Antigua and Barbuda is home to a wide variety of birds, several of which are easily spotted on the beaches and forests of the island nation. Some, like the Bananaquit, have adjusted to human presence so well that they have been recorded stealing sugar from tourists having breakfast.
The beautiful Magnificent Frigatebird is the national bird of Antigua and Barbuda, with the males known for their inflatable red gular sacs.
List of Birds Found in Antigua and Barbuda
Native Birds
Boobies and Gannets
Cuckoos
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl
- Green-winged Teal
- Ruddy Duck
- White-cheeked Pintail
Falcons and Caracaras
Frigatebirds
Grebes
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Brown Noddy
- Laughing Gull
- Least Tern
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Royal Tern
- Sandwich Tern
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
- Cattle Egret
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Green Heron
- Little Blue Heron
- Snowy Egret
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Hummingbirds
- Antillean Crested Hummingbird
- Green-throated Carib
Mockingbirds and Thrashers
- Pearly-eyed Thrasher
- Tropical Mockingbird
New World Warblers
- Northern Waterthrush
- Black-and-white Warbler
- Prothonotary Warbler
- American Redstart
- Northern Parula
- Yellow Warbler
- Barbuda Warbler
Oystercatchers
Pelicans
Pigeons and Doves
- Common Ground Dove
- White-crowned Pigeon
- Zenaida Dove
Plovers and Lapwings
- Black-bellied Plover
- Wilson’s Plover
Rails, Gallinules, and Coots
- Clapper Rail
- Common Gallinule
Sandpipers and Allies
- Lesser Yellowlegs
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Semipalmated Sandpiper
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Stilt Sandpiper
- Upland Sandpiper
- Whimbrel
Shearwaters and Petrels
- Audubon’s Shearwater
- Barolo Shearwater
Stilts and Avocets
Swallows
- Bank Swallow
- Caribbean Martin
- Cliff Swallow
Tanagers and Allies
- Bananaquit
- Black-faced Grassquit
- Lesser Antillean Bullfinch
Tropicbirds
Troupials and Allies
Tyrant Flycatchers
- Caribbean Elaenia
- Gray Kingbird
- Lesser Antillean Flycatcher
Vireos, Shrike-babblers, and Erpornis
Non-native Birds
Tanagers and Allies
Swallows
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl
- American Wigeon
- Black-bellied Whistling-duck
- Blue-winged Teal
- Canvasback
- Cinnamon Teal
- Eurasian Wigeon
- Fulvous Whistling-duck
- Gadwall
- Hooded Merganser
- Lesser Scaup
- Mallard
- Masked Duck
- Northern Pintail
- Northern Shoveler
- Red-breasted Merganser
- Ring-necked Duck
- Tundra Swan
- West Indian Whistling-duck
Guineafowl
Pigeons and Doves
- Bridled Quail-dove
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- Rock Pigeon
- Ruddy Quail-dove
- Scaly-naped Pigeon
- White-winged Dove
Cuckoos
- Black-billed Cuckoo
- Smooth-billed Ani
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Swifts
Rails, Gallinules, and Coots
- American Coot
- Black Rail
- Purple Gallinule
- Sora
Plovers and Lapwings
- American Golden-plover
- Killdeer
- Northern Lapwing
- Piping Plover
- Semipalmated Plover
- Snowy Plover
Sandpipers and Allies
- Buff-breasted Sandpiper
- Curlew Sandpiper
- Greater Yellowlegs
- Hudsonian Godwit
- Least Sandpiper
- Little Stint
- Long-billed Curlew
- Long-billed Dowitcher
- Pectoral Sandpiper
- Red Knot
- Red Phalarope
- Ruff
- Sanderling
- Short-billed Dowitcher
- Solitary Sandpiper
- Western Sandpiper
- White-rumped Sandpiper
- Willet
- Wilson’s Phalarope
- Wilson’s Snipe
Skuas and Jaegers
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Black-headed Gull
- Black Tern
- Bonaparte’s Gull
- Bridled Tern
- Caspian Tern
- Common Gull
- Common Tern
- Forster’s Tern
- Great Black-backed Gull
- Gull-billed Tern
- Herring Gull
- Ring-billed Gull
- Roseate Tern
- Slender-billed Gull
- Sooty Tern
Tropicbirds
Shearwaters and Petrels
- Cory’s Shearwater
- Great Shearwater
Boobies and Gannets
- Masked Booby
- Red-footed Booby
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
- American Bittern
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Grey Heron
- Little Egret
- Reddish Egret
- Tricolored Heron
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
- Northern Harrier
- Red-tailed Hawk
Falcons and Caracaras
Nightjars and Allies
- Antillean Nighthawk
- Chuck-will’s-widow
Hummingbirds
Stilts and Avocets
Jacanas
Southern Storm-petrels
Northern Storm-petrels
- Band-rumped Storm-petrel
- Leach’s Storm-petrel
Storks
Pelicans
Ibises and Spoonbills
Osprey
Kingfishers
Woodpeckers
Cardinals and Allies
- Blue Grosbeak
- Indigo Bunting
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Scarlet Tanager
Vireos, Shrike-babblers, and Erpornis
- Philadelphia Vireo
- Yellow-throated Vireo
Mockingbirds and Thrashers
- Brown Trembler
- Northern Mockingbird
Thrushes and Allies
Waxbills and Allies
Old World Sparrows
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies
Troupials and Allies
- Bobolink
- Great-tailed Grackle
- Shiny Cowbird
- Venezuelan Troupial
New World Warblers
- Bay-breasted Warbler
- Blackpoll Warbler
- Black-throated Blue Warbler
- Black-throated Green Warbler
- Cape May Warbler
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Common Yellowthroat
- Hooded Warbler
- Kentucky Warbler
- Louisiana Waterthrush
- Magnolia Warbler
- Ovenbird
- Prairie Warbler
- Worm-eating Warbler
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Thanks to the nation’s small size, it is possible to visit all the popular birding sites in one visit. Commonly visited places include Wallings Reservoir, the Christian Valley Birding Trail, and McKinnon’s Salt Pond. There is also a privately owned island called Great Bird Island the public can visit, which is home to avian species like the Brown Pelican, the Red-billed Tropicbird, and the West Indian Whistling-duck.
