Day 104: Antillean Mango

The Antillean Mango is another hummingbird that we saw during our trip to Puerto Rico. It can be found on several islands throughout the Caribbean.

Day 103: Purple Gallinule

The Purple Gallinule is a beautiful bird (and one of my favorites) that can be found in swamps and marshes in the southeastern U.S., Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. We saw one when we lived in Georgia several years ago - here's a close one (along with a Red-Shouldered Blackbird):

We also saw several Purple Gallinules during out trip to Puerto Rico, though most of them were too far away to get a good photo. I did find one a little closer, but it was hiding in the swamp rushes.

The plumage of the Purple Gallinule is truly unique, richly colored with deep blue, green, and purple and trimmed with red, yellow, and sky blue.

Day 102: Common Ground-Dove

The Common Ground Dove is found in the southern U.S., parts of Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It's a very small dove that spends the majority of its time on the ground walking but still has the ability to fly.

Day 101: Pearly-eyed Thrasher

The Pearly-eyed Thrasher, a long-tailed bird related to the Northern Mockingbird, is found throughout the Caribbean. It has brown upperparts and white underparts, streaked with brown.

Pearly-eyed Thrashers are aggressive and opportunistic birds. They mainly eat insects, but will also feed on fruits and berries, as well as lizards, frogs, small crabs and other bird’s eggs and nestlings.

Day 100: West Indian Whistling-Duck

Today is a big day. Not only is it my 100th post in a row for this blog, but it also happens to be my six month wedding anniversary with my sweet husband! So, I thought I would do a special bird today, to mark the occasion.

The West Indian Whistling-Duck is the only endemic waterfowl to the Caribbean. Though it was once widespread, the species is now endangered and is restricted to the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Cuba, Cayman, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Antigua, and Barbuda. The greatest threats have been from hunting and loss and degradation of wetland habitats. In Puerto Rico, the species is thought to number no more than 250 birds.

During our trip, we made two visits to Laguna Cartegena, a lagoon in the southwest part of the island. On our second trip, we saw over 50 West Indian Whistling-Ducks - a huge portion of the Puerto Rican population.

You can see the ducks standing along the shoreline

The ducks were far away, so we did not get good pictures. Here is what one looks like up close, though (not our photo):

Source

Day 99 Bonus Post: Puerto Rico Highlights

Here are some non-bird highlights from our trip to Puerto Rico.

Day 99: Yellow-faced Grassquit

The Yellow-faced Grassquit is a small bird that is found in Central America and surrounding regions, including Puerto Rico. Adult males are olive green with a black face and breast and a bright yellow throat and eyelid spot.