Fauna of Barbados
[3] The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), house mouse (Mus musculus), European hare (Lepus europaeus), small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata), and green monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) are the most notable examples.
[4] The now extinct Barbados raccoon (Procyon lotor gloveralleni) is considered to have been endemic to the island; however, even this subspecies may have been introduced by Amerindians in prehistoric times.
[3][5] An extinct species of rice rat Megalomys georginae was described in 2012 based on subfossil remains recovered from an Amerindian archaeological site.
Seedeaters include the black-faced grassquit (Tiaris bicolor) and the grassland yellow finch (Sicalis luteola), known locally as the grass canary.
[15] Nectar consuming species include the Antillean crested hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus), green-throated carib (Eulampis holosericeus), and the bananaquit (Coereba flaveola).
[15] Species that may be encountered in wetland areas include the masked duck (Nomonyx dominica), American coot (Fulica americana), and the common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)[13] The southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis), a shorebird, has recently bred upon the island; having spread to Barbados from Trinidad and Tobago and northern South America.
[16] Substantial numbers of migratory birds either over-wintering on the island, or en route from North America to South American wintering grounds are seen annually.
[3] Shorebirds are one such group of birds that stop off in Barbados during migration; tens of thousands, however, lured to artificial wetlands, are shot annually for sport.
[18] The endemic Barbados leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus pulcher) was thought to be extinct until a population was rediscovered in 2011 on the outcrop known as Culpepper Island.
[19] Populations of an endemic Liophis grass snake, the Barbados racer (Erythrolamprus perfuscus), have been devastated as a result of predation by the introduced Indian mongoose, with no confirmed sightings of the species since 1961.
The cane toad (Bufo marinus) from South America and the Johnstone's whistling frog (Eleutherodactylus johnstonei) encompass the islands' amphibian community.
