Trinidad & Tobago
September 21 - October 1, 1990
Leader: Bill Murphy
TINAMOU
Little Tinamou (heard only)
GREBES
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
TROPICBIRD
Red-billed Tropicbird
BOOBIES
Brown Booby
PELICAN
Brown Pelican
FRIGATEBIRD
Magnificent Frigatebird
BITTERNS & HERONS
Pinnated Bittern (a difficult species; Nariva Swamp)
Great Blue Heron (Bon Accord Swamp, where rare)
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Egret (on both islands, accidental anywhere in the Western Hemisphere)
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green-backed Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
IBISES
Scarlet Ibis (thousands, and one even in Tobago)
DUCKS & GEESE
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
White-cheeked Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler (one of the great rarities of the trip)
NEW WORLD VULTURES
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
OSPREY, HAWKS, & EAGLES
Osprey
American Swallow-tailed Kite
Pearl Kite
Double-toothed Kite
Plumbeous Kite
White Hawk
Common Black-Hawk
Great Black-Hawk
Savanna Hawk
Gray Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Short-tailed Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk
Ornate Hawk-Eagle
CARACARAS & FALCONS
Yellow-headed Caracara
Peregrine Falcon
CHACHALACA & GUAN
Rufous-vented Chachalaca
CRAKES, RAILS, GALLINULES, & COOT
Purple Gallinule
Common Moorhen
LAPWING & PLOVERS
Southern Lapwing
Black-bellied Plover
Lesser Golden-Plover
Collared Plover
Semipalmated Plover
STILT
Black-necked Stilt
JACANA
Wattled Jacana
SANDPIPERS & RELATIVES
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Hudsonian Godwit (very rare)
Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper (Agricultural Research Station)
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope (first record for Trinidad & Tobago)
JAEGERS, GULLS, & TERNS
Laughing Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Common Tern
Least Tern
Yellow-billed Tern
Large-billed Tern
Black Tern
Brown Noddy
Black Skimmer
DOVES & PIGEONS
Rock Dove
Pale-vented Pigeon
Scaled Pigeon
Eared Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Ruddy Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
Gray-fronted Dove
MACAWS, PARROTLETS, & PARROTS
Red-bellied Macaw (a single fly-over bird at dusk)
Green-rumped Parrotlet
Lilac-tailed Parrotlet
Blue-headed Parrot
Orange-winged Parrot
CUCKOOS & ANIS
Squirrel Cuckoo
Little Cuckoo
Striped Cuckoo
Greater Ani
Smooth-billed Ani
BARN-OWL
Common Barn-Owl (our first bird species!)
OWLS
Tropical Screech-Owl
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
GOATSUCKERS
Common Pauraque
White-tailed Nightjar
POTOO
Common Potoo (both islands; Trevor's incredible one at Grafton Estate)
OILBIRD
Oilbird
SWIFTS
White-collared Swift (very large flocks high over Wallerfield)
Short-tailed Swift
Band-rumped Swift
Gray-rumped Swift
Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift
Fork-tailed Palm-Swift
HUMMINGBIRDS
Rufous-breasted Hermit
Green Hermit
Little Hermit
Tufted Coquette
Blue-chinned Sapphire
White-chested Emerald
Copper-rumped Hummingbird
White-tailed Sabrewing (Gilpin Trace, seen very close; few birds remain)
TROGONS
White-tailed Trogon
Violaceous Trogon
Collared Trogon (Gilpin Trace)
MOTMOT
Blue-crowned Motmot
KINGFISHERS
Green Kingfisher
JACAMAR
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
TOUCAN
Channel-billed Toucan
WOODPECKERS
Red-crowned Woodpecker
Red-rumped Woodpecker
Golden-olive Woodpecker
Chestnut Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker
SPINETAILS & RELATIVES
Pale-breasted Spinetail
Stripe-breasted Spinetail (heard only)
Yellow-throated Spinetail
Streaked Xenops
Gray-throated Leafscraper (heard only)
WOODCREEPERS
Plain-brown Woodcreeper
Buff-throated Woodcreeper
ANTBIRDS
Great Antshrike
Black-crested Antshrike
Barred Antshrike
Plain Antvireo (male and female)
White-fringed Antwren
White-bellied Antbird (heard only)
Black-faced Antthrush
TYRANT-FLYCATCHERS
Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Scrub Flycatcher
Forest Elaenia
Yellow-bellied Elaenia
Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
Slaty-capped Flycatcher
Short-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant (exceptionally rare; a life bird for your leader)
Yellow-breasted Flycatcher
Tropical Pewee
Euler's Flycatcher
Fuscous Flycatcher (heard only)
Pied Water-Tyrant
White-headed Marsh-Tyrant
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Streaked Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Gray Kingbird
COTINGAS
Black-tailed Tityra
Bearded Bellbird (female only; males not calling)
MANAKINS
White-bearded Manakin
Blue-backed Manakin
Golden-headed Manakin
SWALLOWS
Caribbean Martin
Gray-breasted Martin
White-winged Swallow
Southern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
WRENS
Rufous-breasted Wren
House Wren
GNATWREN & THRUSHES
Long-billed Gnatwren
Cocoa Thrush
Bare-eyed Thrush
White-necked Thrush
MOCKINGBIRD
Tropical Mockingbird
VIREOS & RELATIVES
Chivi Vireo (heard only)
Scrub Greenlet
Golden-fronted Greenlet
Rufous-browed Peppershrike
WOOD WARBLERS
Tropical Parula
Yellow Warbler
American Redstart
Northern Waterthrush
HONEYCREEPERS & TANAGERS
Bananaquit
Bicolored Conebill
Speckled Tanager
Turquoise Tanager
Bay-headed Tanager
Blue Dacnis
Green Honeycreeper
Purple Honeycreeper
Red-legged Honeycreeper
Trinidad Euphonia
Violaceous Euphonia
Blue-gray Tanager
Palm Tanager
Silver-beaked Tanager
White-lined Tanager
Red-crowned Ant-Tanager
GROSBEAKS & BUNTINGS
Grayish Saltator (heard only)
Blue-black Grassquit
Black-faced Grassquit
BLACKBIRDS
Red-breasted Blackbird
Yellow-hooded Blackbird
Carib Grackle
Shiny Cowbird
Giant Cowbird
Yellow Oriole
Yellow-rumped Cacique
Crested Oropendola
Total number of species: 215, including 6 heard only.
Best birds:
- Pinnated Bittern (a difficult species)
- Little Egret (on both islands, seen by the group on Trinidad)
- Scarlet Ibis (very rare in Tobago)
- Northern Shoveler (new for Trevor; very rare anywhere in the Caribbean)
- Hudsonian Godwit (rarely seen in Trinidad)
- Wilson's Phalarope (first record for Trinidad/Tobago)
- Little Cuckoo (rarely seen)
- White-tailed Nightjar (hard to find in Trinidad)
- White-tailed Sabrewing (hard to find anywhere)
- Short-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant (nearly impossible to find)
- Red-crowned Ant-Tanager (very shy)
