The Tuamotus have 57 species of bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s. 10 are endemic, 13 are globally threatened and one is extinct.

Species list

Diomedeidae

• Royal Albatross
  Royal Albatross
  Royal Albatross may refer to:* Northern Royal Albatross* Southern Royal AlbatrossNote: Some authorities have yet to split this species such as the SACC or James Clements, in that case, Royal Albatross refers to both Species....
  
  , Diomedea epomophora - Rare/Accidental
• Black-browed Albatross
  Black-browed Albatross
  The Black-browed Albatross or Black-browed Mollymawk, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae, and it is the most widespread and common albatross.-Taxonomy:...
  
  , Thalassarche melanophris - Rare/Accidental

Procellariidae

Procellariidae

The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...

• Antarctic Giant Petrel, Macronectes giganteus - Rare/Accidental Vulnerable
• Phoenix Petrel
  Phoenix Petrel
  The Phoenix Petrel, Pterodroma alba is a medium-sized, up to long, tropical seabird with a wingspan of . It has a dark brown upperparts plumage, white below and whitish throat. Both sexes are similar....
  
  , Pterodroma alba - Vulnerable
• Murphy's Petrel
  Murphy's Petrel
  Murphy's Petrel is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is 38-41 cm in size, with a 97 cm wingspan....
  
  , Pterodroma ultima - Near-threatened
• Kermadec Petrel
  Kermadec Petrel
  The Kermadec Petrel is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.-Distribution:It is found in Australia, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Micronesia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Pitcairn, and the United States....
  
  , Pterodroma neglecta
• Herald Petrel
  Herald Petrel
  The Trindade Petrel, Pterodroma arminjoniana, is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is 35-39 cm in size, with a 88-102 cm wingspan....
  
  , Pterodroma arminjoniana
• Blue Petrel
  Blue Petrel
  The Blue Petrel is a small seabird in the family Procellariidae. This small petrel is the only member of the genus Halobaena but is closely allied to the prions.-Taxonomy:...
  
  , Halobaena caerulea
• Grey Petrel
  Grey Petrel
  The Grey Petrel , also called the Brown Petrel, Pediunker or Grey Shearwater is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae, or petrel family...
  
  , Procellaria cinerea - Near-threatened
• Wedge-tailed Shearwater
  Wedge-tailed Shearwater
  The Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a Muttonbird, like the Sooty Shearwater of New Zealand and the Short-tailed Shearwater of Australia...
  
  , Puffinus pacificus
• Short-tailed Shearwater
  Short-tailed Shearwater
  The Short-tailed Shearwater or Slender-billed Shearwater , also called Yolla or Moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested...
  
  , Puffinus tenuirostris - Rare/Accidental
• Christmas Shearwater
  Christmas Shearwater
  The Christmas Shearwater, Puffinus nativitatis, is a medium-sized shearwater of the tropical Central Pacific. It is a poorly known species due to its remote nesting habits, and it has not been extensively studied at sea either....
  
  , Puffinus nativitatis
• Audubon's Shearwater
  Audubon's Shearwater
  Audubon's Shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri, is a common tropical seabird from the family Procellariidae. Sometimes called Dusky-backed Shearwater, the scientific name of this species commemorates the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier....
  
  , Puffinus lherminieri

Hydrobatidae

• White-faced Storm-petrel
  White-faced Storm-petrel
  The White-faced Storm Petrel , also known as White-faced Petrel is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Pelagodroma....
  
  , Pelagodroma marina
• Polynesian Storm-petrel
  Polynesian Storm-petrel
  The Polynesian Storm Petrel is a species of seabird in the Hydrobatidae family. It is placed in the monotypic genus Nesofregetta....
  
  , Nesofregetta fuliginosa - Vulnerable

Phaethontidae

• Red-tailed Tropicbird
  Red-tailed Tropicbird
  The Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, is a seabird that nests across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the rarest of the tropicbirds, yet is still a widespread bird that is not considered threatened. It nests in colonies on oceanic islands....
  
  , Phaethon rubricauda
• White-tailed Tropicbird
  White-tailed Tropicbird
  The White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, is a tropicbird, smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It occurs in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans...
  
  , Phaethon lepturus

Sulidae

Sulidae

The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulidas, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula...

• Masked Booby
  Masked Booby
  The Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. This species breeds on islands in tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic; in the eastern Pacific it is replaced by the Nazca Booby, Sula granti, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Masked Booby...
  
  , Sula dactylatra
• Red-footed Booby
  Red-footed Booby
  The Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. As suggested by the name, adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings...
  
  , Sula sula
• Brown Booby
  Brown Booby
  The Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...
  
  , Sula leucogaster

Fregatidae

• Great Frigatebird
  Great Frigatebird
  The Great Frigatebird is a large dispersive seabird in the frigatebird family. Major nesting populations are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as a population in the South Atlantic....
  
  , Fregata minor
• Lesser Frigatebird
  Lesser Frigatebird
  The Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel, is a species of frigatebird.It nests in Australia, among other locations.There is a single record from the Western Palearctic, from Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba....
  
  , Fregata ariel

Ardeidae

• Pacific Reef-Heron, Egretta sacra

Anatidae

Anatidae

Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...

• Northern Shoveler
  Northern Shoveler
  The Northern Shoveler , Northern Shoveller in British English, sometimes known simply as the Shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America, and is a rare vagrant to Australia...
  
  , Anas clypeata - Rare/Accidental

Phasianidae

Phasianidae

The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...

• Red Junglefowl
  Red Junglefowl
  The Red Junglefowl is a tropical member of the Pheasant family. They are thought to be ancestors of the domestic chicken with some hybridisation with the Grey Junglefowl...
  
  , Gallus gallus

Rallidae

Rallidae

The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...

• Spotless Crake
  Spotless Crake
  The Spotless Crake is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae.It is found in American Samoa, Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Pitcairn, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga.-References:* BirdLife...
  
  , Porzana tabuensis

Charadriidae

Charadriidae

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...

• Pacific Golden-Plover, Pluvialis fulva

Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae

The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...

• Bristle-thighed Curlew
  Bristle-thighed Curlew
  The Bristle-thighed Curlew, Numenius tahitiensis, is a large shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters on tropical Pacific islands. It has a long, decurved bill and bristled feathers at the base of the legs. Its length is about 43 cm and wingspan about 84 cm...
  
  , Numenius tahitiensis - Vulnerable
• Wandering Tattler
  Wandering Tattler
  The Wandering Tattler, Tringa incana , is a medium-sized wading bird. It is similar in appearance to the closely related Gray-tailed Tattler, T. brevipes...
  
  , Heterosceles incanus
• Tuamotu Sandpiper
  Tuamotu Sandpiper
  The Tuamotu Sandpiper, Prosobonia cancellata, is an endangered member of the large wader family Scolopacidae, that is endemic to the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Aechmorhynchus...
  
  , Prosobonia cancellata - Endemic, Endangered
• Ruddy Turnstone
  Ruddy Turnstone
  The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...
  
  , Arenaria interpres - Rare/Accidental
• Sanderling
  Sanderling
  The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
  
  , Calidris alba - Rare/Accidental
• Pectoral Sandpiper
  Pectoral Sandpiper
  The Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, is a small wader. It is sometimes separated with the "stint" sandpipers in Erolia. This may or may not represent a good monophyletic group, depending on the placement of the phylogenetically enigmatic Curlew Sandpiper , the type species of Erolia...
  
  , Calidris melanotos - Rare/Accidental

Sternidae

Tern

Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...

• Great Crested Tern, Sterna bergii
• Grey-backed Tern
  Grey-backed Tern
  The Spectacled Tern , also known as the Grey-backed Tern, is a seabird in the tern family.-Description:A close relative of the Bridled and Sooty Terns , the Spectacled Tern is less common than the other members of its genus and is has been studied less...
  
  , Onychoprion lunata
• Sooty Tern
  Sooty Tern
  The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
  
  , Onychoprion fuscata
• Black Noddy
  Black Noddy
  The Black Noddy or White-capped Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. It resembles the closely related Brown or Common Noddy , but is smaller with darker plumage, a whiter cap, a longer, straighter beak and shorter tail...
  
  , Anous minutus
• Brown Noddy
  Brown Noddy
  The Brown Noddy or Common Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related Black Noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black...
  
  , Anous stolidus
• Blue Noddy
  Blue Noddy
  The Blue Noddy is a species of tern in the Sternidae family. It is also known as the Blue-grey Noddy.It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tonga , Tuvalu and Hawaii. It has occurred as a vagrant in Australia and...
  
  , Procelsterna cerulea
• White Tern
  White Tern
  The White Tern is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the Fairy Tern although this name is potentially confusing as it is the common name of the Fairy Tern Sternula nereis...
  
  , Gygis alba

Columbidae

• Rock Pigeon
  Rock Pigeon
  The Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon, is a member of the bird family Columbidae . In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon"....
  
  , Columba livia
• Polynesian Ground-dove
  Polynesian Ground-dove
  The Polynesian Ground Dove is a critically endangered species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is endemic to the Tuamotus in French Polynesia with recent records from the atolls of Matureivavao, Rangiroa, Tenararo, Morane, Vahanga and perhaps Tikehau...
  
  , Gallicolumba erythroptera - Endemic, Critically Endangered
• Makatea Fruit-dove
  Makatea Fruit-dove
  The Makatea Fruit Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is endemic to French Polynesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
  
  , Ptilinopus chalcurus - Endemic, Vulnerable
• Atoll Fruit-dove
  Atoll Fruit-dove
  The Atoll Fruit Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is endemic to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss....
  
  , Ptilinopus coralensis - Endemic, Near-threatened
• Red-moustached Fruit-dove
  Red-moustached Fruit-dove
  The Moustached Fruit Dove was a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It was endemic to French Polynesia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007....
  
  , Ptilinopus mercierii - Extinct
• Pacific Imperial-pigeon
  Pacific Imperial-pigeon
  The Pacific Imperial Pigeon is a widespread species of pigeon in the family Columbidae.It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, the smaller islands of eastern Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, the smaller satellite islands of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu,...
  
  , Ducula pacifica
• Polynesian Imperial-pigeon
  Polynesian Imperial-pigeon
  The Polynesian Imperial Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is endemic to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife...
  
  , Ducula aurorae - Endangered

Psittacidae

• Blue Lorikeet
  Blue Lorikeet
  The Blue Lorikeet is a small lorikeet from French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. It is also known as the Tahiti Lorikieet, Violet Lorikeet, Tahitian Lory, Blue Lory, Nunbird, and the Indigo Lory...
  
  , Vini peruviana - Endemic, Vulnerable

Cuculidae

• Long-tailed Koel, Eudynamys taitensis

Alcedinidae

• Tuamotu Kingfisher
  Tuamotu Kingfisher
  The Tuamotu Kingfisher is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family. It is endemic to the island of Niau in French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, plantations and rural gardens...
  
  , Todirhamphus gambieri - Endemic, Vulnerable

Sylviidae

Sylviidae

Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...

• Tuamotu Reed-Warbler
  Tuamotu Reed-warbler
  The Tuamotu Reed-warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Acrocephalidae family.It is found only in French Polynesia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 10 July 2007....
  
  , Acrocephalus atyphus - Endemic

Monarchidae

• Iphis Monarch
  Iphis Monarch
  The Iphis Monarch is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family. It is endemic to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and plantations.-References:* BirdLife...
  
  , Pomarea iphis - Endemic, Vulnerable
• Marquesas Monarch, Pomarea mendozae - Endemic, Endangered
• Fatuhiva Monarch
  Fatuhiva Monarch
  The Fatuhiva Monarch is a large flycatcher. It is endemic to Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.It is critically endangered, with an estimated population of less than 1,000....
  
  , Pomarea whitneyi - Endemic, Critically Endangered

Zosteropidae

White-eye

White-eye can refer to:*White-eye , a large family of birds.*White-eye , a species of fish.*White-eye mutation, a mutation in Drosophila melanogaster linked to the X chromosome, found by reciprocal cross breeding experiments in 1906.*A lioness member of the Marsh Pride of lions that have featured...

• Silver-eye, Zosterops lateralis - Introduced species

Sturnidae

• Common Myna
  Common Myna
  The Common Myna or Indian Myna also sometimes spelled Mynah, is a member of family Sturnidae native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the Myna has adapted extremely well to urban environments...
  
  , Acridotheres tristis - Introduced species

Estrildidae

• Red-browed Firetail, Neochmia temporalis - Introduced species