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List of birds of American Samoa

January 01, 1970

This is a list of the bird species recorded in American Samoa. The avifauna of American Samoa include a total of 76 species as of 2023, according to Bird Checklists of the World.[1] Of them, 15 are rare or accidental, four have been introduced by humans, and one, the mao, is extirpated. American Samoa has no endemic bird species but several near-endemics occur and many of the land birds occur in good numbers.[2] A variety of seabirds breed in the islands. Hunting and introduced predators have reduced their numbers but there are still some important breeding sites such as Lata Mountain on Ta'u Island.[3]

This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (English and scientific names) are those of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2022 edition.[4]

The following tags have been used to highlight several categories of occurrence.

  • (A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in American Samoa
  • (I) Introduced - a species introduced to American Samoa as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions
  • (Ex) Extirpated - a species that no longer occurs in American Samoa although populations exist elsewhere

Ducks, geese, and waterfowl edit

 
Pacific black duck or tolo'a, resident in small numbers

Order: Anseriformes   Family: 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.

Pheasants, grouse, and allies edit

Order: Galliformes   Family: Phasianidae

The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quails, partridges, snowcocks, francolins, spurfowls, tragopans, monals, pheasants, peafowls, and jungle fowls. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings.

Pigeons and doves edit

 
Many-colored fruit-dove or manuma, rare and threatened by hunting

Order: Columbiformes   Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.

Cuckoos edit

Order: Cuculiformes   Family: 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.

Swifts edit

Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: 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 edit

 
Australasian swamphen or manuali'i, widespread in thick cover

Order: Gruiformes   Family: 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.

Plovers and lapwings edit

 
Pacific golden-plover or tulī, a migrant seen on coasts and grassy areas

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: 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 edit

 
Bristle-thighed curlew or tuli'olovalu, a migrant in small numbers from Alaska

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: 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 edit

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: 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 edit

 
Sooty tern or gogo'uli, 67,500 nests were counted on Rose Atoll in 1998

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically gray 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 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 30 years.

Tropicbirds edit

 
White-tailed tropicbird or tava'e, a common seabird

Order: Phaethontiformes   Family: 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 edit

Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Oceanitidae

The southern storm-petrels are relatives of the petrels and are the smallest seabirds. They feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.

Shearwaters and petrels edit

 
Tahiti petrel or tai'o, breeds in the mountains

Order: Procellariiformes   Family: 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 edit

 
Lesser frigatebird or atafa, breeds on Rose Atoll

Order: Suliformes   Family: 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 colored 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 edit

 
Red-footed booby (left) and brown booby (right), common offshore

Order: Suliformes   Family: Sulidae

The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.

Herons, egrets, and bitterns edit

 
Pacific reef-heron or matu'u, common resident

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: 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.

Barn-owls edit

 
Barn owl or lulu, a widespread nocturnal bird

Order: Strigiformes   Family: 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 edit

 
Pacific kingfisher or ti'otala is common in a variety of habitats

Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Alcedinidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails.

Old World parrots edit

 
Blue-crowned lorikeet or segavao, breeds in the Manu'a islands

Order: Psittaciformes   Family: Psittaculidae

Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly colored, and some are multi-colored. In size they range from 8 cm (3.1 in) to 1 m (3.3 ft) in length. Old World parrots are found from Africa east across south and southeast Asia and Oceania to Australia and New Zealand.

Honeyeaters edit

 
Eastern wattled-honeyeater or iao, a common resident

Order: Passeriformes   Family: 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.

Monarch flycatchers edit

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Monarchidae

The monarch flycatchers are small to medium-sized insectivorous passerines which hunt by flycatching.

Bulbuls edit

 
Red-vented bulbul or manu pālagi, introduced to Tutuila in the 1950s

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Pycnonotidae

Bulbuls are medium-sized songbirds. Some are colorful with yellow, red, or orange vents, cheeks, throats or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage. Some species have distinct crests.

Starlings edit

 
Polynesian starling or miti vao, a native bird of forests

Order: Passeriformes   Family: 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 edit

 
Island thrush

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Turdidae

The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively 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.

References edit

  1. ^ Lepage, Denis (October 10, 2019). "Checklist of birds of American Samoa". Avibase bird checklists of the world. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Watling, Dick (2001) A Guide to the Birds of Fiji & Western Polynesia, Environmental Consultants (Fiji), Suva.
  3. ^ O'Connor, P. J. & Rauzon M. J. (2004) Inventory and monitoring of seabirds in National Park of American Samoa. 2008-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 25 September 2008.
  4. ^ Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved October 25, 2022.

See also edit

January 01, 1970
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This is a list of the bird species recorded in American Samoa The avifauna of American Samoa include a total of 76 species as of 2023 according to Bird Checklists of the World 1 Of them 15 are rare or accidental four have been introduced by humans and one the mao is extirpated American Samoa has no endemic bird species but several near endemics occur and many of the land birds occur in good numbers 2 A variety of seabirds breed in the islands Hunting and introduced predators have reduced their numbers but there are still some important breeding sites such as Lata Mountain on Ta u Island 3 This list s taxonomic treatment designation and sequence of orders families and species and nomenclature English and scientific names are those of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World 2022 edition 4 The following tags have been used to highlight several categories of occurrence A Accidental a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in American Samoa I Introduced a species introduced to American Samoa as a consequence direct or indirect of human actions Ex Extirpated a species that no longer occurs in American Samoa although populations exist elsewhere Contents 1 Ducks geese and waterfowl 2 Pheasants grouse and allies 3 Pigeons and doves 4 Cuckoos 5 Swifts 6 Rails gallinules and coots 7 Plovers and lapwings 8 Sandpipers and allies 9 Skuas and jaegers 10 Gulls terns and skimmers 11 Tropicbirds 12 Southern storm petrels 13 Shearwaters and petrels 14 Frigatebirds 15 Boobies and gannets 16 Herons egrets and bitterns 17 Barn owls 18 Kingfishers 19 Old World parrots 20 Honeyeaters 21 Monarch flycatchers 22 Bulbuls 23 Starlings 24 Thrushes 25 References 26 See alsoDucks geese and waterfowl edit nbsp Pacific black duck or tolo a resident in small numbers Order Anseriformes Family AnatidaeAnatidae 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 Northern shoveler Spatula clypeata A Pacific black duck Anas superciliosa Eastern spot billed duck Anas zonorhynchaPheasants grouse and allies editOrder Galliformes Family PhasianidaeThe Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quails partridges snowcocks francolins spurfowls tragopans monals pheasants peafowls and jungle fowls In general they are plump although they vary in size and have broad relatively short wings Red junglefowl Gallus gallus I Pigeons and doves edit nbsp Many colored fruit dove or manuma rare and threatened by hunting Order Columbiformes Family ColumbidaePigeons and doves are stout bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere Rock pigeon Columba livia A Shy ground dove Alopecoenas stairi Many colored fruit dove Ptilinopus perousii Crimson crowned fruit dove Ptilinopus porphyraceus Pacific imperial pigeon Ducula pacificaCuckoos editOrder Cuculiformes Family CuculidaeThe 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 Long tailed koel Urodynamis taitensisSwifts editOrder Caprimulgiformes Family ApodidaeSwifts 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 White rumped swiftlet Aerodramus spodiopygius Australian swiftlet Aerodramus terraereginaeRails gallinules and coots edit nbsp Australasian swamphen or manuali i widespread in thick cover Order Gruiformes Family RallidaeRallidae 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 Buff banded rail Gallirallus philippensis Black backed swamphen Porphyrio indicus Australasian swamphen Porphyrio melanotus Spotless crake Zapornia tabuensisPlovers and lapwings edit nbsp Pacific golden plover or tuli a migrant seen on coasts and grassy areas Order Charadriiformes Family CharadriidaeThe 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 Pacific golden plover Pluvialis fulva Masked lapwing Vanellus miles A Sandpipers and allies edit nbsp Bristle thighed curlew or tuli olovalu a migrant in small numbers from Alaska Order Charadriiformes Family ScolopacidaeScolopacidae 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 Bristle thighed curlew Numenius tahitiensis Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus A Bar tailed godwit Limosa lapponica Ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres Sanderling Calidris alba Wandering tattler Tringa incanaSkuas and jaegers editOrder Charadriiformes Family StercorariidaeThe 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 Parasitic jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus A Gulls terns and skimmers edit nbsp Sooty tern or gogo uli 67 500 nests were counted on Rose Atoll in 1998 Order Charadriiformes Family LaridaeLaridae is a family of medium to large seabirds the gulls terns and skimmers Gulls are typically gray 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 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 30 years Laughing gull Leucophaeus atricilla A Brown noddy Anous stolidus Black noddy Anous minutus Blue gray noddy Anous ceruleus White tern Gygis alba Sooty tern Onychoprion fuscatus Gray backed tern Onychoprion lunatus Bridled tern Onychoprion anaethetus A Black naped tern Sterna sumatrana A Greater crested tern Thalasseus bergii A Tropicbirds edit nbsp White tailed tropicbird or tava e a common seabird Order Phaethontiformes Family PhaethontidaeTropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans with exceptionally long central tail feathers Their heads and long wings have black markings White tailed tropicbird Phaethon lepturus Red tailed tropicbird Phaethon rubricaudaSouthern storm petrels editOrder Procellariiformes Family OceanitidaeThe southern storm petrels are relatives of the petrels and are the smallest seabirds They feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface typically while hovering The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat like White faced storm petrel Pelagodroma marina A Black bellied storm petrel Fregetta tropica A Polynesian storm petrel Nesofregetta fuliginosaShearwaters and petrels edit nbsp Tahiti petrel or tai o breeds in the mountains Order Procellariiformes Family ProcellariidaeThe procellariids are the main group of medium sized true petrels characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary Herald petrel Pterodroma heraldica Mottled petrel Pterodroma inexpectata A White necked petrel Pterodroma cervicalis Black winged petrel Pterodroma nigripennis A Gould s petrel Pterodroma leucoptera Collared petrel Pterodroma brevipes Phoenix petrel Pterodroma alba Tahiti petrel Pterodroma rostrata Flesh footed shearwater Ardenna carneipes A Wedge tailed shearwater Ardenna pacificus Sooty shearwater Ardenna griseus Short tailed shearwater Ardenna tenuirostris Christmas shearwater Puffinus nativitatis Newell s shearwater Puffinus newelli A Tropical shearwater Puffinus bailloniFrigatebirds edit nbsp Lesser frigatebird or atafa breeds on Rose Atoll Order Suliformes Family FregatidaeFrigatebirds 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 colored 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 Lesser frigatebird Fregata ariel Great frigatebird Fregata minorBoobies and gannets edit nbsp Red footed booby left and brown booby right common offshore Order Suliformes Family SulidaeThe sulids comprise the gannets and boobies Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge dive for fish Masked booby Sula dactylatra Brown booby Sula leucogaster Red footed booby Sula sulaHerons egrets and bitterns edit nbsp Pacific reef heron or matu u common resident Order Pelecaniformes Family ArdeidaeThe 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 White faced heron Egretta novaehollandiae A Pacific reef heron Egretta sacraBarn owls edit nbsp Barn owl or lulu a widespread nocturnal bird Order Strigiformes Family TytonidaeBarn owls are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart shaped faces They have long strong legs with powerful talons Barn owl Tyto albaKingfishers edit nbsp Pacific kingfisher or ti otala is common in a variety of habitats Order Coraciiformes Family AlcedinidaeKingfishers are medium sized birds with large heads long pointed bills short legs and stubby tails Pacific kingfisher Todirhamphus sacer Collared kingfisher Todiramphus chlorisOld World parrots edit nbsp Blue crowned lorikeet or segavao breeds in the Manu a islands Order Psittaciformes Family PsittaculidaeCharacteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill an upright stance strong legs and clawed zygodactyl feet Many parrots are vividly colored and some are multi colored In size they range from 8 cm 3 1 in to 1 m 3 3 ft in length Old World parrots are found from Africa east across south and southeast Asia and Oceania to Australia and New Zealand Blue crowned lorikeet Vini australisHoneyeaters edit nbsp Eastern wattled honeyeater or iao a common resident Order Passeriformes Family MeliphagidaeThe 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 Samoan myzomela Myzomela nigriventris Mao Gymnomyza samoensis Ex Eastern wattled honeyeater Foulehaio carunculatusMonarch flycatchers editOrder Passeriformes Family MonarchidaeThe monarch flycatchers are small to medium sized insectivorous passerines which hunt by flycatching Fiji shrikebill Clytorhynchus vitiensisBulbuls edit nbsp Red vented bulbul or manu palagi introduced to Tutuila in the 1950s Order Passeriformes Family PycnonotidaeBulbuls are medium sized songbirds Some are colorful with yellow red or orange vents cheeks throats or supercilia but most are drab with uniform olive brown to black plumage Some species have distinct crests Red vented bulbul Pycnonotus cafer I Starlings edit nbsp Polynesian starling or miti vao a native bird of forests Order Passeriformes Family SturnidaeStarlings 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 Polynesian starling Aplonis tabuensis Samoan starling Aplonis atrifusca Common myna Acridotheres tristis I Jungle myna Acridotheres fuscus I Thrushes edit nbsp Island thrush Order Passeriformes Family TurdidaeThe thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively 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 Island thrush Turdus poliocephalusReferences edit Lepage Denis October 10 2019 Checklist of birds of American Samoa Avibase bird checklists of the world Retrieved April 8 2020 Watling Dick 2001 A Guide to the Birds of Fiji amp Western Polynesia Environmental Consultants Fiji Suva O Connor P J amp Rauzon M J 2004 Inventory and monitoring of seabirds in National Park of American Samoa Archived 2008 06 12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 25 September 2008 Clements J F T S Schulenberg M J Iliff S M Billerman T A Fredericks B L Sullivan and C L Wood 2022 The eBird Clements Checklist of Birds of the World v2022 Downloaded from http www birds cornell edu clementschecklist download Retrieved October 25 2022 See also editList of mammals of American Samoa List of non marine molluscs of American Samoa List of birds Lists of birds by region Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of birds of American Samoa amp oldid 1168302518, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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