List of birds of Bermuda
Unless otherwise noted, all species listed below are considered to occur regularly in Bermuda as permanent residents, summer or winter visitors, or migrants.
These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating.
Order: Phoenicopteriformes Family: Phoenicopteridae Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.
Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down.
These birds have been used for a captive breeding programme (the first to hatch in the zoo was in 1967) for re-introduction to the wild in the British Virgin Islands in 1992.
Although their open-air enclosure is too small for them to become airborne, one flamingo escaped captivity in 1987, being driven aloft by Hurricane Emily.
Order: Apodiformes Family: Apodidae Swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying.
Order: Apodiformes Family: Trochilidae Hummingbirds are small birds capable of hovering in mid-air due to the rapid flapping of their wings.
Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back.
They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, usually pointed, wings.
Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head.
Order: Phaethontiformes Family: Phaethontidae Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans with exceptionally long central tail feathers.
Order: Procellariiformes Family: Oceanitidae The storm-petrels are the smallest seabirds, relatives of the petrels, feeding on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering.
Order: Procellariiformes Family: Procellariidae The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Pelecanidae Pelicans are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak.
Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises, and spoonbills.
Order: Strigiformes Family: Strigidae The typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey.
Order: Coraciiformes Family: Alcedinidae Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails.
Order: Piciformes Family: Picidae Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails, and long tongues used for capturing insects.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Tyrannidae Tyrant flycatchers are passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America.
Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Alaudidae Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights.
They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings, and a short bill with a wide gape.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Bombycillidae The waxwings are a group of passerine birds with soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Troglodytidae The wrens are mainly small and inconspicuous except for their loud songs.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Turdidae The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Estrildidae The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia.
These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Icteriidae This species was historically placed in the wood-warblers (Parulidae) but nonetheless most authorities were unsure if it belonged there.
