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List of birds of Tristan da Cunha

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Location of Tristan da Cunha

This is a list of the bird species recorded in Tristan da Cunha. The avifauna of Tristan da Cunha include a total of 93[1] species, of which 8 are endemic, and one is extinct.

This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2022 edition.[2]

The following tags have been used to categorise some species:

  • (A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Tristan da Cunha
  • (E) Endemic - a species endemic to Tristan da Cunha
  • (Ex) Extinct - a species that no longer exists

Ducks, geese, and waterfowl

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Order: Anseriformes   Family: Anatidae

Includes all but four species of Anseriformes. They are excellent at an aquatic life thanks to an oily covering on their feathers.

Cuckoos

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Order: Cuculiformes   Family: Cuculidae

Cuckoos are found almost worldwide. They are highly variable in size, shape, colour, and habits.

Nightjars and allies

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Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: Caprimulgidae

Nighthawks belong to the same family as nightjars but are found only in the Americas. They have mottled or striped plumage for camouflage.

Rails, gallinules, and coots

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Order: Gruiformes   Family: Rallidae

Rails are usually secretive birds. Many island species are flightless and many of those have gone extinct in the last five centuries. Gallinules are less secretive, and are usually found near or on water.

Sheathbills

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Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Chionididae

The sheathbills are scavengers of the Antarctic regions. 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.

Plovers and lapwings

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Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Charadriidae

Plovers are small to medium-sized wading birds found worldwide, which live both on coasts and inland. Two species have been recorded in Tristan da Cunha.

Sandpipers and allies

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Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil.

Skuas and jaegers

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Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Stercorariidae

The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants.

Gulls, terns, and skimmers

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Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years.

Tropicbirds

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Order: Phaethontiformes   Family: Phaethontidae Tropicbirds are seabirds once thought to be closely related to pelicans but now known to belong in a clade known as Metaves.

Penguins

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Penguins are southern ocean birds with only one species north of the equator. Small to large in size and mostly black and white in colour.

Albatrosses

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Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Diomedeidae

Albatrosses are large tubenoses with wingspans of more than a meter. Most are southern ocean species but some are found in the north Pacific Ocean.

Southern storm-petrels

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Wilson's storm-petrel

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. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like. Until 2018, this family's three species were included with the other storm-petrels in family Hydrobatidae.

Northern storm-petrels

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Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Hydrobatidae

Though the members of this family are similar in many respects to the southern storm-petrels, including their general appearance and habits, there are enough genetic differences to warrant their placement in a separate family.

Petrels and shearwaters

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Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Procellariidae Petrels and shearwaters are known collectively as tubenoses for the tubes on their beaks which they use for excreting salt.

Herons, egrets, and bitterns

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Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Ardeidae Herons are long-necked long-legged water birds. The majority feed on fish and other pond-life. Six species have been recorded in Tristan da Cunha.

Tyrant flycatchers

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Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tyrannidae

Tyrant flycatchers are Passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers, but are more robust and have stronger bills. They do not have the sophisticated vocal capabilities of the songbirds. Most, but not all, are rather plain. As the name implies, most are insectivorous.

Swallows

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Order: Passeriformes   Family: Hirundinidae

The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.

Leaf warblers

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Order: Passeriformes   Family: Phylloscopidae

This widespread family consists of small, insectivorous birds that forage mainly in trees.

Thrushes

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Order: Passeriformes   Family: Turdidae

The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.

Tanagers

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Order: Passeriformes   Family: Thraupidae

This large family includes the true tanagers, as well as a number of other species often referred to simply as "finches", although they are not members of the true finch family.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tristan da Cunha Islands bird checklist - Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World". avibase.bsc-eoc.org.
  2. ^ Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/updateindex/october-2022/ retrieved 1 November 2022.
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