Introduction

Acknowledgements

The initial group that conceived of this project included Giff Beaton, José Ramos Gómez, José F. Cordero, and Mark W. Oberle. Advice and assistance was especially helpful from the recent presidents of the Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña (SOPI), Carlos Ruiz Lebrón and Leopoldo Miranda Castro.

Without the contributions from dozens of photographers, this publication would not be possible. The 1,600 photos of theirs that we have included on this CD-ROM represent the cumulative result of thousands of hours in the field. These photographers include Wayne Arendt, Jerry Bauer, Giff Beaton, Steve Bentsen, Pablo Blanco, Gilberto Bonilla, Greg Brinkley, Robert Cabello (Dallas Zoo), Michael L. Carpenter, Don and Doris Cohrs, Miguel Colón Morales, Sergio Colón, Richard Crook, José A. Cruz, Carlos Delannoy, Vladimir Dinets, Michael Donahue, George Dremeaux, John Faaborg, Eladio Fernández, James F. Flynn, Jr., David R. Fuller, Mark A. George, Hank Golet, Frank S. González, Dan Guynn, Bruce Hallett, Chris Haney, Joan Hesterberg, Earl Horn, Jon Hornbuckle, Antonio Iñigo, Cameron and Angela Kepler, Suppalak Klabdee, Greg Lasley, Allen Lewis, Kevin Li, Hana López Torres, Alexis Martínez, Ellery McClintock, Leopoldo Miranda, Juan Morales, Luis O. Nieves, Doug North, Mark Oberle, Tony Palliser, James Parnell, Dennis Paulson, Jesús F. Pérez Pagán, Don Pfitzer, Ken Riddle, Chris Rimmer, Don Roberson, Carlos Ruiz Lebrón, Pedro Genaro Rodríguez, Rafael Rodríguez Mojica, José Salguero, Jorge Saliva, Father Alejandro J. Sánchez Muñoz, Robert Santos, Jo Scozzafava, David W. Sonneborn, Ruth Sullivan, Ken Tracey, Robert and Esther Tyrrell, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Eduardo Ventosa, Francisco Vilella, Joel Volpi, Kari Westphal, Wally Wilhoite, Jim Wilson, Joe and Brenda Wolf, and Robert Zaremba. The respective photographer is identified below each photo.

Similarly, audio and video were contributed by many individuals including Barb Beck, Roger Boughton, Lindsey Brown, Larry Bryan, David Deifik, Roy DeWitt, John Faaborg, Sky and Anne Hilts, Hank Golet, Elaine and Norman Hopgood, Greg Lasley, William A. Mackin, Ken Meyer, Martin J. Muller, Mark Oberle, John Quantro, Rafael Rodríguez Mojica, Jorge Saliva, Doug Von Gausig, and Joe and Brenda Wolf.

Wayne Arendt, Giff Beaton, José F. Cordero, Eli Elder, Haynes Miller, Raul Pérez-Rivera, José J. Placer, Carlos Ruiz Lebrón, Jorge Saliva, and Genie Silver helped with manuscript review.

José J. Placer has done an excellent job in editing and translating the text. Georgann Schmalz contributed two chapters on birdwatching skills.

Greg Budney, Brad Coryell, Bob Grotke, Miriam Herrero, Pat Hood, Jeremiah Jester, Jane Jeszeck, Walter Knapp, Alice Manos, Dan McComb, Martin McClellan, José J. Placer, Yovanni Ruiz, Robert Santos, and Wally Wilhoite provided essential advice and help in the preparation of the CD-ROM.

We appreciate the generous assistance in field work and information access from Hernán Abreu, John Andrew, Tony Ayala, Edward L. Baker, Jr., Jack Bettesworth, Paul Blake, Patty Bruce, José A. Camacho, Franco Carrión, Mark and Susan Churchill, Sergio Colón López, José Cruz, Jack C. Eitniear, Pedro Fernández, Martin Frost, John Fulton, Ricardo García, Laredo González, Chris Haney, Chuck Hunter, Gary Kratt, Carol Lambert, David Lee, Allen Lewis, María López, Alexis Martínez, Hope McCourt, Bret Medders, Britta Muiznieks, Fernando Núñez, Niña T. Oberle, William S. Oberle, Gary Phillips, Ángel Plaza, Ada Nilsa Pomales, Bill Pranty, José Rigau Pérez, Pedro Luis Ruiz, Aurora Sastre, Charles Siegel (Dallas Zoo), James W. Stratton, Greg Toffic, Pablo Torres, Rusty and Cheryl Trump, Ricardo Valentín, Agustín Valido, Luis Vázquez, Eduardo Ventosa, Joseph Wunderle, Jr., and Helena Wood, among many others.

We benefited greatly from the support of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, the Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña and the Georgia Ornithological Society. Special thanks go to Mardie L. Oberle and William P. Oberle, for their encouragement and support.

Prof. Mark W. Oberle
Box 357230
University of Washington
Seattle WA 98195-7230
oberle@mindspring.com

About the Collaborators

Mark W. Oberle is a Professor at the University of Washington. He has studied ecology and ornithology in the American tropics for 30 years. He also served as an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Latin America including two years as director of infectious disease control in Puerto Rico. He has published over 100 books and scientific articles in the fields of ornithology, medicine, and public health.

Carlos Ruiz Lebrón, an environmental consultant, was President of the Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña through 1998. He directed the Puerto Rican Plain Pigeon recovery program from 1991-1997.

Giff Beaton is a commercial airline pilot, Atlanta resident and expert birder and has photographed over 1,500 species of birds worldwide.

José Ramos Gómez, Ph.D, is a publisher and book author, and has directed several editorial houses and presses with state-of-the-art production facilities used for books and magazines throughout Latin America.

José J. Placer provided editorial and Spanish translation for this collaboration. José is the Executive Director of the Coereba Society, a nonprofit raising awareness about nature and its conservation in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands through the mass media. Watch for their new magazine Coereba to be published quarterly.

See the acknowledgements section for the photographers.

Introduction

Birds have always fascinated human beings because of their song, colorful plumage, and ability to fly. They communicate by sound and sight, much as humans do. In contrast, many mammalian species are nocturnal, and use smell and high frequency sound to communicate---senses that have deteriorated in humans as we have evolved. Birds also lead us to an appreciation of the interconnectedness, fragility, and uniqueness of life. These qualities can be easier to understand in our island environment than in a continental one. Learning about birds in our immediate environment also has much to teach us about how radically our environment has changed in recent centuries. To preserve our rich natural heritage for future generations to enjoy, it is important to learn from the errors of history as well as the successes of conservation efforts. Understanding birds and their populations can give us insights into how best to live in harmony with nature.

While most human beings spend time learning about our own species, Homo sapiens, we still know little about the life history of the plants and animals that surround us, and on which we depend for survival. In times past, we humans have focused on birds as agricultural pests or objects for hunting, but more people now study birds with binoculars than with shotguns. There are about 9,800 species of birds worldwide, each with its own communication strategy, mating system, and unique adaptations to survival on this planet. Yet we know very little about the behavior and survival strategies of most species. To put this in perspective, the world's population has been variously estimated at 100-300 billion individual birds, but only 6 billion humans. It is time to get to know our neighbors.

This publication is designed for students, tourists, and anyone who wants to understand Puerto Rico’s natural heritage by learning about its birds. Along the way, there are important lessons for conservation of our natural resources. We have used photographs and written text in a non-technical style to describe individual species in ways that are understandable to the general reader. For some common or unique species we have also included short audio clips.

The avifauna of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands includes about 350 species of birds. However, a third of these are "accidentals" (stragglers from other locations that have only been reported a few times). Another 35 bird species have been introduced by man, and many of these may not have established sustainable breeding populations. About 120 bird species regularly nest in Puerto Rico, including native species, plus other birds that have been introduced by humans over the last few centuries. Sixteen of Puerto Rico’s nesting species are considered "endemic" to Puerto Rico---that is, they are basically found nowhere else (although a few of these also occur in the Virgin Islands). Also, scientists may soon designate two other species as endemic birds for Puerto Rico, once taxonomists decide whether to elevate the island's subspecies to full species status. These are currently called the Greater Antillean Oriole and the Lesser Antillean Pewee.

The text in this publication emphasizes the species of birds that breed in Puerto Rico. In addition to the local nesting avifauna, many other species of birds breed in North America and elsewhere, but spend the winter in the tropics, including Puerto Rico and other islands in the Caribbean. In fact, many of these migrants actually spend more time in Puerto Rico than on their breeding grounds. These common, non-breeding visitors are illustrated with photographs, but have a more limited text account because much information on their life history is readily available in publications listed in the bibliography. This publication contains photos of all 350 species of Puerto Rican birds---the vast majority of the species that a casual observer or serious birdwatcher might see. For comparison's sake, photos of some closely related birds found on other islands are also included.

Biogeography and Evolution of Birds in the West Indies

Puerto Rico is an incubator of evolution, with 16 surviving endemic bird species on an island only 100 by 35 miles**. In the U.S.A., by comparison, the contiguous 48 states have more than 900 times as much land area, but only 10 surviving endemic bird species. The reason that Puerto Rico is blessed with so many unique species is that islands provide unique habitat conditions and the geographic isolation that is necessary for populations of animals and plants to slowly evolve into new species. See the table below for a comparison of several Caribbean islands.

In addition to the high proportion of endemic species in the avifauna of the islands, there is a rough relationship of the total number of all bird species on an island with the size of the island and its distance from the nearest large landmass. The size of an island reflects in part the variety of habitats that might support different species. The distance from the mainland reflects how isolated an island is from sources of immigrants. Both of these factors are at play in the Caribbean. The table below excludes introduced birds, and does not include species that have recently become extinct, or "new" endemic species that taxonomists will probably define by splitting existing species in the near future. For a more detailed discussion on Caribbean bird distribution and evolution, see the book by Lack in the bibliography.

ISLAND	AREA (sq. mi.)	MILES FROM CONTINENT	TOTAL SPECIES	NESTING SPECIES	ENDEMICS
CUBA	42,218	115	346	135	25 *
HISPANIOLA	29,530	300	250	127	27
JAMAICA	4,244	340	268	107	28
PUERTO RICO	3,515	370	280	103	16
DOMINICA	290	260	110	56	2
St. LUCIA	238	180	131	58	5
St. VINCENT	133	100	114	56	2

Source: BirdArea (Santa Barbara Software); the current total species count for Puerto Rico is higher than indicated in the table.

*Several species are only found in Cuba and in the adjacent Bahamas, but are not included in Cuba’s endemic species total.
** Puerto Rico’s maximum dimensions are 111 x 39 miles (3,435 square miles). In contrast to the islands, the total land area of contiguous 48 states is 3,096,107 square miles (8,018,878 square kilometers---900 times bigger than Puerto Rico), with only 10 endemic birds.

Additional references

Extinction : The Big Picture

A common error in discussions of extinction is the argument that: "Since extinction of species and survival of the fittest are normal features of natural evolution, then we humans should not be concerned about extinction of other species." This belief has a deceptive shred of truth to it, but is based on a distorted perspective of history---depending on what period of geological history you use as a baseline. Over the last 500 million years there have been five mass extinction events when large numbers of species became extinct within a very short period. The most famous of these was the last "completed" extinction event that featured the disappearance of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But during most of Earth’s history, natural extinction rates have been much lower, than during these five mass extinction events.

We are currently in the middle of the sixth major extinction event in geological history. However, this one is not caused by comet impacts, volcanic eruptions, or natural climate fluctuations, but rather by an expanding human population and its resulting impact on natural resources. Right now, the extinction rate is 100-1000 times higher than the baseline rate in 99% of Earth’s history. Worldwide, we are losing about 50,000 species of plants and animals a year. The natural rate of extinction of birds worldwide during most of their history on Earth is on the order of one species in a thousand years. During the last few thousand years, approximately 2,000 species of birds have become extinct---a sixth of the total number of all bird species. This dramatic increase in extinctions may be partly due to climate change, but mostly due to the expansion of human populations, especially into virgin, island habitat. Some 12% of Earth’s 9,800 bird species are now threatened with extinction.

The current mass extinction period has had two phases.

First, has been the expansion of humans into isolated islands, including Australia, New Zealand, other Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean. Humans have extinguished other species either directly through hunting, or indirectly through habitat changes or introductions of exotic animals like cats, rats, mosquitoes or disease organisms. Islands often contain many species that have lost their defenses against predators and diseases, and many island birds have lost the ability to fly. The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) of Mauritius Island is the most well-known example of a flightless species doomed to extinction soon after contact with humans. In most island groups, humans (or their accompanying rats, domestic animals or diseases) have wiped out large numbers of native species soon after humans arrived. In Hawaii, 70 of the 140 endemic land bird species have been extinguished since humans arrived there 1,600 years ago. Of the surviving 70 species, 31 are now endangered.

The second phase of the current mass extinction event is the destruction of species on large continental landmasses due to widespread expansion of humans, with our increasing pressures on habitats, and direct impacts on wildlife populations. The commonest bird in the world at the time of Columbus was the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) of North America, with a population estimated in the billions. Market hunting and destruction of the bird’s habitat eradicated this species from the planet by 1914. Similarly, the Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) once nested in much of eastern North America, but was hunted to extinction by 1918.

In last five centuries, 43 of the 197 endemic bird and mammal species in West Indies have become extinct. Recent studies have suggested that in all of the West Indies there were 50 to 60 species of endemic parrots, parakeets and macaws at the time Native Americans arrived. Since then, all but 12 of those have become extinct.

Puerto Rico has not escaped the sixth mass extinction, although the specific causes of an individual species’ extinction may never be known. More than half a dozen endemic birds are known to have become extinct in recent millenia in Puerto Rico---as many as in all of North America. Some of these recent extinctions may have been caused by climate change, others by the Taino Indians, while still other extinctions were recently precipitated by modern inhabitants. Puerto Rico had a large flightless rail that was hunted by the Taino Indians, an endemic woodcock, an endemic quail-dove, an endemic barn owl, a caracara, and an endemic finch. In addition, several subspecies in Puerto Rico have become extinct recently. Some species that still survive elsewhere are now extinct in Puerto Rico. For example, the White-necked Crow ("Cuervo Cuelliblanco," Corvus leucognaphalus) was hunted to extinction in Puerto Rico by the mid-20th Century, but still survives on Hispaniola. The Limpkin ("Carrao," Aramus guarauna) was still hunted in the 19th century in Puerto Rico, but has only rarely been reported on this island recently. Since bird bones are quite fragile and easily destroyed, we may never know about other species that have become extinct in recent centuries, but have left no trace.

These extinct species---some of which were once common birds---should remind all of us that we cannot take for granted that our children will have the benefit of interacting with the same birds that co-occupy this Planet with us now. If it were not for significant efforts by conservationists starting in the 1960s, the endemic Puerto Rican Parrot and the endemic Yellow-shouldered Blackbird would almost certainly be extinct on Puerto Rico. These sustained efforts require significant resources in the short term. But hopefully these species will recover, and future generations of Puerto Ricans and visitors will enjoy their company and learn more about them.

Unfortunately we know little about how the Taino Indians interacted with the natural world after they arrived in Puerto Rico. But we do know that the Iroquois and other North American tribes traditionally included in major decisions the needs of their descendants, seven generations into the future. This "seventh-generational thinking"----taking into account the long-term, cumulative impact of land use and other resource decisions---needs to become a standard part of our decision-making process. We need to apply a seventh-generational mode of thinking to combat Earth's sixth mass extinction event.

Additional references

Migratory Birds

People often talk about the birds in their neighborhood as "our" birds. But in fact, we often share "our" birds with people from other countries part of the year. Some of the commonest winter birds in Puerto Rico, such as Northern Parula, Black-and-White Warbler, Prairie Warbler, American Redstart, and Belted Kingfisher, are migratory species that nest in North America. These species are important members of the avian community in Puerto Rico, and some even spend more time on their winter grounds than on the breeding grounds. Thus, conservation and land management decisions in Puerto Rico may affect the abundance and survival of these birds not just on the island, but on their breeding range as well. Most migrants from North America that come to the Caribbean stop at larger islands closer to the mainland. The result is that migrant species decrease in abundance on islands farther east in the Caribbean. However, migrants are still an important component of Puerto Rico’s avifauna.

There are also a few species that breed in Puerto Rico, yet despite the subtropical climate, migrate elsewhere for part of the year. For example, the Black-whiskered Vireo, Antillean Nighthawk, and Caribbean Martin are common breeding species, but most individuals leave Puerto Rico to winter in Central or South America. This behavior may be a holdover from the Ice Age when the climate in Puerto Rico was much cooler than it is today. There are also some terns and other seabirds that nest in Puerto Rico but move hundreds or thousands of miles out to sea when they are not breeding.

Many migrant landbird species have declined recently. For example, Prairie Warbler populations have declined by more than 50% over the last thirty years on the breeding range in North America. The reasons for these declines vary from species to species, and may depend on a complex interaction of factors on breeding grounds, winter grounds, and at migration stopover sites where birds "refuel" to continue their migration.

Conservation Issues Affecting Puerto Rico’s Birds

Many of the ecosystems that Puerto Rico’s birds depend upon are threatened, and this threat will continue to increase without adequate public support for conservation efforts. Conservation in Puerto Rico is important not just to preserve the island’s own natural heritage, but also to support ecosystems in other regions where migrant species spend part of the year. The section that follows gives examples of the conservation threats that affect some of Puerto Rico’s birds. For more details on issues and possible solutions, see the books by Raffaele, and by Greenberg and Reaser, listed in the section on "Sources of Information".

Land use: Direct human alteration of habitat is one of the most important factors affecting wildlife populations. Where people live and work, and how they consume resources have direct impacts on wildlife habitat. Puerto Rico has an accelerating pattern of rural development, as Puerto Ricans commute to cities from ever more distant suburbs, and more and more retirees from Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland chose to live in rural Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico’s countryside is being converted into sprawling suburbs of larger cities. More than a third of Puerto Rico’s farmland has been converted to other uses in the last few decades. Between 1962 and 1997 farmland declined from 1.9 million acres to 1.3 million acres, although a small portion of farmland conversion was to forestland. A few native birds, and many exotic birds, benefit from urban development, but many native forest birds decline with urbanization. Another example of the impact of land use decisions on birds is solid waste disposal. Puerto Rico now generates 8,100 tons of garbage per day. This creates pressure for new landfills that remove land from wildlife habitat for decades, especially in low-lying areas. Additional references

Deforestation: Most of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands was forested in Columbus’ time, and well into the early 19^th Century. But by the early 20^th Century, only 1% of Puerto Rico’s original forest remained. Later, as Puerto Rico became more urbanized, much farmland and pasture reverted to secondary forest. As a result, Puerto Rico was almost 40% forested by the late 20^th Century. Unfortunately, subsequent land-use policies and practices have led to increased deforestation in the last decade, with more than 0.6% of forestlands destroyed on the island per year. Only 28,000 acres of forest are officially preserved in the Caribbean National Forest (El Yunque). The 25 Commonwealth forests and state reserves cover only 90,000 acres of forest and wetlands, with only a small expansion of the forest system on the drawing board. On a positive note, many West Indian birds have evolved to accommodate hurricanes, and thus have sprung back relatively quickly as forests recovered.

Wetland destruction: Wetland loss has been severe in Puerto Rico, with perhaps half of the original mangrove stands destroyed, and many natural fresh and saltwater marshes drained or converted to agriculture. Although some marshlands have been converted to artificial lakes or ponds, many of these man-made impoundments, such as golf course ponds, are relatively simple ecosystems that support only a few bird species.
Additional references.

Agricultural practices: Changes in agricultural practices impact birds both positively and negatively. The clearing of forest for farmland a century ago favored birds of open fields at the expense of forest species. Excessive use of fertilizer results in runoff of excess nitrogen into lakes, streams, marshes, and estuaries, and disrupts aquatic ecosystems. One controversial development is the subsidized conversion of coffee grown under shade trees to "sun coffee." This practice removes the shade trees that many breeding birds and migrants utilize. Additional references

Pesticides: DDT was an essential insecticide in the campaign that eradicated malaria from Puerto Rico in the 1950s, but it and other long-acting pesticides severely reduced reproductive success in pelicans, ospreys, and several other bird species. Although DDT is no longer legally used in Puerto Rico, other agricultural chemicals and industrial toxins harm birds and other wildlife in ways that are only now becoming clear (http://www.abcbirds.org/pesticides/). For example, some chemicals even in small amounts can mimic estrogen hormones, and seriously reduce reproductive success (see http://www.tmc.tulane.edu/ecme/eehome/).

Hunting and egg collecting: Taking of birds or their eggs may have been the direct cause of the extinction of several birds on the island. Many seabird nesting areas were severely impacted by egg collecting for commercial markets. Populations of many ducks, sandpipers, and parrots are much lower now than a century ago in part because of indiscriminate hunting. Although modern hunting regulations are designed to maintain population levels, illegal hunting still occurs. The federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) applies to Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands. The MBTA prohibits the killing, possession, transportation, and importation of migratory birds, their eggs, feathers, and nests except when authorized by a government agency.

Pet trade: Many native species, especially parrots, have been under severe pressure from collectors for sale to pet stores and exporters. The capture or possession of native species is illegal, and the capture of exotic birds in Puerto Rico is regulated by the Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales.

Introduced predators: The mongoose ("mangosta," Herpestes auropunctatus) was introduced to control rodents in sugarcane plantations, and is now a major threat to ground-nesting birds. Introduced roof rats (Rattus rattus) are found throughout the island and are a plague even to tree-nesting species. A very sensitive subject is the common practice of allowing cats (Felis catus) to wander outdoors where they kill thousands of birds a year in Puerto Rico. A campaign called "Cats Indoors!" is aimed at persuading cat owners and local governments to keep cats away from wild birds. Contact the American Bird Conservancy: http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/ for more information.

Exotic species: Plants and animals that are not native to Puerto Rico directly or indirectly affect native birds by altering habitat or directly competing, often in ways that are still not well understood and that may take decades to gradually become apparent. Additional references

Introduced diseases can affect birds directly or indirectly. For example: A wood-boring crustacean, Sphaeroma terebrans, hitchhiked on wooden ships a century ago and now kills mangrove root tips throughout the western Atlantic. This limits the spread of mangroves toward the ocean, and thus reduces the amount of this already threatened habitat for birds and other species. Additional references

Destruction of reefs: Coral reef destruction has had an impact on fish populations and the seabirds that feed in coastal waters. About 2/3 of the world’s coral reefs have been degraded, and those in Puerto Rico are in serious trouble. Overfishing, sedimentation, pollution, sea temperature rise, hurricanes and direct damage to reefs by ships’ anchors and construction projects have contributed to these declines.
Additional references

Collision hazards: Power lines, large antennae, aircraft, cars, and glass windows kill birds whose flight paths intersect these dangers.
Additional references

Oil spills and seepage: Worldwide, over 3 million tons of oil are spilled into the sea annually. Birds are affected both by the energy loss and stress when oil contaminates feathers, and by direct toxicity when they ingest oil while they preen. Because oil separation equipment is expensive to operate, ship owners and crews are often tempted to discharge waste oil illegally at sea. In 1998, the U.S. Coast Guard fined one cruise ship company a record $9 million for systematically dumping waste oil at sea off Puerto Rico.

Climate change: The "greenhouse" warming of Earth’s atmosphere due to fossil fuel burning and the human production of other gases that trap heat is predicted to increase the frequency of strong hurricanes and to raise sea level. Sea level rose 18 centimeters in the 20^th Century, and may be rising faster now. Additional references

Population growth: Although newspaper articles and other public discussions usually focus on individual conservation issues, human population growth is an underlying factor in all of the individual threats to wildlife populations. The larger the human population is in any given area, the larger the cumulative impact of any one threat, and the greater the demand on a specific resource. After losing population in the mid-20^th Century, as many Puerto Ricans moved to the U.S. mainland for jobs, Puerto Rico’s population has grown by 20% in the last two decades, to 3.9 million people. Similar rates of population growth are expected in the early 21^st Century. Additional references

Public awareness of ecological issues has increased dramatically in Puerto Rico over the last few decades. Examples include the growing popularity of non-consumptive activities, such as scuba diving and tours to nature reserves. You can learn more about how you can help shape Puerto Rico's future by supporting the organizations listed in the section on "Organizations that support birding and conservation."

BIRDING: Where Is It ?

by Georgann Schmalz, Ornithologist
Birding Adventures, Inc., Atlanta, GA

Viewing wildlife is an increasingly popular activity. In 1996, wildlife watching was estimated to generate $29.2 billion in direct expenditures in the USA. Birdwatching (or birding, as it is often called) is one of the most important forms of wildlife watching. A tremendous amount of information is being written about birds, birding, places to see birds, and how to identify them. There are several good field guides to bird identification available for Puerto Rico, plus scattered recordings of bird songs to sharpen your auditory identification. But to a novice birder all this information may be overwhelming or confusing.

Birdwatching can take many forms including watching birds from a park bench in a town plaza or at a bird feeder, pointing out common birds during a walk with the grandchildren, or competitively "listing" all the birds you can find in one day of rapid driving around the country side.

The following is a simple guide to finding birds for anyone just beginning to enjoy birding. As time goes on, these locating and identification steps will become part of you, almost second nature.

1. Finding the bird.

This depends upon where you are birding. It is fairly easy to see ducks swimming in ponds and lakes, egrets and herons wading in marshy areas, shorebirds finding food on the beach or mudflats, or hawks soaring in a thermal. Songbirds and woodpeckers are much harder to find, being hidden by leaves of trees and bushes.

In any case, the first step to finding a bird is to look just with your eyes. By scanning the trees, bushes, open water or shore, you will either see a bird sitting still or see movement by the bird of the leaves that it is gleaning for insects or seeds. This step often involves staring catatonically into the crown of a tree knowing that something should be in there, if it would only move! Small numbers of leaves moving indicate a small bird---perhaps a warbler, vireo, or Bananaquit. Whole branches moving could mean a large bird like a cuckoo, or an iguana, which should be shunned. Also avoid staring at grackles, as it has been determined that they crave attention and thrive on such comments as "Yuck, it's a grackle." This watching-for-movement step relies on not only a patient observer, but also on Mother Nature. Wind is an enemy. Winds gusting anywhere over 8-10 mph make all leaves move and branches sway vigorously back and forth. Falling leaves are also a problem. Deciduous trees dropping leaves here and there can cause eyestrain in anyone who mistakenly tries to follow their movements. Rule of thumb: if it falls vertically, ignore it, it's a leaf; if it moves horizontally, it's a bird (or a lizard).

2. Finding the bird with your binoculars.

Now that you have seen movement or the bird itself, you must try to focus on it through your binoculars. This is no easy task for a novice birder. Peering through binoculars at baseball players or on the beach is one thing; finding an object 4 inches long and 100 feet away in the crown of a tree is another matter. There are many occasions when by the time you have your binoculars on the bird, it has actually left the tree, migrated to its nesting grounds, and raised its young. Birds tend to move quickly, so while locating an individual with your eyes, it is best to simultaneously think about where it is in the tree or bush. Think of the crown of the tree as a clock face. The bird is at two o'clock, or five o'clock, or ten o'clock. Look for forks in the tree or large, exposed branches, and think of the bird in relation to these. Notice any different colored leaves or blossoms in the tree or bush. For example, you might think "the bird is at three o'clock in that mimosa tree, five feet in from the tip of the horizontal branch that has the red berries on it."

The next step is crucial. No matter what happens, if someone steps on your toe, or a spider crawls on your arm, or someone passes a donut to you, keep your eyes on the bird. Even when you bring your binoculars up to your face, don't look away. The most common mistake people make after finally finding the bird is looking down at their binoculars. Your binoculars are strapped securely around your neck. They are not going anywhere. Don't look down at them. As quickly and carefully as possible, bring them up to your eyes, which are riveted on the bird. Aiming your binoculars towards the bird takes practice, but this is where the clock face comes in, as well as local landmarks such as exposed branches, or colored leaves and flowers. Even if you don't see the bird right away, look at the reference points you made for yourself. After a while this process becomes second nature. Binoculars for birding need to be at least 7x35 size for adequate magnification.

One more clue: If a bird is flying, watch until it lands. It's very difficult to pick up and track a flying bird with your binoculars. Once it has landed, follow the same steps discussed above.

Now that you have found the bird, how do you find out what it is?

Birding: What is It ?

by Georgann Schmalz, Ornithologist
Birding Adventures, Inc., Atlanta, GA

Unless you can identify birds by songs and calls, you must get a glimpse of the bird for at least a millisecond. Most novice birders need more than a glimpse, however, so it is important to watch the bird in question for as long as possible, until you are satisfied that you have seen everything about it, or it has flown away. What do you look for?

1. Birds in Flight

Birds are often seen first as they are flying. Flight behavior is a good clue to the identity of the bird. A straight flight is typical of a number of species such as grackles, thrushes, and thrashers. A bouncing or undulating flight is more typical of woodpeckers and some warblers. Woodpeckers and kingfishers prefer to flap a few times and then hold their wings close to their bodies, alternating this pattern as they fly along. Birds of prey soar, of course, but hawks hold their wings flat, while vultures fly with their wings at a dihedral, "V" shape. Herons and Night-Herons usually retract their necks as they fly. Ibises and spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched.

Spending time watching even the most common birds flying will imprint these flight patterns in your mind so that you can identify a bird even at great distances. Your friends will be quite impressed that you can call out a bird as it flies 30 mph across the road that you are driving on. They will be doubly impressed that you can keep the car on the road while you are looking back and forth for birds.

2. Color

The color of a bird can be difficult to ascertain while it is flying. The sun and sky as a background can distort color perception. Watch the bird until it flies in front of treetops or just before it lands in the shrubs. Feather colors are seen much better when green leaves are behind them. Most familiar birds are easy to recognize because of their color: orange for Troupials, green for parrots, blue for kingfishers, solid white for most egrets. Many species are multi-colored or similar in appearance, however. A special trait made famous by Roger Tory Peterson in his field guides is the "field mark." His books use arrows at each species' picture that point to the special markings of the birds. You can add your own arrows to illustrations in whatever field guides you use. These field marks are sometimes the only way to positively identify a bird that is extremely similar to another. Field marks include crown stripes, eye lines, eye bars, eye rings, cheek patches, lores above the nostrils, throat colors, breast spots or stripes, rump patches, wing bars, tail bars, or colors under the tail (crissum) or on the back of the neck (nape).

Once you have seen the overall color of the bird, make a mental picture of where the field marks are. Some field guides have difficult species divided according to some field marks. For example, the warblers are in two main groups: those with wingbars and those without wingbars.

3. Size and Shape

Now that you have the color of the bird and have either memorized or written down the field marks, you need to know basically what kind of bird it is. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing a bird, groping for binoculars, and then fumbling through a field guide with no idea where to start looking. The best way to tackle this problem is to spend some time with your favorite field guide and become familiar with the taxonomic groupings of birds. For the last two centuries, taxonomists have divided species in a logical hierarchy that lumps species into similar groupings. All birds are in the Class Aves, and within a Class of organisms, the groupings in descending sequence are Order, Family, Subfamily, Genus, and Species.In Puerto Rico, 20 orders and 57 families of birds have been reported recently (including families of birds that have been reported only rarely). It is helpful to become familiar with the orders and families of birds in order to know where to start looking for a specific species. The orders of birds are usually easily recognized. Most people can tell apart hawks, ducks, herons, shorebirds, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, and songbirds. The differences among these orders of birds are very apparent. But the differences among families of birds within any particular order are more subtle. This will present no problem with most birds like hawks, ducks, shorebirds, etc., because they are clearly marked and found in this publication. Small songbirds usually are the most difficult to find. Looking through your field guide, you will see that songbirds have distinctive body sizes and shapes. Warblers, for example, are sleek, small birds, while sparrows are stockier. The Mimidae family of thrashers and mockingbirds are all long in body, beak, and tail. Bananaquits are small with a curved bill, while species in the thrush family are larger birds with a longer tail. Tanagers and orioles are thrush-sized but thinner with long, straight beaks. Bullfinches have cone-shaped beaks compared to tanagers and thrushes. Crests of raised feathers can be important. Kingfishers, kingbirds, and some egrets and herons can raise crest feathers on top of their heads.

4. Beaks and Tails

Whenever you talk about size and shape of birds, you will almost always need to include the shape of the beak. A long, thin, straight beak will make the birds look longer and thinner. A cone-shaped beak will shorten the face, making the bird appear more round-headed and chunkier. Downcurved beaks are typical of Bananaquits, mockingbirds, and thrashers. They are also seen in non-songbirds such as cuckoos, some hummingbirds, and shorebirds like Whimbrels. Other shorebirds have a typically long, straight beak for probing in the sand for food. Most first graders can tell ducks from other birds by their flat, wide beaks. Anyone who has been bitten by their pet parakeet, parrot, or cockatiel can identify hooked beaks---also characteristic of birds of prey.

The other end of the bird, the tail, can be useful, especially if the bird is flying. Long, thin, graduated tails are seen in cuckoos, parakeets and Mourning Doves. Birds with short tails include todies and some swallows. Warblers and the common Gray Kingbird have notched tails. The ultimate in notches are forked tails, best seen in terns and the Barn Swallow. Among the birds of prey, Broad-winged and Red-tailed Hawks are distinguished from the Sharp-shinned Hawk and from falcons by their fan shaped tails rather than long, thin tails.

5. Behavior

Last but certainly not least, birds can be identified by their behavior. On dark days or in poor lighting when color, field marks, and even beak and tail shapes are not clearly seen, the way a bird walks, perches, climbs a tree, or flicks its tail can identify it, at least to its family category. Woodpeckers obviously climb trees, but so do Black-and White Warblers. The two species climb differently, but in a characteristic manner for their species.

Here are some examples of the above approach:

A) Becoming familiar with the taxonomic orders of birds.

First of all, decide what order, or major category, a bird belongs to.

Examples:

1. A long-legged bird with a long, slender neck is carefully walking along the edge of a pond. (Ciconiiformes order---waders).

2. A large bird with slotted wingtips soars overhead. (Falconiformes order---birds of prey).

3. A small bird, sitting on a limb, throws its head back and sings a beautiful melody. (Passeriformes order---songbird).

B) Becoming familiar with the taxonomic families of birds.

Divisions within orders are called families. Birds can often be placed into their families by looking closely at more subtle clues. This is especially important with songbirds which are divided into many families.

Examples:

1. Looking closely at the wader at the pond, you notice it has a long, decurved beak. (Threskiornithidae family---ibises and spoonbills).

2. The bird of prey soaring gracefully above appears to have a short, fan-shaped tail. (Accipitridae family---Buteo or hawk).

3. The small, yellow songbird begins to flit nervously, gleaning insects from the surrounding leaves with its tiny, pointed beak. (Parulidae---warblers).

C) Choosing the correct species.

Choosing among the individual possibilities within the order or family is based on specific details such as color or markings of each bird. However, there is no need to memorize the entire plumage of every bird. Usually one or two field marks are all you need.

Examples:

1. You have narrowed your wader down to an ibis.

It has a white body with a pink face and curved beak. (White ibis, Eudocimus albus).

2. As the hawk turns in a thermal, its tail catches the sun. It appears to be uniformly reddish-brown. (Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis).

3. This bright, yellow warbler turns to face you and exposes reddish-brown streaks on its chest. (Yellow warbler, Dendroica petechia).

If all this information seems overwhelming, don't despair. Given enough desire and time, all of the clues discussed here will become second nature to you. Each characteristic will be processed quickly by your brain, your fingers will glide smoothly through your field guide, and you will have arrived at the picture of the bird in the book all before the bird has continued its migration to South America. Never again will you call someone for help on bird identification and say simply that the bird was medium-sized and brown. Train your eyes to see colors, field marks, beak, and tail sizes and shapes, and characteristic behaviors. Then look through your field guide for that combination of size, shape, color, and field marks, and voila!---you have it. Remember: your field guide is your friend. Don't make things difficult by beginning at page one and frantically turning pages until you stumble upon the right picture. Using a systematic, logical approach will save you many moments of beginner frustration.

For more information on taxonomy see: http://montereybay.com/creagrus/essay.html
http://www.ohio.edu/phylocode/.
Also: Ennor, H. R. 1998. Scientific names for birds: interpretation and use. Birding 30(6):521-523.

Better Birding

by Georgann Schmalz , Ornithologist
Birding Adventures, Inc.,, Atlanta, GA

There eventually comes a time when each novice birder notices that experienced birders not only find more birds but also see more unusual and rare species. Birding now takes on a more serious tone, and what was once a backyard hobby evolves into a challenge and quest for more and ever rarer birds. What tricks do advanced birders use in seeing more? How can a beginner improve birding skills to spot more unusual birds or bird behavior? There are many subtle techniques that can make you a better birder. Neither difficult nor tricky, these techniques are valuable field methods gleaned from years of birding.

• LISTEN at all times, even while driving. This obviously requires driving with the car windows down-a bit uncomfortable in hot summer months, especially for passengers in the back seat (who will quickly join you near the air conditioner in the front seat). Nevertheless, you must always be attuned to what is there, just in case something new is calling. Listen even while you are talking. Long pauses between sentences (even between words on really bird-active days) enable you to monitor the entire avian environment. However, this technique should be done with caution if you have a short train of thought.

• LOOK constantly for birds. Veteran birders rarely spend a waking moment not being aware of what birds are around them. Better birders are always glancing around. In fact, they are often considered rude conversationalists as they are continually scanning the sky, the trees, etc. They avoid eye contact with you in order to increase valuable birding time.

• WATCH for signs. Scolding or diving Gray Kingbirds will sometimes lead you to a hidden hawk in the top of a tree. These rousing commotions may also lead you to a snake (which is invariably closer to you than it is to the birds). Watch for flocks of birds. Never assume that a huge group of grackles, for example, is 100% pure. Mixed in, hidden in the crowd, could very well be something interesting like a Yellow-shouldered Blackbird. The difference between a birder and a better birder is that the better one searches flocks of birds for anything unusual.

• HELP yourself! Don't approach birds too closely. Many species will simply withdraw deeper into the thickets. Pull them out to you. The most common techniques to draw birds out to you are pishing and squeaking. Neither of these noises can be actually taught; they must be learned by trial and error, preferably when you are alone to avoid beginner's embarrassment. Pishing is done by placing your tongue against your lower front teeth and hissing---opening and closing your lips frequently. You can vary pishing by adding more saliva to it or making your lips tight. Squeaking is sucking air through the backs of two fingers or your fist. Pearly-eyed Thrashers, Puerto Rican Tanagers, Bananaquits, Gray Kingbirds, Black-faced Grassquits, and many migrant warbler species will respond to pishing. The ultimate technique to attract birds is an owl call. In a sense, this method really is a trick. The call of a Puerto Rican Screech-Owl during the day will alert other birds, mostly song birds, that will react by mobbing the owl. The idea is to get these small birds to make their presence known by coming to you. There are a few distinctive disadvantages to using owl tapes. If the owl call is played repeatedly in the same area, resident birds will habituate to it. In other words, it simply won't work anymore. Owl call recordings can also irritate other birders as they listen for songs and soft chip notes that are drowned out by the six-foot "screech owl" standing next to them.

Another attraction technique is a pre-recorded song of the desired bird. Many commercially available tapes and CDs contain the songs of birds. Playing a recorded song of a species in appropriate habitat will alert the resident male to approach the intruder and defend his territory. Birds respond best to these songs during the breeding season, typically as they are setting up territories. For example, the Puerto Rican Screech-Owl may come out in the open in January in response to a tape, but will stop calling and retreat into a bamboo thicket if a tape is played in October. There are also disadvantages to using songs to attract birds. The resident male may be forced to defend his territory to the extent that he neglects his paternal duties. He may not be around enough to help the female incubate eggs or feed the nestlings, and therefore, the nest may fail. Nevertheless, prerecorded owl calls and bird songs do work. If there is a bird out there that you can't live without seeing, try using a tape, but do so infrequently and carefully. And do not play tapes of endangered species or play tapes in heavily birded areas.

• BE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. This point seems to be where the experienced birders outshine the others. They always seem to know where to be. Part of this technique is skill, a lot of it is luck. The odds of finding a special bird can be tipped in your favor by following a few simple rules.

First of all, bird often. Getting out frequently, especially in various habitats, obviously increases anyone's chance of seeing more and unusual birds. People who discover uncommon birds rarely see them from the kitchen window.

Second, find out from someone else where the birds are, go there and wait. If you are after a Red-tailed Hawk, for example, find its nest, bring your friends, and announce along the way that you bet there is a hawk up ahead. Your friends will be impressed. Veteran birders cheat: they know what to expect because they have been there before or have planned ahead. Contact the local nature club (see the section on "Organizations that support birding and conservation") for information on field trips and birding sites. When travelling in North America or Europe, check the local rare bird alert or bird information hotline by phone or on the World Wide Web for the area you plan to bird. This information lists not only uncommon and rare birds in an area, but also gives directions on how to get there.

• And last, DON'T SLAM THE CAR DOOR. Every better birding technique will be worthless if all the birds depart in a flash. On the other hand, don't leave the car door open with the alarm buzzing either.

For more information on improving your birding skills, refer to any book on introduction to birdwatching or bird behavior. There are also birding guides to various localities that will point you in the right direction down to the exact tree or bush in which to look.

Above all, have fun, and good "better birding."

Oganizations that Support Birding and Conservation

Coereba Society/ Sociedad Coereba
7336 16th Ave. SW
Seattle, WA 98106-1835
http://www.coereba.org

Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña
PO Box 195166
San Juan, PR 00919-5166
E-mail: directivasopi@yahoo.com
http://www.avesdepuertorico.org; Membership application

Sociedad de Historia Natural de PR (Puerto Rico Natural History Association)
PO Box 361036
San Juan, PR 00936-1036
http://www.naturalhistorypr.org/

Guardianes de la Montaña
PO Box 1112
Ciales, PR 00638-1112

Fideicomiso de Conservación (Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico)
155 Calle Tetuan
Apartado Postal 9023554
San Juan, PR 00902-3554
Tel.: 787-722-5834
http://www.fideicomiso.org/

Alianza Ambiental Puertorriqueña
497 Ave. E. Pol, Box 94
San Juan, PR 00926-5636
Tel: 787-755-0410

Centro Eco-Educativo de Puerto Rico
P.O. Box 1565
Morovis, PR 00687
http://www.ceducapr.com/

Fundación Puertorriqueña de Conservación
527 Ave. Andalucia STE 75
San Juan PR 00920-4131
Tel.:787-763-9875
http://www.tld.net/users/fconserv/

American Birding Association
PO Box 6599
Colorado Springs, CO 80934-6599
800-850-2473 or 719-578-1614
http://americanbirding.org/

Friends of Mona Island/ Amigos de Amoná
PMB 143 P.O. Box 5103
Cabo Rojo, PR 00623

Puerto Rico Dept. of Natural and Environmental Resources

Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales
Pda. 3½, Avenida Muñoz Rivera
Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico 00906-6600
Tel: 787-724-8774
http://www.drnapr.com/

American Bird Conservancy
1250 24^th St., NW, suite 400
Washington, DC 20037
202-778-9666
http://www.abcbirds.org
http://www.alianzaves.net

National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Drive
Reston, VA 20190-5362
703-438-6000
http://www.nwf.org/

Laboratory of Ornithology
Cornell University
159 Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-254-2473
http://birds.cornell.edu/

National Audubon Society
950 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
212-832-3200
http://www.audubon.org/ http://www.audubon.org/local/latin

Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds
c/o Rosemarie Gnam, PhD
13 East Rosemont Ave.
Alexandria, VA 22301
703-739-9803
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/SCSCB/index.html

The Nature Conservancy
4245 N. Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203-1606
703-841-4532
http://nature.org/

Partners In Flight coalition
http://www.PartnersInFlight.org/

BirdLife International
Wellbrook Court
Girton Rd
Cambridge CB3 0NA
United Kingdom
+44 1 223 277 318
http://www.birdlife.net/

Sources of Information

Biaggi, V. 1997. Las aves de Puerto Rico, 4^th ed. Univ. de PR Press, Río Piedras. Natural history and folklore on PR's birds, but taxonomy is not up to date. Select bibliography of pre-1982 publications.

BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened birds of the world. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona and Cambridge, UK. http://www.hbw.com/

Bradley, P.E., Sorenson, L.G., and Stevenson, J. eds. 2001. Wondrous West Indian wetlands: teacher's resource book. West Indian Whistling-Duck Working Group of the Society of Caribbean Ornithology. Archmain Communications Ltd. U.K.

Camacho Rodríguez, M., J. Chabert Llompart, and M. López Flores. 1999. Guía para la identificación de las aves exóticas establecidas en Puerto Rico. Depto. de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, San Juan, PR. Booklet of introduced birds with illustrations from the field guide by Raffaele.

Collar, N.J., L.P. Gonzaga, N. Krabbe, A. Madroño Nieto, L.G. Naranjo, T.A. Parker III, and D.G. Wege. 1992. Threatened birds of the Americas: the ICBP/IUCN Red data Book, 3^rd ed., part 2. Smithsonian Inst. Press. Detailed chapters on several of the rarer species. http://www.redlist.org/

Colón-Morales, M. 2001. La avifauna de Puerto Rico: guía para los observadores y amantes de las aves de Puerto Rico. Editorial Colonmor, P.O. Box 364547, San Juan, PR 00936. Black and white photos by Dr. Miguel Colón-Morales. Bird woodcarvings by Ariel Soto and poems by Esther Feliciano de Mendoza. colonmor@wmail.prtc.net

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott , and J. Sargatal, eds. Handbook of Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Detailed species summaries and family descriptions. 8 volumes available through 2003. http://www.hbw.com/

Ehrlich, P.R., D.S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon & Schuster/Fireside, NY. Short summaries of life histories of species that occur in North America, plus essays on bird biology.

Feliciano-Mendoza, E. and F. Rodríguez Baez. 1998. Ala y trino: pájaros de Puerto Rico para colorear. 2^nd ed. Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico.

Flieg, G. M. and A. Sander. 2000. A photographic guide to birds of the West Indies. Ralph Curtis Books, Sanibel Island, FL.

Gill, F. B. 1995. Ornithology, 2^nd Ed.. W. H. Freeman and Co.

Greenberg, R. and J. Reaser. 1995. Bring back the birds: what you can do to save threatened species. Stackpole, Mechanicsburg, PA. Extensive discussion of problems faced by migrant species in the Americas.

Lack, D. 1976. Island biology illustrated by the land birds of Jamaica. Univ. of Calif. Press, Berkeley. Inter-island comparisons of Caribbean species, but lacks more recent DNA evidence.

National Audubon Society. 2000. The Sibley guide to birds. Knopf, NY. Field guide for North American species, including many nesting birds and migrants to Puerto Rico. Drawings of many plumages and birds in flight.

National Audubon Society. 2001. The Sibley guide to bird life and behavior. Knopf, NY. Includes some species found in both North America and Puerto Rico.

National Geographic Society. 2002. Field guide to the birds of North America, 4^th ed. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC. General field guide for North American species, including many nesting birds and migrants to Puerto Rico.

Nellis, D. W. 1999. Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Wildlife Viewing Guide. Falcon Publishing, Helena, MT. Directions and access information to key wildlife areas.

Ortiz Rosas, P. 1981. Guía del cazador: aves de caza y especies protegidas. Depto. de Recursos Naturales, San Juan, PR; Cooperativa de Artes Gráficas Romualdo Real, Guaynabo, PR. Photos of game birds.

Pérez-Rivera, R. A. 1993. Lista de cotejo de las aves de Puerto Rico. Exegesis 6(17):6-14.

Pettingill, O. S., Jr. 1985. Ornithology in Laboratory and Field, 5th ed. Academic Press.

Poole, A. and F. Gill, eds. 1992-2002. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. Monograph series with detailed life histories of 716 North American species. http://www.birdsofna.org/

Raffaele, Herbert A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ. Compact field guide illustrated with drawings, but uses older species taxonomy.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR. Spanish edition of above field guide.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ. Field guide for the Caribbean region, with color drawings.

Saliva, J.E. 1994. Vieques y su fauna: Vieques wildlife manual. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Boquerón, PR. Good photos of many species of birds as well as amphibians and reptiles.

Schreiber, E. A. and D. S. Lee, eds. 2000. Status and conservation of West Indian seabirds. Soc. Carib. Ornith., Special Pub. No. 1.

Stokes, D.W. 1996. Stokes field guide to birds: Eastern region. Little, Brown, Boston. Good photos of many migrant species.

Thayer Birding Software. 2000. Birds of North America, ver. 2.5. Excellent computer CD-ROM with text, photos and audio of hundreds of species that occur in North America. http://www.thayerbirding.com/.

Tyrrell, E.Q. and R.A. Tyrrell. 1990. Hummingbirds of the Caribbean. Crown Publishers, NY. Excellent photos of all Caribbean hummingbird species, some of which are used in this CD-ROM by permission of the author.

Welty, J. C., Baptista, L. and C. Welty. 1997. Life of Birds, 4^th Ed. W.B. Saunders.

Wiley, J.W. 1996. Ornithology in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Pp. 149-179 in The scientific survey of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: An eighty-year reassessment of the islands' natural history (J. C. Figueroa Colón ed.) Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Vol. 776. 273 pp. Succinct history and selected bibliography.

Wiley, J. W. 2000. A bibliography of ornithology in the West Indies. Proc. West. Found. Vert. Zool. 7:1-817.

Woods, C. A. and F. E. Sergile, eds. 2001. Biogeography of the West Indies: patterns and perspectives. 2nd Edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. www.crcpress.com.

El Pitirre: Society of Caribbean Ornithology; c/o Dr. James W. Wiley, 2201 Ashland St., Ruston, Louisiana 71270. Regular newsletter with articles on Caribbean species.

Bird Watchers Digest. PO Box 110, Marietta, OH 45750. Monthly bird magazine focusing on the general reader, with feature articles on bird behavior.

See the bibliography section for citations of additional references used in this CD-ROM

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Getting Acquainted: a Sample Birding Route

THE SOUTHWESTERN PUERTO RICO BIRD TOUR

(2-3 days)

All of Puerto Rico’s endemic birds, with the exception of the Puerto Rico Parrot, can be found in a few leisurely days of exploring southwestern Puerto Rico. The habitat here varies from wet cloud forest on high mountain ridge tops, to the cactus-dotted subtropical dry forest in the lowlands, where the mountain ranges often block the prevailing northeasterly winds from delivering rain. The distances are given in miles between landmarks, since most cars in Puerto Rico display odometer readings in miles. But specific locations are sometimes indicated by the kilometer markings on the old roadside kilometer posts.

The starting point is the town of Sabana Grande. There are two exits for this town off the main east-west highway, PR 2. The eastern exit (PR 121) is the exit for Susúa State Forest. But it is best to take the western exit for Sabana Grande (PR 102). After getting off PR 2, head north from the freeway for 0.1 miles to a "T" intersection. Turn right toward Sabana Grande, go 1.4 miles, then turn left at the signs for PR 120 / Monte del Estado. The best birding is at higher elevations where Puerto Rican Woodpecker and Puerto Rican Vireo can be found in woodlots at several pulloffs, such as at the kilometer distance markers for Km 9.1 and Km 9.3. Keep your eyes open for Ruddy Quail-Dove, which may fly across the road at any time. The dove’s deep, single-note call can be heard in early morning. The concrete observation tower at Km 14.0 offers views into the forest canopy and an open area to look for soaring hawks, swifts and swallows. The best birding spot on PR 120 is near the picnic area at Km 16.2 inside the Maricao State Forest. This spot is more reliable than El Yunque for the rare and endemic Elfin-woods Warbler. Listen for its rattling trill of a song, or its odd, buzzy call note, as it explores the tree canopy, often in mixed flocks with other species. Also common here is Puerto Rican Vireo, Lesser Antillean (Puerto Rican) Pewee, Puerto Rican Bullfinch, Puerto Rican Tody, and Puerto Rican Tanager.

From the picnic area, continue north on PR 120 for 2.6 miles to the intersection with Puerto Rico 105. Turn left (west) and drive 0.5 miles to the Parador Hacienda Juanita (tel: 838-2550; http://netdial.caribe.net/~juanita/) at Km 23.5 on the north side of the road. Note: some road maps confusingly suggest that this parador is on a different highway. This parador is a good base of operations for the area, or a place to take lunch on the veranda overlooking the mountain forest. Many of the tall trees on the grounds were toppled by Hurricane Georges in 1998, but you can still find Black-cowled Oriole, Green Mango, (Puerto Rican) Stripe-headed Tanager, and Loggerhead Kingbird, as well as other common forest species. There is a good loop trail leading downhill through the forest just west of the swimming pool where Puerto Rican Screech-Owls call at dawn and dusk.

From Hacienda Juanita, drive 3.0 miles west on Puerto Rico 105 to a "T" intersection, and turn left (south) onto Puerto Rico 119, keeping your eyes open for forest birds such as Red-legged Thrush. At several wooded gullies on the way downhill (e.g., PR 119, KM 20.1) Puerto Rican Vireo, Adelaide’s Warbler, and Lesser Antillean (Puerto Rican) Pewee can be found. At the traffic light at the end of Puerto Rico 119, turn left (east) onto Puerto Rico 2. After 1.4 miles turn right (south) onto PR 122, the major entrance to San Germán (Parador Oasis, tel: 892-1175, 892-1110). Just before entering the older city area of San Germán, turn right (west) onto Puerto Rico 102. At the western edge of town, turn right at one of two guardhouses onto the campus of InterAmerican University. Drive around the athletic fields listening for the loud calls of parrots. White(Canary)-winged Parakeets are the most common parrot species found here, but other introduced species also occur.

Return to the westernmost of the two guard houses and cross Puerto Rico 102 onto PR 166, the new loop road to Puerto Rico 320, and then south on Puerto Rico 101 through Lajas and Palmarejo. Watch the utility wires and poles for Caribbean Martin and American Kestrel. (If you don’t want to stop in San Germán, you can avoid the city traffic and windy back country roads by driving west on PR 2 and then south on PR 100 toward Boquerón).

Just before reaching the coast at the town of Boquerón, turn left (south) onto Puerto Rico 301. Go 1.4 miles and turn right at the small sign for Boquerón Wildlife Refuge (tel: 851-4795; hours 7:30AM-4PM, but may be closed on Saturdays). Get a map and checklist upstairs in the refuge office. Behind the office is a short boardwalk loop trail that offers close views of egrets, herons, and Black-necked Stilts in the mangroves. The trails at either end of the boardwalk lead to mangrove stands that were toppled in Hurricane Georges, but still host Yellow Warbler, Puerto Rican Flycatcher, and Lesser Antillean (Puerto Rican) Pewee. Before the hurricane, this refuge was the most reliable place to find Black-crowned Night-Heron in Puerto Rico. Roseate Spoonbill and some of the less common North American migrants like Yellow-rumped Warbler have been more likely to be found here than farther east in Puerto Rico.

Return to Puerto Rico 301 and drive south for 2.5 miles to a left turn at the small sign for Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge. The headquarters building has an excellent visitor center that---until 1997----was dwarfed beneath a huge, abandoned, spy antenna. The US Fish & Wildlife Service was stuck with the bill to remove this Cold War legacy. The visitor center's exhibits explain the wildlife of the area including the fight to save the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird (Mariquita) which is threatened by Shiny Cowbirds that lay their eggs in the Blackbirds' nests. The refuge grounds has an extensive trail system through thorn-scrub forest and some marshlands. Adelaide's Warblers are particularly vocal here.

Continue south on Puerto Rico 301 to its end, then follow the signs on the sandy road for the Cabo Rojo lighthouse ("Faro"). The swamps and salt ponds in the wildlife refuge along the way are some of the best wetlands in the Caribbean for migrant shorebirds such as Stilt Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, and Whimbrel. The mangroves on the way have abundant Northern Waterthrush (winter) and Yellow Warblers. A parador, Bahia Salinas (254-1212) has recently opened on the beach near the salt flats. At the end of the road is a beautiful, white-sand beach and several trails to the lighthouse. The shrubs along the trail harbor Troupials, Warbling Silverbills, and other dry scrub species. The view from the cliffs is spectacular. Columbus sailed past these cliffs on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493.

Once you have had your fill of stimulating sea breezes, retrace your steps to Puerto Rico 301. Turn east onto Puerto Rico 101, and at Km 12.2, turn right at the road sign for Puerto Rico 306 onto a dirt road (the road sign for Puerto Rico 306 is not visible if approaching from the east). This leads to the western edge of Laguna Cartagena, a new National Wildlife Refuge. The lake is now covered with tall reeds and pondweed and has been a drainage pond for irrigation water and agricultural chemicals from cane fields. The US Fish & Wildlife Service is restoring the wetlands, which have been a regular site for Yellow-crowned Bishop and rails such as Sora. The dry forest along the lake edge is good for Troupial, Loggerhead Kingbird, and Puerto Rican Vireo. The pasture to the west is being intensively grazed to suppress exotic grasses and eliminate sugarcane left over from the previous landowner.

Return to Puerto Rico 101 and continue east, then turn right (south) onto Puerto Rico 303 and then left (east) onto Puerto Rico 305 and Puerto Rico 116 toward Guánica. After a short distance, turn right (south) on Puerto Rico 304 toward La Parguera. From the intersection of PR 116 and 304 drive south for 1.8 winding miles and turn right onto Calle 1 at the tiny sign for the "Parador". Bear right at the first residential intersection and follow the road to the end at the Parador Villa Parguera. The grounds of the parador (tel: 787-899-3975, 787-899-7777; http://www.villaparguera.com/) often host the endangered Yellow-shouldered Blackbird which feeds on table scraps there, and can be seen at dawn and dusk in the non-breeding season flying to and from roosts on mangrove islands. Other hotels in Parguera include the Nautilus (787-899-4565, or 787-899-1708; nautilus@caribe.net) and the Casa Blanca (787-899-4250). Boat trips can be arranged at the main plaza in La Parguera for snorkeling or for evening tours of the Phosphorescent Bay. Roseate Terns nest in summer on the small, treeless islands offshore of Parguera. If the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird is not found at the parador, drive 0.4 miles west of the parador along the edge of the mangroves to a hardware store where the staff has been putting out food that attracts Yellow-shouldered Blackbirds, Greater Antillean Grackles, Shiny Cowbirds, and Ringed Turtle-Doves. If all else fails in finding the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird, you can check out its major breeding area at Pitaya, in Cabo Rojo. This area is reached from the end of PR 302, a fair dirt road, but you then have to drive at least 2 miles on roads that require a 4-wheel drive vehicle, especially in the rainy season. At dawn and dusk, Yellow-shouldered Blackbirds can be seen flying along the mangrove channel at the end of PR 302 as it reaches the ocean. This spot can be reached by driving east from the intersection of PR 301 and 303 for 2.2 miles and then turning south (right) onto the good dirt road toward the beach. The sign for PR 302 is no longer visible from the highway. For directions to the Blackbird breeding area farther east, check at the Cabo Rojo NWR office.

From La Parguera return to Puerto Rico 116 and head east. In Ensenada there are salt flats on the north side of the bay that are sometimes good for shorebirds in migration. This bay is where U.S. forces landed during the Spanish American War. Puerto Rico's dry forest can best be explored at Guánica State Forest. There are two main entrances. Puerto Rico 333 leads south along the shore and is open at any hour. From PR 116 head southwest on PR 333 (PR 333 intersects PR 116 one long block east of the Guánica McDonald’s restaurant). After 2.0 miles, park and walk the short dirt road down to the beach to Playa Jaboncillo (marked by a gate and sign to the right of the road). This area is good for Adelaide's Warbler, Puerto Rican Vireo, Puerto Rican Flycatcher, Puerto Rican Tody, Key-West Quail-Dove, Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo, and Mangrove Cuckoo. At night, the endemic Puerto Rican Nightjar can be heard along Puerto Rico 333. This species responds to tapes of its calls, but will not usually come out of dense vegetation as it calls. Since it is endangered, you should not to bother the birds with tape playback. You may be lucky to see one fly across the road or perched in a tree. Puerto Rico 333 continues east, out of the forest, and past a public beach and the Hotel Copamarina (4.0 miles from PR 116; 1-800-981-4676; http://www.copamarina.com).There are also colorfully decorated rooms with kitchen facilities at Mary Lee's by the Sea (787-821-3600; fax 821-0744), toward the beach along the road immediately east of the Copamarina. Also along that side road at the bottom of the steep hill is a small swamp area, populated by egrets, yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstones and Black-necked Stilts in the rainy season. Opposite this swamp are boats that take people to Gilligan’s Island and other mangrove islands just off the coast for good snorkeling (the local hotels have their own boats as well). At the end of the pavement on PR 333 (6.2 miles from PR 116) is a large sandy parking lot (filled with water after heavy rains). The open, sandy area to the north of the parking lot has Wilson's Plover, and during the rainy season may have Black-necked Stilts and migrant shorebirds. Park immediately at the end of the pavement and walk north on the trail that heads inland through a wire gate. Puerto Rican Bullfinch, Puerto Rican Flycatcher, Adelaide's Warbler, Puerto Rican Nightjar, Troupial, Caribbean Elaenia, and other dry-forest species are regular here. Small flocks of insect- and fruit-eating bats patrol the area at dusk.

The other way to enter Guánica State Forest is to continue on Puerto Rico 116, 0.2 miles north of PR 333 to PR 334. Turn right (east) onto this road and bear left at two forks in a residential area, to the forest entrance gate. The trees at the entrance gate have had regular Puerto Rican Screech-Owls. At a sharp left bend as the road climbs, PR Screech-Owl and PR Nightjar have been regular. The road continues through the forest and ends at the headquarters. Get a map at the headquarters and explore the trail system. The start of the Granados Trail (just west of the headquarters) is a good spot for Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo, but this species is more often heard than seen. The road is closed to vehicles except between 8:30 and 3:30, but you can walk the road to look for the species mentioned above. Head back to Puerto Rico 116 and drive north 2.4 miles to Puerto Rico 2 and the end of the tour.

There are several other paradores in the Boquerón, Cabo Rojo and Lajas area (Parador Boquemar, tel: 851-2158; Parador Perichi's, tel: 851-33131; Parador Joyuda, beach tel: 851-5650; Parador Porlamar, tel: 899-4015). The Parador reservation system can be reached via 800 number: PR 800-981-7575; USA 800-443-0266).

C ode of Birding Ethics

American Birding Association

Everyone who enjoys birds and birding must always respect wildlife, its environment, and the rights of others. In any conflict of interest between birds and birders, the welfare of the birds and their environment comes first.

1. Promote the welfare of birds and their environment.

1(a) Support the protection of important bird habitat.

1(b) To avoid stressing birds or exposing them to danger, exercise restraint and caution during observation, photography, sound recording, or filming.

Limit the use of recordings and other methods of attracting birds, and never use such methods in heavily birded areas or for attracting any species that is Threatened, Endangered, or of Special Concern, or is rare in your local area.

Keep well back from nests and nesting colonies, roosts, display areas, and important feeding sites. In such sensitive areas, if there is a need for extended observation, photography, filming, or recording, try to use a blind or hide, and take advantage of natural cover.

Use artificial light sparingly for filming or photography, especially for close-ups.

1(c) Before advertising the presence of a rare bird, evaluate the potential for disturbance to the bird, its surroundings, and other people in the area, and proceed only if access can be controlled, disturbance can be minimized, and permission has been obtained from private land-owners. The sites of rare nesting birds should be divulged only to the proper conservation authorities.

1(d) Stay on roads, trails, and paths where they exist; otherwise keep habitat disturbance to a minimum.

2. Respect the law and the rights of others.

2(a) Do not enter private property without the owner’s explicit permission.

2(b) Follow all laws, rules, and regulations governing use of roads and public areas, both at home and abroad.

2(c) Practice common courtesy in contacts with other people. Your exemplary behavior will generate goodwill with birders and non-birders alike.

3. Ensure that feeders, nest structures, and other artificial bird environments are safe.

3(a) Keep dispensers, water, and food clean and free of decay or disease. It is important to feed birds continually during harsh weather.

3(b) Maintain and clean nest structures regularly.

3(c) If you are attracting birds to an area, ensure the birds are not exposed to predation from cats and other domestic animals, or dangers posed by artificial hazards.

4. Group birding, whether organized or impromptu, requires special care.

Each individual in the group, in addition to the obligations spelled out in Items #1 and #2, has responsibilities as a Group Member.

4(a) Respect the interests, rights, and skills of fellow birders, as well as those of people participating in other legitimate outdoor activities. Freely share your knowledge and experience, except where code 1(c) applies. Be especially helpful to beginning birders.

4(b) If you witness unethical birding behavior, assess the situation and intervene if you think it prudent. When interceding, inform the person(s) of the inappropriate action and attempt, within reason, to have it stopped. If the behavior continues, document it and notify appropriate individuals or organizations.

Group Leader Responsibilities [amateur and professional trips and tours].

4(c) Be an exemplary ethical role model for the group. Teach through word and example.

4(d) Keep groups to a size that limits impact on the environment and does not interfere with others using the same area.

4(e) Ensure everyone in the group knows of and practices this code.

4(f) Learn and inform the group of any special circumstances applicable to the areas being visited (e.g., no tape recorders allowed).

4(g) Acknowledge that professional tour companies bear a special responsibility to place the welfare of birds and the benefits of public knowledge ahead of the company’s commercial interests. Ideally, leaders should keep track of tour sightings, document unusual occurrences, and submit records to appropriate organizations.

PLEASE FOLLOW THIS CODE. DISTRIBUTE IT AND TEACH IT TO OTHERS.

AND BY THE WAY, REMEMBER TO SHUT THE GATE BEHIND YOU!

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