Birds: Pelecaniformes - Podicipediformes


Family: Anhingidae - Anhingas or Darters
Anhingas have very long, slender necks, small heads and long pointed bills. The tail is long and shaped like a narrow fan in flight.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Trinidad
Tobago
Anhinga anhinga
Anhinga, American darter, snake bird
X
X

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Family: Fregatidae - Frigatebirds
Large seabirds with narrow, pointed wings. Frigatebirds are usually seen gliding high above the sea, their wings forming a conspicuous shallow W pattern in silhouette. The long tail is occasionally divided into a deep fork. The bill is long and powerfully hooked.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Trinidad
Tobago
Fregata magnificens
Magnificent Frigatebird, Man-o-War
X
X

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Family: Pelecanidae- Pelicans
Large seabirds with long, hooked bills and enormous gular pouches.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Trinidad
Tobago
Pelecanus occidentalis
Brown Pelican
X
X

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Family: Phaethontidae - Tropicbirds
Seabirds resembling enormous terns with heavy bills and very long central tail feathers. They usually fly high above the sea with strong, rapid wing beats and dive, tern-like for fish.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Trinidad
Tobago
Phaethon aethereus
Boatswain Bird, Booby
X

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Family: Phalacrocoracidae - Cormorants
Large black water birds with long necks and hooked bills
Scientific Name
Local Name
Trinidad
Tobago
Phalacrocorax brasiliensis
Neotropic Cormorant, Olivaceous Cormorant, Brazilian Cormorant, Muscovy
X

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Family: Sulidae - Boobies
Large seabirds with cigar shaped bodies, long, pointed wings and stout, sharp bills.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Trinidad
Tobago
Sula leucogaster Brown Booby
X
Sula sula
Red footed Booby
X

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Family: Galbulidae - Jacamars
These are slender, medium-sized birds with brilliant, iridescent plumage and long, thin bills. They resemble enormous hummingbirds. They are usually found in forest clearings or amidst second growth.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Trinidad
Tobago
Galbula ruficauda
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
X
X

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Family: Picidae - Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers live, feed and breed typically in trees, where they climb on the trunks or larger branches, usually in a vertical attitude, supported by their stiff tail-feathers. Nests are made in tree-holes, and both sexes care for the eggs and young, the male alone incubating at night.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Trinidad
Tobago
Celeus elegans
Chestnut Woodpecker
X
Dryocopus lineatus
Lineated Woodpecker
X
Melanerpes rubricapillus
Red-crowned Woodpecker
X
Phloeoceastes melanoleucos
Crimson-crested Woodpecker
X
Piculus rubiginosus
Golden-olive Woodpecker
X
Veniliornis kirkii
Red-rumped Woodpecker
X
X

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Family: Ramphastidae - Toucans
This family is unmistakable with their enormous, disproportionate bills. Usually feeds in the canopy on fruits and nests in tree-holes. It has a loud, high-pitched call. The toucan in flight swoops and glides swiftly from tree to tree.
Scientific Name
Local Name
Trinidad
Tobago
Ramphastos vitellinus
Channel-billed Toucan
X

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Family: Podicipedidae - Grebes
Small water-birds, inhabiting mainly freshwater areas. Superficially resembling ducks, they have lobed toes and more sharply pointed bills. Two species occur in Trinidad and Tobago..
Scientific Name
Local Name
Trinidad
Tobago
Podilymbus podiceps Pied-billed Grebe, Diver
X
X
Tachybaptus dominicus
Least Grebe, Short-billed Grebe, Diver
X
X

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Source: Ffrench, Richard (1991), A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
Cornell University Press
http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/

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