List of birds of Saint Lucia
This is a list of the bird species recorded in Saint Lucia. The avifauna of Saint Lucia included a total of 191 species according to "Bird Checklists of the World" as of May 2021. Of them, five are endemic, three have been introduced by humans, and 116 are rare or accidental. There are also two subspecies endemic to the island. Six species are globally threatened. 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. The following tags have been used to highlight several categories of occurrence. Ducks, geese, and waterfowl. Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae 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. 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. 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. 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. Oystercatchers. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Haematopodidae The oystercatchers are large and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for  smashing or prising open molluscs. 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. Gulls, terns, and skimmers. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds which includes gulls, kittiwakes, terns, and skimmers. They are typically grey 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 grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years. Tropicbirds. 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. 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, these species were included with the other storm-petrels in family Hydrobatidae. Northern storm-petrels. Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Hydrobatidae 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. Shearwaters and petrels. Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae 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. 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. Anhingas. Order: SuliformesFamily: Anhingidae Anhingas are often called "snake-birds" because of their long thin neck, which gives a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged. The males have black and dark-brown plumage, an erectile crest on the nape, and a larger bill than the female. The females have much paler plumage especially on the neck and underparts. The darters have completely webbed feet and their legs are short and set  far back on the body. Their plumage is somewhat permeable, like that of cormorants, and they spread their wings to dry after diving. 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 and spoonbills. 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. Osprey. Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Pandionidae The family Pandionidae contains only one species, the osprey. The osprey is a medium-large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution. 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. Kingfishers. Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Alcedinidae Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Bee-eaters. Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Meropidae The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. 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. New World and African parrots. Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Psittacidae Parrots are small to large birds with a characteristic curved beak. Their upper mandibles  have slight mobility in the joint with the skull and they have a generally erect stance. All parrots are zygodactyl, having the four toes on each foot placed two at the front and two to the back. 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 New World warblers apart from their heavier bills. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. Tanagers and allies. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Thraupidae The tanagers are a large group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World, mainly in the tropics. Many species are brightly coloured. As a family they are omnivorous, but individual species specialise in eating fruits, seeds, insects, or other types of food. Most have short, rounded wings.