Cuba
Finding the endemics and much more with public transport
Valentin Moser, Demian Hiss
From the 24. January till the 16. February we explored the nature, culture and, most important, the
birds of Cuba. Mostly using public transport, we found all the possible endemics and much more in
3.5 weeks. From the rainforest in the Sierra Meastre and Soroa (see below) to the mogotes in
Viñales, we were many times stunned by the beauty of this interesting and complex country. Travel
tipps, a list of all the species we were able to identify and much more you can find at the bottom. If
you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us: Valentin Moser on [email protected], Demian
Hiss on [email protected].
The first morning in Havana provided us with a good introduction into the avifauna of Cuba: The first
endemics like Cuban Emerald and Cuban Blackbirds accompanied by colourful American warblers and
other cool species such as Common Ground Dove and Red-legged Thrush. We organised a Taxi to
Playa Larga. On the way we stopped in a little restaurant besides the autostrada: For the driver there
was chicken, for us Antillean Palm Swift! A second stop in Palpite (ask for zunzuncito) delivered some
amazing Bee Hummingbirds in a private garden. As additional highlights there were some other
stunning birds such as a male Black-throated Blue Warbler and four Wood Storks circling over the
place. What a start! Arriving in Playa Larga, we did an evening stroll, first trying to figure out the
warblers and then being rewarded with a heard Cuban Nightjar (22.285187, -81.197640).
The next morning, we cycled to Sopillar in the morning. Besides the Quail Doves (Grey-fronted we
heard several times) and Bare-legged owl, we managed to see all targets on this morning. In Sopillar
there are 2 main trails, also visible on Google maps. In between, there is another trail, where we had
the Fernandinas’s Flicker. Other nice birds seen in the general area were Cuban Pygmy Owl (listen for
its call also during the day), Worm eating Warbler and some other cool warblers.
In the afternoon, we started to cycle to the La Turba trail in the Zapata Swamp. Opposite of the
fishfarm we had a group of Red-winged Blackbirds. As we underestimated the total distance
(especially of the trail itself), the sun was already down when we heard Zapata Wren. The minutes
were ticking down for the sparrow! And then this picture: Two exhausted and sweaty birders, blood
red sky and in front of them three beautiful Zapata Sparrows! We didn't believe our eyes, 5 minutes
later it would have been too dark.
Another point of interest is Cueva de los pesces. In the restaurant they feed Blue-headed Quail
Doves and after some snorkeling and quite a bit of waiting, we had good views (ask for palomas,
apparently they come in 4-5 times a day to feed). Snorkelling on the beach was good, come early to
avoid the tour buses. In the evening we tried again for Stygian owl at the hotel, unsuccessful
(unlucky?) as every time we tried.
On the last morning we had in Playa Larga, we did the las salinas tour that you can book it the
national park office for 15 CUC per Person (pP) and a taxi for 35 CUC/number of people. It was worth
it, we had some nice birds such as Reddish Egret and Yellow warbler. In the evening we took a guide
for around Sopillar to try for Bare-legged owl.
However, the owl left its nest at some point during the day due to too high disturbance from many
groups and a filmteam close by. Charismatic species like this are an important part to offer an
attractive ecotourism and in the end protection of the area. I guess the owls can handle a lot of
disturbance, otherwise they would stop breeding pretty soon, but it should be done with
responsibility and the disturbance limited whenever possible.
The next day we were on the road again in direction Trinidad. We did a stop in Bermejas (22.143045,
-80.937037) to look for Bare-legged owl, with success, and bonus Bee Hummingbird, Ruddy Quail
Dove and Grey-fronted Quail Dove. We had a guide that can be booked through the national park
office in Playa Larga. What the guide didn’t tell us that there would be 20 mostly non-birding
Americans there at the same time… Not ideal, but we still managed to see almost all targets in the
area, except Key West Quail-Dove.
In Trinidad we did some touristy things including horse riding to a "waterfall" (dry season…) with a
Louisiana Watertrush and sunset on the hill, with an old military tunnel system with lots of bat guano
(21.811483, -79.978697). Camagüey was our next stop, where we organised a taxi for the next day in
Najasa. Well, birdwise it was excellent (+ Rhopalurus junceus, see picture), taxiwise not (read more in
the taxi and transport section). We got all usual targets in an hour around the cemetery. We did an
additional stop at the big lake close by (21.081105, -77.817402), without highlights, but nice birds
like Osprey resident race (P.h. ridgwayi) and Anhinga.
Next stop was Santa Domingo (20.042103, -76.903769) in the Sierra Maestra mountains in the very
East, a beautiful rainforest area and for sure in terms of landscape our favourite of the trip. The first
morning was however disappointing, as we were only allowed to bird the steepest road of Cuba and
the trails after 8 and with a guide, costing us a hefty 27 pP. At least we found some Cuban Solitaire
and in the evening a Cuban Nightjar along the River while (unsuccessfully) looking for Hutias (a kind
of treerat). And this would not be Cuba, if there is not some way to stretch the rules: If we stayed in
the national park itself (in the village La Platica, 20.012938, -76.890113 with Cuban Grassquit in the
village and Cuban Solitaire north of it, hearable from the village), we were allowed to leave as early
as we wanted in the morning and had meals, night and guide included for 1.5 days - for again 27pP.
Besides this very Cuban experience: We reliability observed and heard a few Solitaire, beside the
Oriente Warblers and a few times Cuban Grassquit, mainly along the road and in the village itself.
Only the Gundlach's Hawk kept hiding in the jungle...
We can only recommend this place, especially with staying for the night in the rainforest, to every
birder/naturalist! One of the most common birds was Black-throated Blue Warbler. Cuban Grassquit
we observed several times along the steep road, White-collared Swift is easy to see. Solitaire, who
seem to be singing all day long and with a song worth coming to Cuba for alone, were reliable from
the trail (between km 3-4) to Pico Turquino. This is the highest mountain in Cuba and the usual
reason why people visit this place, besides visiting the headquarters during the revolution.
After a short night in Santiago, we were on our way to Baracoa. While the food was indeed more
varied, one of the main attractions of this place, the birds were not: It was at times almost empty!
One of the guides claimed this was to do with the hurricane that passed through in October.
Luckily on our first afternoon we did an adventurous (as often guided) walk through some caves and
above the Cueva de Agua we heard what could only be Cuban Gnatcatcher (unfortunately no exact
GPS-point, roughly here 20.339926, -74.451974, but they will make you take a guide anyway for
5pP). Be aware of Northern Mockingbird, imitating the Gnatcatcher very well! We did some other
guided walks including one in the Humboldt National park with the highlight being Monte Iberia frog,
one of the smallest frog species of the world.
Leaving Baracoa, we did a 24-hours public transport marathon to the other end of the island, Viñales.
This costed us, mostly being the only tourists on board and probably still paying 5x more than the
Cubans, only 51.5 pP. In Viñales we did an evening walk and managed to nail one of our last targets,
Olive-capped warbler in a Pine forest area (22.604645, -83.684656). The density of this warbler is
probably not too high here, as we only heard/saw one on all the road to the lake.
On the next morning we did a "birding walk", where the guide probably profited more than we did.
At least we visited Cueva de la Vaca with 3 bat species and a whip spider (22.626624, -83.716338). In
the afternoon we went to the Santo Tomás Cave, very cool, again with Whip spider and a lot less
touristy than for example Cueva del Indio. On this day we also had our first Cuban Martins flying
above Viñales.
The next day, we decided to just walk around by ourselves, mainly hiking from cave to cave. Early in
the morning, we hit the jackpot in the forest (22.641176, -83.688223) above valle del silencio:
Gundlach's Hawk!!! We didn't believe our eyes, the last (usually doable) endemic and one we
thought we will miss. A Scaly-naped pigeon besides the omnipresent song of Cuban Solitaire in this
beautiful landscape made this moment one of the highlights of the trip!
On the following day, after some hassle because the taxi was a no-show, we reached Soroa. There
we wanted to get some last good birding and apparently it's a good spot for Hutias, for which we
spend hours of spotlighting without success so far. The birding started good with a Black-throated
Green Warbler right in front of the Casa particulare. In the evening we started spotlighting and soon
had our first highlight: A beautiful Broad-banded Dwarf Boa, followed by a huge Tarantula and - a
Prehensile-tailed Hutia! Finally! A Barn Owl made the night perfect. We started at the lower entrance
of the waterfall-trail (22.789708, -83.005039) and walked to the upper (22.789708, -83.005039). The
hutia we had a bit further away, after the entrance of the Orquideario where the road turns.
The next morning we birded the trails starting at the parking area (22.789708, -83.005039). We had
several sightings of Ruddy Quail Doves and heard a Key-West, besides many other species. In the
evening we went again looking for Hutias, this time we did only the waterfall-trail. After just a few
minutes we had two very charming Prehensile-tailed Hutias high in the trees. On the same trail we
then surprised a Desmarest Hutias! Like the Prehensile-tailed, this Hutia omitted warning calls,
something like a continuous, very high suiii suiii suiii. We heard this sound 1-2 times again, so maybe
more Hutias...
On our last full birding morning we again explored some trails around Soroa, a new bird was Whiteeyed Vireo, before departing towards Havana's and switching from bird to people watching. The
following day we went to Playa del este (There is a bus from Parque Central). It was less birdy than
we hoped, especially the lagoons, at least there was ok-ish snorkelling (23.181641, -82.207648), but
don’t expect too much. After some nightlife, we decided to have our first lay-in, after all it's a
holiday, isn't it? The following last day, we went birding again, on a place we spotted from the bus
the day before, in walking distance to the Castillo (23.156184, -82.348296). We added some new
species to the trip list and there were about 300 waders in the area, most of them Least Sandpiper
and Sanderling. One of these was with a white flag P36, ringed in Saskatchewan, very cool!
General advice:
Taxi and transport: Quite a lot of the taxi drivers (not all and not taxi collectivo) that we had where in
some form difficult. It probably didn't help that we only spoke un poquito of Spanish. Anyway be very
detailed on what you want, where and how long the stops are. Really an example of how a taxi driver
can ruin a great birding day we had in Najasa/Camargüey. This guy, small yellow Lada, demanded
more money twice, was very rude to us and Cubans and was driving too fast and dangerous, almost
having an accident (generally the Cubans usually drive very safe). Anyway, for bigger stretches the
cheapest, most reliable and comfortable option is the Viazul buses.
Budget: We spend about 35-40€ pP per day and the flight was 630€ pP, making a total of 1500€ pP. It
is good to be at least two, as with the casas you will have to pay the room anyway. It will be difficult
to go much cheaper than we did. Bargain hard for the casas and generally you can get a price for
15- 20 per night with breakfast.
Food and water: Often the shops are empty and crackers or other "field nutrition" hard to get by.
We bought when we could find something. Crackers and mayonnaise can make you go on all day
long... We stuck to bottled water, which is expensive and inconvenient, as it can be hard to come by
decent-priced bottles.
Traveling can be frustrating and time-consuming, but the Cubans generally figure something out,
especially as you pay a lot better as a local. The Lonely Planet had often good advice and proved
necessary for planning, as Internet is not always and easily available in Cuba.
Hutias: We searched for Hutias in Playa Larga, Santa Domingo and Soroa. In the first two places
people always told us how difficult it is to find Hutias, and more or less in the same sentence how
delicious they are... They are usually hunted with the help of dogs, in Santa Domingo they locate the
tree where they spend the day sleeping in the Bromelia, to climb the tree and in progress hit all
Bromelia off the tree until they find the animal.
In Soroa there seems to be no hunting, also the people were more positive about our chances to find
Hutias, and the trail is perfect for spotlighting, it is paved all the way, so you don’t have to watch your
step and can be almost silent.
Itinerary
Day 01 Havana, late night arrival
Day 02 Havana-Playa Larga: Palpite, Playa Larga village
Day 03 Playa Larga: Sopillar, La Turba
Day 04 Playa Larga: Cueva de los pesces
Day 05 Playa Larga: La Salinas, Sopillar
Day 06 Playa Larga-Trinidad: Bermejas
Day 07 Trinidad
Day 08 Trinidad-Camagüey
Day 09 Camagüey-Santo Domingo: Najasa
Day 10 Santo Domingo
Day 11 Santo Domingo
Day 12 Santo Domingo-Santiago de Cuba
Day 13 Santiago de Cuba-Baracoa
Day 14 Baracoa
Day 15 Baracoa
Day 16 Baracoa- Havana
Day 17 Havana – Vinãles
Day 18 Vinãles
Day 19 Vinãles
Day 20 Vinãles-Soroa
Day 21 Soroa
Day 22 Soroa – Havana
Day 23 Havana: Playa del Este
Day 24 Havana
Species lists
Moths and Butterflies
Quite a small list. There are good online lists to identify the butterflies and we hoped to see more,
especially Cuban Clearwing. We missed this species and many more, probably because of the dry
season. Besides that, it is sometimes quite difficult to get good pictures…
To identify butterflies have a look at www.butterfliesofcuba.com/species-list.html.
English name
Zebra Longwing
Orion Cecropian
White Peacock
Frosty Flasher
Chequered Swallowtail
Owl moth
Cuban Mimic-White
Many-banded Daggerwing
Gold Rim Swallowtail
Scientific name
Heliconius charitonius
Historis odius
Anartia jatrophae
Astrapes habana
Papilio demoleus
Thysania zenobia
Dismorphia cubana
Marpesia chiron
Battus polydamas
place
a few times
Palpite
Santa Domingo, Sierra Meastre
Santa Domingo, Sierra Meastre
Baraco
Santa Domingo, Sierra Meastre
Santa Domingo, Sierra Meastre
Soroa
Havana
Herpofauna
Again the list is smaller than we hoped for… The identification of the Eleutherodactylus-frogs and
many Anolis proved be very hard, because there is hardly any literature and from some species it is
not even possible to find pictures on the internet. For general herps see www.caribherp.org, for
Anolis and other lizards, try www.anoleannals.org.
English name
Cuban Tree Frog
Eastern Giant Toad
Monte Iberia Frog
Cuban Giant Frog
Cuban Spotted Toad
Western Giant Toad
Scientific name
Osteopilus septentrionalis
Peltophryne peltocephala
Eleutherodactylus iberia
Eleutherodactylus zeus
Peltophryne taladai
Peltophryne fustiger
place
Playa Larga / Soroa
Santa Domingo, Sierra Meastre
Humboldt National Park
Cueva de Santo Tomas, Viñales
Soroa
Soroa
English name
Cuban Lesser Racer
Broad-banded Dwarf Boa
Giant Trope
Cuban Green Anole
Brown Anole
Habana Anole
Allison's Anole
Holguin Anole
Guantanamo Anole
Cuba's Western Cliff Anole
Pinardel Rio Anole
Bueycito Anole
Auber's Ameiva
Northern Curly-tailed Lizard
Cuban Curlytail Lizard
Cuban Ashy Gecko
Scientific name
Caraiba andreae
Tropidophis feicki
Tropidophis melanurus
Anolis porcatus
Anolis sagrei
Anolis homolechis
Anolis allisoni
Anolis noblei
Anolis argenteolus
Anolis bartschi
Anolis mestrei
Anolis allogus
Ameiva auberi
Leiocephalus carinatus
Leiocephalus cubensis
Sphaerodactylus elegans
place
Sierra Maestra
Soroa
Najasa
a few
widespread
widespread
Playa Larga
Santa Domingo, Sierra Maestra
Santa Domingo, Sierra Maestra
Vinãles
Soroa
Soroa
Playa del Este
Playa Larga, Vinãles
Palpite
Playa Larga, Soroa
Mammals
Besides the hutias and bats, there were several rats in Soroa and Santa Domingo and a mouse in the
casa particulare in Soroa.
English name
Desmarest's hutia
Prehensile-tailed hutia
Black rat
House mouse
Jamaican fruit bat
Big brown bat
Mexican free-tailed bat
Greater Bulldog Bat
Scientific name
Capromys pilorides
Mysateles prehensilis
Rattus rattus
Mus musculus
Artibeus jamaicensis
Eptesicus fuscus
Tadarida brasiliensis
Noctilio leporinus
place
Soroa
Soroa
Santa Domingo, Soroa
Soroa
different caves in Viñales
Cueva de la Vaca, Viñales
Cueva de la Vaca, Viñales
Soroa
Birds
This List follows the taxonomy from HBW. Comments are made if Clements treats a species
differently. Identification on subspecies level is mostly based on their distribution. If we saw more
than one ssp., comments are made. Country status and conservation status is from HBW alive.
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Common name
Helmeted Guineafowl
Red-breasted Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
American Flamingo
Rock Dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
White-crowned Pigeon
Scaly-naped Pigeon
Plain Pigeon
Blue-headed Quail-dove
Grey-headed Quail-dove
Ruddy Quail-dove
Key West Quail-dove
White-winged Dove
Zenaida Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Ground-dove
Cuban Nightjar
White-collared Swift
Antillean Palm-swift
Cuban Emerald
Bee Hummingbird
Smooth-billed Ani
Cuban Lizard-cuckoo
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Limpkin
Wood Stork
Roseate Spoonbill
White Ibis
Black-crowned Night-heron
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Green-backed Heron
Cattle Egret
Great Blue Heron
Great White Egret
Reddish Egret
Tricolored Heron
Little Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Brown Pelican
American White Pelican
Magnificent Frigatebird
Double-crested Cormorant
Neotropical Cormorant
Anhinga
Black-winged Stilt
Grey Plover
Killdeer
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Laughing Gull
Common Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Sandwich Tern
Royal Tern
Common Barn-owl
Cuban Pygmy-owl
Bare-legged Screech-owl
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Gundlach's Hawk
Cuban Black Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Scientific name
Numida meleagris
Mergus serrator
Podilymbus podiceps antillarum
Phoenicopterus ruber
Columba livia
Streptopelia decaocto
Patagioenas leucocephala
Patagioenas squamosa
Patagioenas inornata
Starnoenas cyanocephala
Geotrygon caniceps
Geotrygon montana montana
Geotrygon chrysia
Zenaida asiatica asiatica
Zenaida aurita zenaida
Zenaida macroura macroura
Columbina passerina insularis
Antrostomus cubanensis cubanensis
Streptoprocne zonaris pallidifrons
Tachornis phoenicobia iradii
Chlorostilbon ricordii
Mellisuga helenae
Crotophaga ani
Coccyzus merlini merlini
Gallinula galeata cerceris
Fulica americana americana
Aramus guarauna pictus
Mycteria americana
Platalea ajaja
Eudocimus albus albus
Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli
Nyctanassa violacea bancrofti
Butorides striata virescens
Bubulcus ibis ibis
Ardea herodias occidentalis
Ardea alba egretta
Egretta rufescens rufescens
Egretta tricolor ruficollis
Egretta caerulea
Egretta thula thula
Pelecanus occidentalis occidentalis
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Fregata magnificens rothschildi
Phalacrocorax auritus floridanus
Phalacrocorax brasilianus mexicanus
Anhinga anhinga leucogaster
Himantopus himantopus mexicanus
Pluvialis squatarola mexicanus cynosurae
Charadrius vociferus ternominatus
Arenaria interpres morinella
Calidris alba rubida
Calidris minutilla
Calidris mauri
Actitis macularius
Tringa semipalmata semipalmata
Tringa flavipes
Tringa melanoleuca
Larus atricilla atricilla
Gelochelidon nilotica aranea
Hydroprogne caspia
Thalasseus sandvicensis acuflavidus
Thalasseus maximus maximus
Tyto alba furcata
Glaucidium siju
Margarobyas lawrencii
Cathartes aura aura
Pandion haliaetus
Circus hudsonius
Accipiter striatus fringilloides
Accipiter gundlachi gundlachi
Buteogallus gundlachii
Buteo platypterus cubanensis
Buteo jamaicensis solitudinis
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Common name
Cuban Trogon
Cuban Tody
Belted Kingfisher
Fernandina's Flicker
Yellow-shafted Flicker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Cuban Green Woodpecker
West Indian Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Cuban Amazon
Cuban Parakeet
Cuban Pewee
Loggerhead Kingbird
Giant Kingbird
La Sagra's Flycatcher
Cuban Martin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cave Swallow
Zapata Wren
Grey Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Cuban Solitaire
Red-legged Thrush
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
Cuban Gnatcatcher
Palm Crow
Cuban Crow
House Sparrow
White-eyed Vireo
Cuban Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Olive-capped Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-headed Warbler
Oriente Warbler
Red-legged Honeycreeper
Summer Tanager
Western Spindalis
Zapata Sparrow
Cuban Grassquit
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Cuban Bullfinch
Indigo Bunting
Cuban Oriole
Cuban Blackbird
Greater Antillean Grackle
Red-shouldered Blackbird
Tawny-shouldered Blackbird
Scientific name
Priotelus temnurus temnurus
Todus multicolor
Megaceryle alcyon
Colaptes fernandinae
Colaptes auratus chrysocaulosus
Sphyrapicus varius
Xiphidiopicus percussus percussus
Melanerpes superciliaris superciliaris
Caracara cheriway
Falco sparverius sparverioides
Falco peregrinus
Amazona leucocephala leucocephala
Psittacara euops
Contopus caribaeus
Tyrannus caudifasciatus caudifasciatus
Tyrannus cubensis
Myiarchus sagrae sagrae
Progne cryptoleuca
Stelgidopteryx serripennis
Petrochelidon fulva cavicola
Ferminia cerverai
Dumetella carolinensis
Mimus polyglottos orpheus
Myadestes elisabeth elisabeth
Turdus plumbeus
Polioptila caerulea caerulea
Polioptila lembeyei
Corvus palmarum minutus
Corvus nasicus
Passer domesticus
Vireo griseus noveboracensis
Vireo gundlachii
Vireo flavifrons
Parula americana
Dendroica petechia gundlachi
Dendroica tigrina
Dendroica caerulescens
Dendroica virens virens
Dendroica fusca
Dendroica dominica dominica
Dendroica pityophila
Dendroica discolor discolor
Dendroica palmarum palmarum
Mniotilta varia
Setophaga ruticilla
Helmitheros vermivorum
Seiurus aurocapilla furvior
Seiurus noveboracensis
Seiurus motacilla
Geothlypis trichas
Teretistris fernandinae
Teretistris fornsi
Cyanerpes cyaneus
Piranga rubra
Spindalis zena pretrei
Torreornis inexpectata inexpectata
Tiaris canorus
Tiaris olivaceus olivaceus
Melopyrrha nigra nigra
Pheucticus ludovicianus
Passerina cyanea
Icterus melanopsis
Ptiloxena atroviolacea
Quiscalus niger
Agelaius assimilis
Agelaius humeralis humeralis
2
1
x
x
x
x
3
4
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
5 6
x
x
x
x
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
x x x
x
x x x x x
x
x x x
x x
x
x
x
h
x
x
x
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h? h x
x
x x x
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h
x
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x x x
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x x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
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x
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x
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Common name
Helmeted Guineafowl
Red-breasted Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
American Flamingo
Rock Dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Scaly-naped Pigeon
Plain Pigeon
Blue-headed Quail-dove
Grey-headed Quail-dove
Ruddy Quail-dove
Key West Quail-dove
White-winged Dove
Zenaida Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Ground-dove
Cuban Nightjar
White-collared Swift
Antillean Palm-swift
Cuban Emerald
Bee Hummingbird
Smooth-billed Ani
Cuban Lizard-cuckoo
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Limpkin
Wood Stork
Roseate Spoonbill
White Ibis
Black-crowned Night-heron
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Green-backed Heron
Cattle Egret
Great Blue Heron
Great White Egret
Reddish Egret
Tricolored Heron
Little Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Brown Pelican
American White Pelican
Magnificent Frigatebird
Double-crested Cormorant
Neotropical Cormorant
Anhinga
Black-winged Stilt
Grey Plover
Killdeer
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Laughing Gull
Common Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Sandwich Tern
Royal Tern
Common Barn-owl
Cuban Pygmy-owl
Bare-legged Screech-owl
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Gundlach's Hawk
Cuban Black Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Comments
Country status Conservation status
R
R
R
R
I
R+I
R
R
R
E
E
R
R
R
R
R
R
E
R
R
R
E
R
E
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
E
E
R
R
R
R
E
E
R
R
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
NT
LC
NT
EN
VU
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
NT
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
NT
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
EN
NT
LC
LC
Clements
Apparently sabyi, introduced
no information on ssp.
Clements distinguish three ssp. In cuba it is inornata
Clements doesn´t distinguish any ssp
Clements split: Green-baked heron in striated heron and green heron (Cuba, ssp virescens)
Clements doesn’t distinguish any ssp.
Clements split from the european: Himantopus mexicanus mexicanus
Clements doesn’t distinguish any ssp.
Clements doesn’t distinguish any ssp.
siju & turquinense
Clements distinguish only two subspecies, siju and vittatum
Clements describes two ssp: exsul & lawrencii, we probably saw only lawrencii
carolinensis & ridgwayi
Clements doesn´t split from Circus cyaneus, so it ist Circus cyaneus hudsonius
Common name
Cuban Trogon
Cuban Tody
Belted Kingfisher
Fernandina's Flicker
Yellow-shafted Flicker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Cuban Green Woodpecker
West Indian Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Cuban Amazon
Cuban Parakeet
Cuban Pewee
Loggerhead Kingbird
Giant Kingbird
La Sagra's Flycatcher
Cuban Martin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cave Swallow
Zapata Wren
Grey Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Cuban Solitaire
Red-legged Thrush
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
Cuban Gnatcatcher
Palm Crow
Cuban Crow
House Sparrow
White-eyed Vireo
Cuban Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Olive-capped Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-headed Warbler
Oriente Warbler
Red-legged Honeycreeper
Summer Tanager
Western Spindalis
Zapata Sparrow
Cuban Grassquit
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Cuban Bullfinch
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Cuban Oriole
Cuban Blackbird
Greater Antillean Grackle
Red-shouldered Blackbird
Tawny-shouldered Blackbird
Country status
E
E
R
E
R
R
E
R
R
R
R
R
E
R
R
E
R
E
R
R
E
R
R
E
R
R
E
R
R
I
R
E
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
E
E
R
R
R
E
E
R
R
R
R
E
E
R
E
R
Conservation status
Comments
LC
LC
LC
VU
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
both, red and with morph
LC
probalby anatum
NT
VU
LC
caribaeus & morenoi
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
EN
LC
LC
NT
LC
LC
LC
NT
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
EN
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
LC
Clements
Clements distinguish three ssp. In Cuba occurs Caracara cheriway audubonii
No information on wintering ssps.
rubripes &schistaceus
gundlachii & orientalis
no information which ssp.
Setophaga americana
Setophaga petechia gundlachi
Setophaga tigrina
Setophaga caerulescens
Setophaga virens, Clements doesn’t distinguish any ssp.
Setophaga fusca
Setophaga dominica dominica
Setophaga discolor discolor
Setophaga palmarum palmarum
no information which ssp.
Parkesia noveboracensi, clements list it as monotypic
Parkesia motacilla
no information on wintering ssp. Probably trichas
Clements distinguish two spp. We saw Teretistris fornsi turquinensis
probably introduced, no information on ssp.
no information on ssp.
Dives atroviolaceus
gundlachii & caribaeus
Agelaius assimilis assimilis, clements distinguish two ssps.