List of birds of Bermuda
The avifauna of Bermuda include 387 species, according to the Bermuda Audubon Society (BAS) as of February 2015. The 387 species is a remarkable number considering that the island is a mere 53.3 square kilometres. (Additional species known only from the fossil record or speculatively from the time of early exploration are not included.) Ten species were introduced by humans; the mallard also occurs naturally as a non-breeding migrant. Of the 387, 104 are uncommon, 61 are rare, and 145 are very rare, all as defined below. Audubon's shearwater formerly bred in Bermuda  but is now only a vagrant; Eskimo curlew is considered extinct. This list is presented in the taxonomic sequence of the "Check-list of North and Middle American Birds", 7th edition through the 62nd Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS). Common and scientific names are also those of the "Check-list", except that the common names of families are from the Clements taxonomy because the AOS list does not include them. Unless otherwise noted, all species listed below are considered to occur regularly in Bermuda as permanent residents, summer or winter visitors, or migrants. These tags are used  to annotate some species: Ducks, geese, and waterfowl. Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae The family Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating. Flamingos. Order: PhoenicopteriformesFamily: Phoenicopteridae Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used  upside-down. Flamingos do not occur in the wild in, and are not native to, Bermuda, and have neither colonised Bermuda nor been introduced to the wild there. The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo has exhibited a small number on public display since 1954. These birds have been used for a captive breeding programme (the first to hatch in the zoo was in 1967) for re-introduction to the wild in the British Virgin Islands in 1992. Although their open-air enclosure is too small for them to become airborne, one flamingo "escaped" captivity in 1987, being driven aloft by  Hurricane Emily. The bird survived the storm and was recaptured. Another escaped in 2003 and was recaptured the following year. Grebes. Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land. Pigeons and doves. Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere. Cuckoos. Order: CuculiformesFamily: Cuculidae The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners, and anis. These birds are of  variable size with slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs. The Old World cuckoos are brood parasites. Nightjars and allies. Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Caprimulgidae Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs, and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is camouflaged to resemble bark or leaves. Swifts. Order: ApodiformesFamily: Apodidae Swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only  on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang. Hummingbirds. Order: ApodiformesFamily: Trochilidae Hummingbirds are small birds capable of hovering in mid-air due to the rapid flapping of their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backwards. Rails, gallinules, and coots. Order: GruiformesFamily: Rallidae Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most  species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers. Cranes. Order: GruiformesFamily: Gruidae Cranes are large, long-legged, and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or "dances". Stilts and avocets. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Recurvirostridae Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds which includes the avocets and stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs  and long, thin, straight bills. Plovers and lapwings. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Charadriidae The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water. Sandpipers and allies. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: 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. Variation in length of legs  and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. Skuas and jaegers. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: 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. Auks, murres, and puffins. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Alcidae Alcids are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture, and some of their habits, however they are not related to the penguins  and differ in being able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest. Gulls, terns, and skimmers. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds and includes gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have webbed feet. Gulls have stout bills while terns have long dagger-like bils. 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. Skimmers are a small family of tropical tern-like birds. They have an elongated lower mandible which they use to feed by flying low over the water surface and skimming the water for small fish. Tropicbirds. Order: PhaethontiformesFamily: Phaethontidae Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings. Loons. Order: GaviiformesFamily: Gaviidae Loons, known as divers in Europe, are a  group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Europe. They are the size of a large duck or small goose, which they somewhat resemble when swimming, but to which they are completely unrelated. Southern storm-petrels. Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: 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 species were included with the other storm-petrels in family Hydrobatidae. Northern storm-petrels. Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: 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. Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary. Frigatebirds. Order: SuliformesFamily: Fregatidae Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black-and-white, or completely black, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have coloured inflatable throat pouches . They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week. Boobies and gannets. Order: SuliformesFamily: Sulidae The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish. Cormorants and shags. Order: SuliformesFamily: Phalacrocoracidae Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium to large coastal, fish-eating seabirds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage colouration varies, with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species  being black-and-white, and a few being colourful. Pelicans. Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Pelecanidae Pelicans are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes. Herons, egrets, and bitterns. Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Ardeidae The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons, and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises, and spoonbills. Ibises. Order : PelecaniformesFamily: Threskiornithidae Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings with 11 primary and about 20 secondary feathers. They are strong fliers and despite their size and weight, very capable soarers. New World vultures. Order: CathartiformesFamily: Cathartidae The New World vultures are not closely related to Old World vultures, but superficially resemble them because of convergent evolution. Like the Old World vultures, they are scavengers. However, unlike Old World vultures, which find carcasses by sight, New World vultures have a good sense of smell with which they  locate carrion. Osprey. Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Pandionidae Pandionidae is a monotypic family of fish-eating birds of prey. Its single species possesses a very large and powerful hooked beak, strong legs, strong talons, and keen eyesight. Hawks, eagles, and kites. Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Accipitridae Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers, and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. Barn-owls. Order: StrigiformesFamily: Tytonidae Barn-owls are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They  have long strong legs with powerful talons. Owls. Order: StrigiformesFamily: Strigidae The typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk. Kingfishers. Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Alcedinidae Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Woodpeckers. Order: PiciformesFamily: Picidae Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails, and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two  toes pointing forward and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks. Falcons and caracaras. Order: FalconiformesFamily: Falconidae Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons. Tyrant flycatchers. Order: PasseriformesFamily: 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, have plain colouring. As the name implies, most are insectivorous. Vireos, shrike-babblers, and erpornis. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Vireonidae The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds. They are typically greenish in colour and resemble wood-warblers apart from their heavier bills. Shrikes. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Laniidae Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A shrike's beak is hooked, like that of a typical bird of prey. Crows, jays, and magpies. Order : PasseriformesFamily: Corvidae The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers, and ground jays. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence. Larks. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Alaudidae Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds. Swallows. Order: PasseriformesFamily: 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. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Phylloscopidae Leaf warblers are a family of small insectivorous birds found mostly in Eurasia and ranging into Wallacea and Africa. The Arctic warbler breeds east into Alaska. The species are of various sizes, often green-plumaged above and yellow below, or more subdued with greyish-green to greyish-brown colours. Kinglets. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Regulidae The kinglets, also called crests, are a small group of birds often included in the Old World warblers, but frequently given family status because they also resemble the titmice . Waxwings. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Bombycillidae The waxwings are a group of passerine birds with soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers. In the Bohemian and cedar waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax and give the group its name. These are arboreal birds of northern forests. They live on insects in summer and berries in winter. Nuthatches. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sittidae Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike other birds which can only go upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet . Treecreepers. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Certhiidae Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. They have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark. They have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which they use to support themselves on vertical trees. Wrens. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Troglodytidae The wrens are mainly small and inconspicuous except for their loud songs. These birds have short wings and thin down-turned bills. Several species often hold their tails upright. All are insectivorous. Mockingbirds and thrashers. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Mimidae The mimids are a family of passerine birds that includes thrashers, mockingbirds, tremblers , and the New World catbirds. These birds are notable for their vocalizations, especially their ability to mimic a wide variety of birds and other sounds heard outdoors. Their colouring tends towards dull-greys and browns. Starlings. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sturnidae Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen. Thrushes and allies. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Turdidae The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly 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. Old World flycatchers. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Muscicapidae Old World flycatchers are a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small arboreal insectivores. The appearance of these birds is highly varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls. Waxbills and allies. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Estrildidae The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They are gregarious and often colonial seed eaters with short thick but pointed bills . They are all similar in structure and habits, but have wide variation in plumage colours and patterns. Old World sparrows. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Passeridae Sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or grey birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects. Wagtails and pipits. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Motacillidae Motacillidae is a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws, and pipits. They are slender ground-feeding insectivores of open country. Finches, euphonias, and allies. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Fringillidae Finches  are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have twelve tail feathers and nine primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well. Longspurs and snow buntings. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Calcariidae The Calcariidae are a group of passerine birds that were traditionally grouped with the New World sparrows, but differ in a number of respects and are usually found in open grassy areas. New World sparrows. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Passerellidae Until 2017, these  species were considered part of the family Emberizidae. Most of the species are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many of these have distinctive head patterns. Yellow-breasted chat. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Icteriidae This species was historically placed in the wood-warblers (Parulidae) but nonetheless most authorities were unsure if it belonged there. It was placed in its own family in 2017. Troupials and allies. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Icteridae The icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colourful, passerine birds restricted to the New  World and include the grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Most species have black as the predominant plumage colour, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. New World warblers. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Parulidae The New World warblers are a group of small, often colourful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most are arboreal, but some are terrestrial. Most members of this family are insectivores. Cardinals and allies. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Cardinalidae The cardinals are a family of robust, seed-eating birds with strong bills. They are typically associated with open woodland. The sexes usually have distinct plumages. List of