The avifauna of the Falkland Islands include a total of 219 confirmed species, of which two are endemic, two have been introduced by humans, two have been extirpated, and 122 are rare or vagrants.
[3] The following tags have been used to highlight several categories of occurrence in addition to non-endemic resident species and regular visitors.
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.
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.
They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, usually pointed, wings.
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Haematopodidae The oystercatchers are large and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs.
They have white plumage and look plump and dove-like but are believed to be similar to the ancestors of the modern gulls and terns.
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Pluvianellidae The Magellanic plover is a rare wader found only in southernmost South America.
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.
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Rostratulidae Painted-snipe are short-legged, long-billed birds similar in shape to the true snipes, but more brightly colored.
Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with gray or white plumage, often with black markings on the head.
Order: Sphenisciformes Family: Spheniscidae The penguins are a group of flightless aquatic birds living almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere.
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", characterized by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Ciconiidae Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long stout bills.
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: Psittaciformes Family: Psittacidae Parrots are small to large birds with a characteristic curved beak.
The woodcreepers are brownish birds which maintain an upright vertical posture, supported by their stiff tail vanes.
Comparatively little is known about this diverse group, although all have broad bills with hooked tips, rounded wings, and strong legs.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Tyrannidae Tyrant flycatchers are passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America.
They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings, and a short bill with a wide gape.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Turdidae The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Parulidae The wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Thraupidae The tanagers are a large group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World, mainly in the tropics.
As a family they are omnivorous, but individual species specialize in eating fruits, seeds, insects, or other types of food.