List of birds of Ashmore Reef
This is a list of the bird species recorded in Ashmore Reef. The Territory comprises Ashmore Reef, which includes West, Middle, and East Islands, and two lagoons, and Cartier Reef, which includes Cartier Island. The avifauna of Ashmore Reef include a total of 174 species, of which 1 has been introduced by humans. This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of "The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World", 2021 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each  heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for Ashmore Reef. The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. The commonly occurring native species do not fall into any of these categories. Magpie goose. Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anseranatidae The family contains a single species, the magpie goose. It was an early and distinctive offshoot of the anseriform family tree, diverging after the screamers and before all other ducks, geese and swans, sometime in the late Cretaceous. Ducks, geese, and waterfowl. Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae The  family Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These are adapted for an aquatic existence, with webbed feet, bills that are flattened to a greater or lesser extent, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to special oils. 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: CaprimulgiformesFamily: 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. 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. Thick-knees. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Burhinidae The thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the  family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow-black bills, large yellow eyes and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats. 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. Buttonquail. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Turnicidae The buttonquail are small, drab, running birds which resemble the true quails. The female is the brighter of the sexes and initiates courtship. The male incubates the eggs and tends the young. Pratincoles and coursers. Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Glareolidae Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincoles, which have short legs, long pointed wings, and long forked tails, and the coursers, which have long legs, short wings, and long, pointed bills which curve downwards. 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, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the  head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years. 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 long wings have black markings, as does the head. Southern storm-petrels . Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Oceanitidae The southern storm-petrels are the smallest seabirds, relatives of the petrels, feeding on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. Their flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like. 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. Shearwaters and petrels. Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with  medium nasal septum, and a long outer functional primary flight feather. Frigatebirds. Order: SuliformesFamily: Fregatidae Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black, or black-and-white, 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-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish. Cormorants and shags. Order: SuliformesFamily: Phalacrocoracidae Cormorants are medium-to-large aquatic birds, usually with mainly dark plumage and areas of coloured skin on the face. The bill is long, thin and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed, a distinguishing feature among the order Pelecaniformes. Pelicans. Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Pelecanidae Pelicans are large water birds with distinctive pouches under their bills. Like other birds in the order Pelecaniformes, they have four webbed 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. 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. Bee-eaters. Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Meropidae The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in  Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colourful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar. Rollers. Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Coraciidae Rollers resemble crows in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. They share the colourful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not. 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. Honeyeaters. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Meliphagidae The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium-sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea. They are nectar feeders and closely resemble other nectar-feeding passerines. Cuckooshrikes. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Campephagidae The cuckooshrikes are small to medium-sized passerine birds. They are predominantly greyish with white and black, although some species are brightly coloured. Fantails. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Rhipiduridae The fantails are  small insectivorous birds which are specialist aerial feeders. Monarch flycatchers. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Monarchidae The monarch flycatchers are small to medium-sized insectivorous passerines which hunt by flycatching. 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 typical shrike's beak is hooked, like a 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. Reed warblers and allies. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Acrocephalidae The members of this family are usually rather large for "warblers". Most are rather plain olivaceous brown above with much yellow to beige below. They are usually found in open woodland, reedbeds, or tall grass. The family occurs mostly in southern to western Eurasia and surroundings, but it also ranges far into the Pacific, with some species in Africa. Grassbirds and allies. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Locustellidae Locustellidae are a family of small insectivorous songbirds found mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. They are  smallish birds with tails that are usually long and pointed, and tend to be drab brownish or buffy all over. 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 species are of various sizes, often green -plumaged above and yellow below, or more subdued with greyish-green to greyish-brown colours. White-eyes, yuhinas, and allies. Order: PasseriformesFamily: Zosteropidae The white-eyes are small and mostly undistinguished, their plumage above being generally some dull colour like greenish-olive, but some species have a white or bright yellow throat, breast or lower parts, and several have buff flanks. As their name suggests, many species have a white ring around each eye. 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. 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 Old World 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.