List of birds of Belize

Keel-billed toucan, the national bird of Belize

This is a list of the bird species recorded in Belize. Belize includes around 450 smaller cays and islands lying in the Caribbean Sea in addition to the mainland. The avifauna of Belize include a total of 590 species, of which two are globally endangered and four have 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, 5th edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total species count for Belize.

The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. The commonly occurring native species do not fall into any of these categories.

Table of contents

Non-passerines: Tinamous • Grebes • Shearwaters • Storm petrels • Tropicbirds • Boobies • Cormorants • Darters • Frigatebirds • Pelicans • Bitterns, herons and egrets • Ibises and spoonbills • Storks • Flamingos • Ducks and geese • New World vultures • Osprey • Hawks, kites and eagles • Caracaras and falcons • Chachalacas, guans and curassows • Turkeys • New World quails • Limpkins • Rails, crakes, gallinules and coots • Sungrebe • Jacanas • Oystercatchers • Avocets and stilts • Plovers • Sandpipers, curlews, stints, godwits, snipes and phalaropes • Skuas and jaegers • Gulls, terns and skimmers • Pigeons and doves • Parakeets and parrots • Cuckoos, roadrunners and anis • Barn owls • Typical owls • Potoos • Nightjars • Swifts • Hummingbirds • Trogons and quetzals • Water kingfishers • Motmots • Jacamars • Puffbirds • Toucans • Woodpeckers and sapsuckers

Passerines: Ovenbirds • Woodcreepers • Antbirds • Antthrushes • Cotingas and pihas • Manakins • Tyrant flycatchers • Tityras and becards • Swallows and martins • Waxwings • Wrens • Mockingbirds • Thrushes, solitaires and bluebirds • Gnatcatchers • Jays and ravens • Vireos • New World warblers • Bananaquit • Tanagers • American sparrows, yellow-finches and seed-eaters • Cardinals, saltators, grosbeaks and North American buntings • Blackbirds, meadowlarks, cowbirds, grackles, orioles, caciques and oropendolas • Fringilline finches, cardueline finches and allies • Old World sparrows • Munias

See also        References        External links        Further reading

Tinamous

Order: Tinamiformes   Family: Tinamidae

Great tinamou

The tinamous are one of the most ancient groups of bird. Although they look similar to other ground-dwelling birds like quail and grouse, they have no close relatives and are classified as a single family, Tinamidae, within their own order, the Tinamiformes. They are distantly related to the ratites (order Struthioniformes), that includes the rheas, emus and kiwis.

Grebes

Order: Podicipediformes   Family: 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.

Shearwaters

Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Procellariidae

The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterized by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.

Storm petrels

Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Hydrobatidae

Tropicbirds

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.

Boobies

Order: Suliformes   Family: Sulidae

Red-footed booby

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

Cormorants

Order: Suliformes   Family: Phalacrocoracidae

Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium to large coastal, fish-eating seabirds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage coloration varies, with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black-and-white and a few being colorful.

Darters

Order: Suliformes   Family: Anhingidae

Darters 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.

Frigatebirds

Order: Suliformes   Family: Fregatidae

Magnificent frigatebird

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 are usually red. 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.

Pelicans

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: 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.

Bitterns, herons and egrets

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Ardeidae

Reddish egret

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: Pelecaniformes   Family: 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.

Storks

Order: Ciconiiformes   Family: Ciconiidae

Jabiru

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills. Storks are mute, but bill-clattering is an important mode of communication at the nest. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory.

Flamingos

Order: Phoenicopteriformes   Family: Phoenicopteridae

Caribbean flamingo

Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) 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.

Ducks and geese

Order: Anseriformes   Family: Anatidae

Blue-winged teal

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.

New World vultures

Order: Cathartiformes   Family: 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: Accipitriformes   Family: Pandionidae

Osprey

The Pandionidae family contains only one species, the osprey. The osprey is a medium-large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution.

Hawks, kites and eagles

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Accipitridae

White-tailed kite
Immature harpy eagle

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.

Caracaras and falcons

Order: Falconiformes   Family: Falconidae

Northern caracara

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.

Chachalacas, guans and curassows

Order: Galliformes   Family: Cracidae

The Cracidae are large birds, similar in general appearance to turkeys. The guans and curassows live in trees, but the smaller chachalacas are found in more open scrubby habitats. They are generally dull-plumaged, but the curassows and some guans have colorful facial ornaments.

Turkeys

Order: Galliformes   Family: Meleagrididae

Ocellated turkey

Turkeys are similar to large pheasants but have a distinctive fleshy wattle that hangs from the beak, called a snood.

New World quails

Order: Galliformes   Family: Odontophoridae

The New World quails are small, plump terrestrial birds only distantly related to the quails of the Old World, but named for their similar appearance and habits.

Limpkins

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Aramidae

The limpkin resembles a large rail. It has drab-brown plumage and a grayer head and neck.

Rails, crakes, gallinules and coots

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Rallidae

Sora
Purple gallinule

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.

Sungrebe

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Heliornithidae

Heliornithidae is a small family of tropical birds with webbed lobes on their feet similar to those of grebes and coots.

Jacanas

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Jacanidae

The jacanas are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae. They are found throughout the tropics. They are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat.

Oystercatchers

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Haematopodidae

The oystercatchers are large and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs.

Avocets and stilts

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Recurvirostridae

American avocet

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

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Charadriidae

Semipalmated plover

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, curlews, stints, godwits, snipes and phalaropes

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae

Upland sandpiper
Red knot

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: Charadriiformes   Family: Stercorariidae

The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with gray 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: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae

Laughing gull
Roseate tern

Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds and includes gullskittiwakes, terns and skimmers. They are typically gray or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have longish bills and webbed feet.

Pigeons and doves

Order: Columbiformes   Family: Columbidae

White-tipped dove

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

Parakeets and parrots

Order: Psittaciformes   Family: Psittacidae

Red-lored amazon

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.

Cuckoos and anis

Order: Cuculiformes   Family: Cuculidae

Groove-billed ani

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.

Barn owls

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.

Typical owls

Order: Strigiformes   Family: Strigidae

Spectacled owl

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.

Potoos

Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: Nyctibiidae

The potoos (sometimes called poor-me-ones) are large near passerine birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. They are nocturnal insectivores which lack the bristles around the mouth found in the true nightjars.

Nightjars

Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: Caprimulgidae

Chuck-will's-widow

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: Apodiformes   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.

Hummingbirds

Order: Trochiliformes   Family: Trochilidae

White-necked jacobin
Long-billed starthroat

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.

Trogons and quetzals

Order: Trogoniformes   Family: Trogonidae

The family Trogonidae includes trogons and quetzals. Found in tropical woodlands worldwide, they feed on insects and fruit, and their broad bills and weak legs reflect their diet and arboreal habits. Although their flight is fast, they are reluctant to fly any distance. Trogons have soft, often colorful, feathers with distinctive male and female plumage.

Water kingfishers

Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Alcedinidae

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

Motmots

Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Momotidae

Blue-crowned motmot

The motmots have colorful plumage and long, graduated tails which they display by waggling back and forth. In most of the species, the barbs near the ends of the two longest (central) tail feathers are weak and fall off, leaving a length of bare shaft and creating a racket-shaped tail.

Jacamars

Order: Piciformes   Family: Galbulidae

The jacamars are near passerine birds from tropical South America, with a range that extends up to Mexico. They feed on insects caught on the wing, and are glossy, elegant birds with long bills and tails. In appearance and behavior they resemble the Old World bee-eaters, although they are more closely related to woodpeckers.

Puffbirds

Order: Piciformes   Family: Bucconidae

The puffbirds are related to the jacamars and have the same range, but lack the iridescent colors of that family. They are mainly brown, rufous or gray, with large heads and flattened bills with hooked tips. The loose abundant plumage and short tails makes them look stout and puffy, giving rise to the English common name of the family.

Toucans

Order: Piciformes   Family: Ramphastidae

Toucans are near passerine birds from the Neotropics. They are brightly marked and have enormous, colorful bills which in some species amount to half their body length. The keel-billed toucan is the National Bird.

Woodpeckers and sapsuckers

Order: Piciformes   Family: Picidae

Acorn woodpecker

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.

Ovenbirds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Furnariidae

Ovenbirds comprise a large family of small sub-oscine passerine bird species found in Central and South America. They are a diverse group of insectivores which gets its name from the elaborate "oven-like" clay nests built by some species, although others build stick nests or nest in tunnels or clefts in rock.

Woodcreepers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Dendrocolaptidae

The Dendrocolaptidae are brownish birds which maintain an upright vertical posture, supported by their stiff tail vanes. They feed mainly on insects taken from tree trunks.

Antbirds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Thamnophilidae

The antbirds are a large family of small passerine birds of subtropical and tropical Central and South America. They are forest birds which tend to feed on insects at or near the ground. A sizable minority of them specialize in following columns of army ants to eat small invertebrates that leave their hiding places to flee from the ants. Many species lack bright color; brown, black and white being the dominant tones.

Antthrushes

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Formicariidae Antthrushes resemble small rails with strong, longish legs, very short tails and stout bills.

Cotingas and pihas

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Cotingidae

The cotingas are birds of forests or forest edges in tropical South America. Comparatively little is known about this diverse group, although all have broad bills with hooked tips, rounded wings and strong legs. The males of many of the species are brightly colored or decorated with plumes or wattles.

Manakins

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Pipridae

White-collared manakin

The manakins are a family of subtropical and tropical mainland Central and South America, and Trinidad and Tobago. They are compact forest birds, the males typically being brightly colored, although the females of most species are duller and usually green-plumaged. Manakins feed on small fruits, berries and insects.

Tyrant flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tyrannidae

Yellow-bellied flycatcher
Black phoebe
Tropical kingbird
Eastern kingbird

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 coloring. As the name implies, most are insectivorous.

Tityras and becards

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tityridae

Swallows and martins

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Hirundinidae

Tree swallow

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.

Waxwings

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Bombycillidae

The waxwings are a group of 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.

Wrens

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Troglodytidae

Carolina wren
Sedge wren

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

Order: Passeriformes   Family: 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 coloring tends towards dull-grays and browns.

Thrushes, solitaires and bluebirds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Turdidae

Eastern bluebird

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.

Gnatcatchers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Polioptilidae

These dainty birds resemble Old World warblers in their build and habits, moving restlessly through the foliage seeking insects. The gnatcatchers and gnatwrens are mainly soft bluish gray in color and have the typical insectivore's long sharp bill. They are birds of fairly open woodland or scrub, which nest in bushes or trees.

Jays and ravens

Order: Passeriformes   Family: 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.

Vireos

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Vireonidae

Blue-headed vireo

The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically greenish in color and resemble wood warblers apart from their heavier bills.

New World warblers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Parulidae

Prairie warbler
American redstart
Common yellowthroat
Wilson's warbler

The New World warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most are arboreal, but some are terrestrial. Most members of this family are insectivores.

Bananaquit

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Coerebidae

The bananaquit is a small passerine bird. It has a slender, curved bill, adapted to taking nectar from flowers. It is the only member of the genus Coereba and is normally placed within the family Coerebidae, although there is uncertainty whether that placement is correct.

Tanagers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Thraupidae

Summer tanager
Western tanager
Blue-gray tanager

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 colored. They are seed eaters, but their preference tends towards fruit and nectar. Most have short, rounded wings.

American sparrows, yellow-finches and seed-eaters

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Emberizidae

The emberizids are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with distinctively shaped bills. In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns.

Variable seedeater

Cardinals, saltators, grosbeaks and North American buntings

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Cardinalidae

Rose-breasted grosbeak

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.

Blackbirds, meadowlarks, cowbirds, grackles, orioles, caciques and oropendolas

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Icteridae

Baltimore oriole
Montezuma oropendola

The icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful, 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 color, often enlivened by yellow, orange or red.

Fringilline finches, cardueline finches and allies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Fringillidae

Red crossbills

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.

Old World sparrows

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passeridae

House sparrow

Sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or gray birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects.

Munias

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Estrildidae

See also

General:

References

General

Specific

    External links

    Further reading

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