.
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Bananaquit
Sugar Bird, Banana Bird, See-see Bird, Beeny Bird—these are all affectionate nicknames for our beloved Bananaquit. The Bananaquit is a small, friendly songbird found throughout the Caribbean (except mainland Cuba), and parts of Central and South America.
They are distinctive birds with down-curved bills, black upperparts, bright yellow belly, and a conspicuous white eyebrow. Their plumage color varies greatly across the Caribbean, however, with more than 41 recognized subspecies! Features such as the color of the throat (white, gray, or black), length of the bill, and amount of yellow on the belly vary. On Saint Vincent and Grenada, Bananaquits can even be entirely black!
Bananaquits are gregarious and are often found noisily foraging in large groups. Although they occur in nearly all habitats, they are especially common in gardens, parks, and other suburban areas where flowers are abundant. They are energetic birds, flitting from flower to flower in their search for nectar, their main diet. They also eat insects and insect larvae.
The Bananaquit’s nickname, Sugar Bird, comes from its fondness for bowls stocked with sugar, a common method of attracting these birds. Bananaquits can hang upside down to reach the nectar from flowers. And they sometimes “steal” nectar, piercing flowers from the side, to take the nectar without pollinating the plant. Despite this sneaky behavior, we all love this friendly songster; note that it is the logo bird for BirdsCaribbean! Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Bananaquit!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #CEBFFromTheNest
Listen to the song of the Bananaquit
The bananaquit’s song is a rapid series of high-pitched, shrill, unmelodious squeaks which is heard most noisily while foraging in groups.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
The Bananaquit’s main diet is nectar. (Photo by Roger Zachary)Bananaquits feasting on bananas. (Photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Many birds can be recognized by their size, the way they stand or fly, or the shape of their body. Depending on the light, sometimes all you can see is the outlined shape of a bird – this is called a silhouette. Try our bird identification quiz! Try to notice any clues about these silhouettes that may help you figure out what type of bird they are, simply based on their shape! FOR ADULTS: Why are there so many different subspecies of Bananaquits throughout the Caribbean? And how did they become “superstars”? Learn more about this fascinating bird in this fun article published in ZiNG magazine, LIAT Airline’s in-flight magazine. (Birdscaribbean contributes articles on birds and nature to each issue). Download the PDF.
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Antillean Crested Hummingbird
The Antillean Crested Hummingbird is a small iridescent green hummingbird with a short, straight bill. It is easy to identify as it is one of the few hummingbirds with a tall spiky mohawk, that is, crest. The male is brightly colored while the female is more plain and lacks a crest. This hummingbird is a year-round resident throughout the Lesser Antilles (as well as the Virgin Islands and parts of Puerto Rico).
The Antillean Crested Hummingbird can be spotted in open vegetation like parks, plantations, and the borders of forests. It’s a wonderful visitor to backyard gardens. It spends its day visiting flowers to drink nectar. It also eats small insects and spiders. It breeds year-round but mainly from January to August. The nest is a tiny cup of cotton or fine fibers with lichens coating the outside and firmly bound together with spider webs (see photo below). Hummingbirds have to eat all day because it takes a lot of energy to keep their wings flapping so fast (up to 80 beats per second!). Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Antillean Crested Hummingbird!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Antillean Crested Hummingbird
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzles as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Photo by Matt Elliott)Antillean Crested Hummingbird on nest (Photo by Howard Nelson)
FOR ADULTS: On this Earth Day, 50th Anniversary celebration, learn about key native plants that are beneficial to native and migratory birds with our eBook: Heritage Plants: Native Trees and Plants for Birds and People in the Caribbean. The plants highlighted in this book are perfect for backyard gardens, neighborhood landscaping, and other habitat restoration projects big and small. Browse the book, get inspired, and find new plants to grow in your backyard! Check with your local Forestry Department as they may have some of these plants available at no cost. Available in both English and Spanish!
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: West Indian Whistling-Duck
The West Indian Whistling-Duck (WIWD) is a tall, graceful, mostly brown duck with a beautiful haunting call. It is endemic to the West Indies and can be found in different wetland habitats, like salt ponds, mangroves, marshes, swamps, rice fields, and palm savannas. It is always a thrill to see this species because they often remain hidden during the day, roosting in mangrove trees or other vegetation. They become active at sunset when they fly around to different wetlands to feed.
This duck was once common, but populations are now very small and isolated on each island. Destruction of wetland habitats, illegal hunting, and invasive predators (like mongoose) have all contributed to the decline of this species. The gorgeous WIWD is the flagship species for wetlands conservation and education efforts by BirdsCaribbean and partners. You can help save this species by reporting illegal hunting, teaching others about this bird, and supporting conservation of mangroves, ponds and marshes on your island. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the West Indian Whistling-Duck!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the WIWD
The call of the WIWD is a shrilly whistled Chiriria, which is the origin of one of its Spanish names.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Close-up of the beautiful West Indian Whistling-Duck (photo by Ray Robles)Two West Indian Whistling-Ducks having a rainwater drink in Antigua (photo by Nick Hollands)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS! Learn about what makes a bird a bird, and play Bird Spy Bingo in your backyard. Parents – some great activities for your kids to help them enjoy and learn about nature in your own backyard. Do one or all of the activities described in this lesson. Print the Bird Spy Bingo game and play with the whole family!
Sharpen your pencils and prepare your paints, everyone!
The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) is just around the corner. This year, much of it will be celebrated virtually, as we continue to experience unusual challenges at this time. Nevertheless, BirdsCaribbean has a special surprise for young (and not so young!) bird enthusiasts: a beautiful 64-page Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book.
Back and Front Covers of the Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book
“We will be shipping out boxes, free of charge, to our partners to use in their education programs on birds and nature — and of course for their Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) celebrations,” noted Lisa Sorenson, Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean. “Due to the current difficult situation, we realize that the usual exciting CEBF events will not be possible and distribution of the colouring books will be delayed. In the meantime, we will share some pages online with everyone as part of our celebration of CEBF at home.”
With delicate, detailed wildlife drawings by naturalist, educator, and illustrator Christine Elder, and informative text by writer Mark Yokoyama, the book offers children of all ages the opportunity to learn interesting facts while learning the techniques of colouring the birds’ vibrant plumage.
Barbuda Warbler and Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo Colouring Pages
The Colouring Book includes 50 endemic birds, with a focus on the most vulnerable, widespread, and colorful species. The front cover has an extra page that folds in and provides a Colouring Key to all 50 birds. There are also colouring tips, and background information on endemic birds, the threats they face, and how kids can help. At the end of the book there are Activity pages and a Glossary.
Colouring Tips and Colouring Key
BirdsCaribbean is working on preparing the Spanish version of the colouring book — it should be ready within a few weeks’ time. The French version will follow soon after that.
“Kids are often amazed to learn that there are birds and other animals that live only on their island,” commented our writer, Mark. “These birds, and this book, can help them discover how special their home is.”
Artist Christine Elder said, “It was an honor to work with BirdsCaribbean to illustrate these beautiful endemic birds. I’m confident that this book will serve as a valuable tool for conservation and I look forward to seeing the children’s drawings.”
“BirdsCaribbean wishes to thank the U.S. Forest Service International Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and BirdsCaribbean members for their tremendous support for this project,” said Lisa Sorenson. “This Colouring Book has been a dream of ours for quite a long time. It was delayed by pressing issues, such as our urgent work on hurricane relief the past several years. We are so proud of the final product. We hope our partners and the public they serve will enjoy using it as a fun educational tool, and we look forward to receiving feedback.”
Help us get these books to children across the islands!
We are short on funds to ship this book to 25+ Caribbean countries as well as funding to print the Spanish and French versions. If you would like to help, please click here. No donation is too small!!
How to obtain copies of Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book
If you are an educator working for an NGO or government in the Caribbean and would like to receive one or more boxes of the coloring book, please fill out this form. To save on shipping costs, we are aiming to limit the number of shipments per country. We ask for help with distribution by a local institution to NGOs and governmental ministries for use at bird and nature education events.
You can download the colouring book for free on our Resources page.
If you would like to purchase a copy of the coloring book (US$7.99 + shipping), we anticipate that we will be able to ship you the book by the end of April. At this time, we can easily sell only to customers in the U.S. or Canada, and in small quantities (e.g., 6 or less). (Customers in other countries, or in need of large quantities, should contact Lisa Sorenson).
You can purchase up to 6 copies of the book via PayPal using the menus below (PayPal will add the shipping). If you prefer to purchase via check, please make the check out to BirdsCaribbean and mail to: BirdsCaribbean, 841 Worcester St. #130, Natick, MA 01760. On your check, indicate the total number of books you would like and calculate the total cost for the books plus shipping by referring to the chart below.
There is a $1 discount for paid-up (2020) BirdsCaribbean members; if you wish to join BirdsCaribbean, click here. If you need to renew your membership, click here. If you are not sure of your membership status, please contact our Membership Manager, Delores Kellman).
Aliya Hosein shares about her recent trip to Saint Vincent to learn more about the endemic St. Vincent Parrot, one of the most beautiful and colorful parrots in the region!
St Vincent Parrot (Photo by Nandani Bridglal)
I recently enjoyed an exciting trip to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I spent nine days on this wonderful, mountainous island; and I can certainly say that St. Vincent Parrots (Amazona guildingii), flying over the lush ridges at Jennings Valley, was the most memorable sight of all.
I spent months preparing for this trip. I carefully planned lodging and flights and made endless calls to my friend Cathlene Trumpet, who is a Forestry Officer with over fifteen years of service to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Forestry Department. Among the questions I asked her were “Who sells the best burgers and donuts on the island?” and “Where should I go to see the parrots?” Then it was time to leave Trinidad and fly towards my adventure.
Cathlene and I met through the Conservation Leadership in the Caribbean (CLiC) Fellowship Program. For 18 months we worked on an intense, sometimes hilarious, and occasionally scary project on the illegal trade in Blue and Gold Macaws in Trinidad. I remember being in awe as Cathlene related stories about the national campaign to build pride among Vincentians for their endemic parrot. Later, I flipped through my “Parrots of the World” book to find a picture of it.
In the past the St. Vincent Parrot, locally called the Vincie Parrot, was targeted for the local and international pet bird trade because of its beauty and rarity. Although St. Vincent and the Grenadines is made up of over 32 major islands, the St. Vincent Parrot is found only on the mainland of St. Vincent. Poaching and hurricanes, from colonial times to the present day, are still significant threats to the parrot’s habitat. These pressures have resulted in it being listed as Vulnerableon the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and in Appendix I by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). It is estimated that there are only 850 St. Vincent Parrots in the wild.\
How Gorgeous is the St. Vincent Parrot!
Saint Vincent Amazon in flight (Photo by Nandani Bridglal)
This parrot lives mainly in the upper west and east ridges of the central mountain range, just south of Mount Soufriére and the La soufriére volcano at elevations between 125 to 1,000m. It is a large parrot, certainly larger than the Orange-winged Amazon (Amazona amazonica) I am used to seeing in Trinidad. About 40 cm long, it is mostly bronze-brown, multi-colored with yellowish white, blue and green head, greenish-bronze upperparts. It has grey feet, reddish eye, and violet blue-green wings. Its tail feathers are centrally banded violet-blue with broad yellow tips. Two morphs exist: a yellow-brown morph and a less common green morph. Male and female birds are similar. The parrot feeds on the flowers, nuts, fruits and seeds of many plants such as Ficus, Clusia and Cecropia.
There Is More to Be Learned
At the breeding facility at the Botanic Garden (Photo by Cathlene Trumpet)
Before making the trek up into the moist montane forest to see the parrots, I had the pleasure of meeting the Director of the Forestry Department, Mr. Fitzgerald Providence. Initially I was intimidated by his title and stacks of reports on his desk. But once we settled down in his office, I was relieved to find out that he was delightfully welcoming and eager to tell me about St. Vincent.
We chatted about the island’s biodiversity; about flora and fauna both known and waiting to be discovered. He had noticed that the feeding habits of the parrots were changing. The parrots are now visiting agricultural areas on the island. He attributed this change to the influence of climate change on fruiting patterns of the parrot’s natural food plants. In general, however, he felt that much was still to be known about the St. Vincent Amazon. This parrot was proving to be quite mysterious. I was hooked and more than ever wanted to see them in the wild.
Afterwards we visited the Botanical Garden of Saint Vincent where there is a breeding facility for the parrots. The breeding program was established to provide a safety net for the parrots should there be a sudden decline in the wild parrot population following, for example, a hurricane.
An Early Morning Start
The next morning, Cathlene, Ray – her fellow Forestry Officer – my friend Nandani and I headed to Georgetown in a 4-wheel drive along the winding highway. It was five in the morning and people were already up and moving. The radio was airing an announcement to farmers and a reminder of the soon-to-be closed hunting season. We stopped to pick up Ian, another Forestry Officer, before continuing along the highway.
Sunrise over Jennings Valley (Photo by Nandani Bridglal)
After about 20 minutes we ventured off into a narrow rugged road leading to Jennings Valley. We arrived at a farmed property with a small cottage. The sun was now beginning to rise and I really did not expect to see or hear any parrots. About 10 minutes into our uphill walk to the look-out point we heard their loud squawks “quaw….quaw…quaw” followed by shrieking “scree-ree- lee.” It was enough to stop us in our tracks. Pairs of parrots were emerging from the ridges north of us. It was still too dark and all we saw were their silhouettes.
As the sun began to rise more parrots began flying out, sometimes directly above us. I was mesmerized by the many colours of the St. Vincent Parrot in the sunlight, against an all-green backdrop. At times it seemed as though the pairs were touching each others’ wings while flying. The largest flock we saw was a group of twelve. They were all squawking, possibly deciding where to go to have breakfast. By now we had reached the look-out; a plateau with mountain views on the northern, western and southern sides and the deep blue Atlantic Ocean on the eastern side.
The Group, Gosfield Charles, Cathlene Trumpet Wyllie, Aliya Hosein, lan Christopher, and Ray Charles, at Jennings Valley (Photo by Nandani Bridglal)
For about an hour or so we continued to see parrots flying over. Only one pair flew down into a golden apple (Spondias dulcis) tree near the cottage. I could not see what they were doing from my vantage point, but my guess is that they were feeding, because they were very quiet. A flock of three flew over us. Ian suggested it was a family in which the parents, with their stocky bodies and short tails, were leading the way, with their offspring straggling behind. After this sighting there was a lull in activity. The parrots either rested at the top of the trees or disappeared into the trees along the mountain ridges. We waited for about an hour again before leaving.
It really was a remarkable experience seeing the St. Vincent Parrots flying free, with people who truly appreciated their beauty. Nevertheless there is still a lot to learn about these birds’ ecology and their role in the island’s montane forests. Not much is known beyond its population estimate and description of nesting sites. An understanding of its habitat requirements and reproductive biology are critical components of well-developed protective measures to ensure the long-term survival of this incredible bird on the island.
Article by Aliya Hosein, member of BirdsCaribbean’s Media Working Group. Aliya works as the Leader of the Welfare and Wildlife Program at the Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago. She is a biologist and avid conservationist, especially fond of parrots and hummingbirds.
Trinidad is home to 18 species of hummingbirds – we are all envious of this diversity! Aliya Hosein shares a folk tale of the role these birds played in the creation of one of Trinidad’s natural wonders—The Pitch Lake—and also some amazing natural history facts about these tiny but mighty birds.
Glittering-throated Emerald (photo by David Huggins)
Most cultures around the world have superstitious beliefs, some of which involve birds. In Trinidad and Tobago—and possibly the entire Caribbean region—birds were thought to be messengers of the gods or representation of the gods themselves. Hummingbirds, in particular, were revered by Amerindian tribes. It is reported by historians that Amerindians first named Trinidad, Iere (or Kairi, Caeri) for the hummingbird yerette (or ierette).
These birds are also featured in the story of origin of one of Trinidad’s natural wonders: The Pitch Lake. The Pitch Lake is located in the village of La Brea in southwest Trinidad and covers 100 acres. At its centre it is about 250 feet deep. This Lake is the world’s largest commercial deposit of natural asphalt. It sluggishly replenishes itself causing a “stirring” action in the lake which causes trees and other objects to appear, disappear and re-emerge!
The Pitch Lake was believed to be covered by lush green forest inhabited by an Amerindian tribe. On one day a rival tribe made a sudden attack but the warriors fought with all their might to protect their land. The rival tribe surrendered and left the village as quickly as they could. Only a few huts were damaged.
The tribe was overcome with joy. They wanted to celebrate, but, since the unexpected attack prevented them from hunting that day, they feasted on hummingbirds. They plucked the shimmering feathers off the tiny birds and adorned their own bodies. They carried on with their celebrations paying no attention to their belief that these sacred hummingbirds held the spirits of their ancestors.
White-tailed Sabrewing (Photo by Steve Laycock)
As retribution for their evil deed, the hummingbird gods opened up the ground beneath the village and summoned a lake of pitch that swallowed everything, including the people! The hummingbirds, however, were spared and can now be found throughout the island.
Trinidad and Tobago is home to 18 dazzling species of hummingbirds. Most recently the Glittering-throated Emerald (Amazilia fimbriata) was sighted in the country’s Northern Range bumping the total up to an unofficial 19.
Hummingbirds make up their own bird family. They are tiny, about as heavy as a pack of gum. They have long, narrow bills to sip nectar. Their wings are sabre-shaped for precise flight control. Males, and sometimes females, have small, reflective, colourful feathers on the throat and upper chest. The true intensity of these colours are seen when the hummingbird turns its head to catch the sunlight.
Glittering-throated Emerald (Photo by David Huggins)
Despite being the smallest of birds, they have been built to live an extraordinary life. As expected, small birds mean small eggs. Hummingbirds lay eggs as tiny as peas in equally tiny cup-shaped nests made from spider webs and leaves. After mating, the female protects and cares for the eggs and chicks by herself.
Hummingbirds have powerful down- and up-beat wing flaps. They are tremendously agile fliers; they are the only vertebrates capable of staying in one place during flight and flying backward and upside-down as well. To the flying acrobatics add speed: their wings beat about 70 times per second in direct flight, and more than 200 times per second while diving.
Tufted Coquette (Photo by Luke Seitz)
In order to maintain their fast-paced lifestyle, hummingbirds must be able to locate reliable sources of nectar from flowering plants. This explains why their movements are often tied to the changing pattern of flower production over time and space.
Interestingly, hummingbirds do not forage or fend off predators together. They will instead compete with each other for nectar, which explains the hullabaloo around flowering gardens or bird feeders. However, they do have very good reasons for being obnoxious and feisty around flowering plants.
Flowers take time to produce nectar. Hummingbirds therefore wait to feed at flowers in order to lower the risk of losing a tasty meal to other hummingbirds. In areas where many species live together the largest tries to defend small territories where they know they can get the biggest sips of nectar. Since nectar is low in protein, they switch from flowers to insects during the breeding season. They catch small flying insects by hovering in mid-air which are then fed to their growing chicks. If hummingbirds cannot find enough food, they go into a sleep-like state in which their metabolism slows down and body temperature drops to conserve energy.
White-chested Emerald (Photo by Mark Hulme)
Unfortunately, as human settlements continue to expand, the flowers that hummingbirds prefer are disappearing. The good news is that by planting the right plants (for example: trumpet bush, vervain, powderpuff, and torch lily) in your yard and providing sugar water in hummingbird feeders, you help replace lost food sources.
And you can still help the hummingbirds, even if you are not the ‘gardening’ type, by drinking Bird Friendly certified coffee. When coffee is grown under a diverse canopy of shade trees, coffee plants, the trees that shade them, and the plants that grow on the trees provide a buffet of flowers for these birds and other wildlife that depend upon them.
Hummingbird species recorded in Trinidad and Tobago:
Glittering-throated Emerald (Photo by David Huggins)
Amethyst Woodstar (Calliphlox amethystina)
Copper-rumped Hummingbird (Amazilia tobaci): its subspecies if found only on Tobago
White- chested Emerald (Amazilia brevirostris)
Blue-tailed Emerald (Chlorostilbon mellisugus)
Blue-chinned Sapphire (Chlorestes notata)
White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora)
Black-throated Mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis)
Green-throated Mango (Anthracothorax viridigula)
White-tailed Goldenthroat (Polytmus guainumbi)
Long-billed Starthroat (Heliomaster longirostris)
Ruby Topaz (Chrysolampis mosquitus): annual visitor to Trinidad
Tufted Coquette (Lophornis ornatus): the lightest hummingbird recorded for Trinidad
Green Hermit (Phaethornis guy)
Rufous-breasted Hermit (Glaucis hirsutus)
Little Hermit (Phaethornis longuemareus)
Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae)- favours high altitudes
Rufous Shafted Woodstar (Chaetocercus jourdanii)
White-tailed Sabrewing (Campylopterus ensipennis): listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN, found only on Tobago and Venezuela
Article by Aliya Hosein, member of BirdsCaribbean’s Media Working Group. Aliya works as the Leader of the Welfare and Wildlife Program at the Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago. She is a biologist and avid conservationist, especially fond of parrots and hummingbirds.
The Sooty Tern is abundant on Dog Island near Anguilla. (Photo by Farah Mukhida)
How to spot it:
Known locally as the ‘egg bird’, the Sooty Tern is Anguilla’s most abundant seabird. It is named for its strikingly dark black upperparts, which contrast with white underparts. It has a thin, black bill and legs, long wings and deeply forked tail. A conspicuous white forehead patch extends to the eye. Males and females look similar, even when they are not breeding, and their black napes turn greyish. Juveniles have a blackish-brown head and chest, and upperparts that are speckled with white.
Where to find it:
Sooty Terns occur in tropical oceans, breeding in huge, noisy colonies on rocky islands and cays throughout the equatorial zone. They spend most of their lives over the open ocean, rarely landing. After fledging from their nests, they will not return to land for several years. Between May and August, breeding sooties tend to return to their birthplace, scraping out nests on the ground and laying one egg, sometimes under low-lying scrub vegetation. The best place in Anguilla to see these birds – over 130,000 pairs of them – is on Dog Island, a 205-hectare privately owned offshore cay.
What does it eat?
Wandering over the open ocean, Sooty Terns eat small pelagic fish and squid, grabbing their prey from near the surface of the water and eating while in flight. They often feed over large predatory fish, especially tuna. Fishers often look for flocks of these birds, a sure sign of excellent fishing grounds.
Global status:
Sooty Terns have a large, wide-ranging global population. As with all seabirds, their populations are impacted by threats on water and land. They are especially vulnerable to oil pollution and spills and the reduction of tuna populations as they depend on these larger fish to bring smaller ones to the surface. On land, predation of eggs and chicks by introduced species like rats and cats, egg collecting, and human development on offshore cay nesting habitats has caused serious declines.
The Ruddy Turnstone travels amazing distances each year. (Photo by Anthony Levesque)
How to spot it: This stocky shorebird is identified, in its breeding plumage, by its reddish-brown
back, black bib, orange legs and small pointed bill. A striking white-and-dark pattern on its wings, back and tail is visible in flight. The colors on adults in winter plumage and young birds are duller, but the same pattern is retained. Turnstones have a variety of calls, including a loud, nasal cuck-cuck-cuck, increasing in volume.
Where to find it:
Ruddy Turnstone can be found on our beaches, mudflats, pond edges, and both sandy and rocky coasts. It is one of 40 to 50 shorebird species recorded in the Caribbean. It is an amazing long-distance migrant, since it breeds in the Arctic tundra and winters as far south as Argentina. In the West Indies, it is observed mainly from August to May, on our beaches and lagoons. Yearlings stay in our islands in June and July because they reproduce only in their second year.
What does it eat?
Turnstones are named for their method of feeding, in which they walk along the beach, deftly overturning small stones and pebbles and seizing the invertebrate food items hiding underneath. They also dig holes in the sand, often larger than themselves, in pursuit of burrowing crustaceans.
Global status:
Ruddy Turnstone has a global distribution and its populations are stable, but, as with many other shorebirds, it is threatened by the destruction of coastal habitats from development and pollution.
A peregrine Falcon surveys his domain. (photo by Anthony Levesque)
How to spot it:
The Peregrine Falcon is a powerful and fast-flying large crow-size falcon. It’s dark grey above and cream-colored with dark brown bars below. Pointed wings, long, narrow tail and rapid pigeon like flight identify it on the wing. When perched, its mask-like head pattern is distinctive. Immatures are brown above, cream-coloured with heavy brown streaks below.
Where to find it:
An uncommon-to-rare migratory bird, it can be found throughout the West Indies primarily from October to April in coastal areas, offshore cays and rocks, woodlands, forests and cities. One breeding record exists for Cuba and another for Dominica. Peregrines are among the most widespread bird species in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica and on many oceanic islands.
What does it eat?
Peregrine Falcon eat mostly birds, especially flocking doves, waterfowl, songbirds, waders and pigeons. They take birds on the wing, usually while flying low to the ground and surprising their prey from behind as they take off. Peregrines also dive on prey from high above, striking with their feet. They are said to be the fastest animal in the world, reaching speeds over 320 km/h (200 mph) or more during hunting dives.
Global status:
Peregrine populations crashed in 1950-1970 due to the use of pesticides, especially DDT, and it was declared an Endangered Species. Following the ban on DDT in the early 1970s, protection of nesting places, and releases of captive-bred birds to the wild, the species recovered enough to be removed from the Endangered Species List in 1999 – a conservation success story!
The Whimbrel has a long, curved bill that is perfect for pulling fiddler crabs from their burrows. (Photo by Mark Yokoyama)
How to spot it:
Whimbrel are a large plain grey-brown shorebird, but its long down-curved bill and strong black head stripes are distinctive. Look for these waders in shallow wetlands and mudflats.
Where to find it:
Each fall thousands of Whimbrels fly from their breeding grounds in the Arctic to their winter homes in the Caribbean and coast of South America. These long-distance migrants may fly non-stop over the ocean to countries such as Guyana. Others stop at wetlands in the Dominican Republic, Virgin Islands, Trinidad and other islands where they spend the winter, or “refuel” before continuing south.
What does it eat?
Whimbrels use their long curved bills to probe deep into the soft mud for fiddler crabs, their primary winter food. They also eat fish, aquatic worms and insects. In their northern breeding grounds they add berries and even flowers to their diets.
Global status:
This species is declining in numbers, mostly due to destruction of its coastal habitats. In recent years scientists have been learning about the migration of Whimbrels by fitting them with small satellite transmitters. In 2009-2010, a bird named “Hope” was tracked and discovered to have a round-trip migration of 14,170 miles (22,800 km), from her breeding grounds in northwest Canada to her winter home at Great Pond, St Croix, US Virgin Islands.
Bananaquit by Andrew DobsonThe Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) is featured on BirdsCaribbean’s new logo, as chosen by our members.
How to spot it:
This small, friendly and ubiquitous songbird has a sharp, curved bill, black head and upperparts with a white eyestripe, gray throat and yellow underparts. However, there is high colour variability across its range. On Grenada and St Vincent some birds are mostly black. Often heard chattering with a high-pitched squeaking.
Where to find it:
This very active bird is easily-recognised in gardens where it can become quite tame. Its’ attraction to sugar resulted in its widespread local name of sugarbird. Common in nearly all habitats, but less frequent or absent from mangrove, mountain tops and very dry lowlands. Most often found near flowering plants, where it moves rapidly between flowers.
The Western Spindalis is a colorful songbird that lives year-round in The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Mexico. Males have a bold black and white striped head, burnt orange neck, breast and rump, a black or olive back, and black and white wings. Females are much less colourful—grayish olive above and whitish below. Both sexes have short, thick bills. Plumage color varies throughout its range (there are 5 subspecies).
FOR KIDS & ADULTS: Test your Caribbean geography skills: Can you name all of the islands and island groups in the Caribbean? Here’s your chance to try! Fill out each of the names on the Caribbean Map from the Endemic Colouring Book and, if you can’t remember a few, use our Map Activity Key to refresh your memory and learn some new islands. You can colour in the drawings on these pages too!
FOR KIDS: Complete our 
