page_title: List of birds of Vieques
section_title: Gulls, terns and skimmers
hierarchical_section_title: List of birds of Vieques / Gulls, terns and skimmers
caption_attribution_description: English: Laughing Gull in flight. Photo by Guanaco
context_page_description: This is a list of birds recorded in the island of Vieques. Vieques is an island municipality of Puerto Rico located off the east coast of the main island of Puerto Rico, south of Culebra island and west of the Virgin Islands. It has a total area of 348.15 km², of which only 135 km² is land area. On May 1, 2001, the western end of Vieques National Wildlife Refuge was established and on May 1, 2003, the same day as the exit of the U.S. Navy from the island, the eastern end of the refuge was established.
  There are a total of 142 species recorded from the island of Vieques. Some species, such as the Puerto Rican parrot, have been extirpated from the island but are, nonetheless, included in this list. Extinct species are not included in this list.
  This list presents the following information for each species: common and scientific name of each species, preferred habitat, breeding status in Vieques and frequency of occurrence for each season. Tags are used to describe this information for each species.
context_section_description: Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae
  Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds and includes gulls, kittiwakes, terns and skimmers. They are typically gray or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with gray 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 25–30 years.
caption: Laughing gull, the most common gull (gaviota) in the archipelago of Puerto Rico but an uncommon species in summer in Vieques.
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