Over 300 species of birds live in Jamaica, the 3rd largest Caribbean nation. The island is home to the highest number of endemic species out of all the Caribbean countries. Many different habitats can be found here, including caves, coral reefs, dry and wet limestone forests, rainforests, riparian woodlands, rivers, seagrass beds, and wetlands. This means quite a few varieties of birds can call the country home.
The national bird of Jamaica is the Red-billed Streamertail, also called the “doctor bird.” Other notable species include birds of prey like the Jamaican Owl and the American Kestrel and endangered species like the Jamaican Paraque and the Black-billed Parrot.
List of Common Birds Found in Jamaica
Endemic Birds
- Arrowhead Warbler
- Black-billed Parrot
- Black-billed Streamertail
- Blue Mountain Vireo
- Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo
- Crested Quail-dove
- Jamaican Becard
- Jamaican Blackbird
- Jamaican Crow
- Jamaican Elaenia
- Jamaican Euphonia
- Jamaican Lizard-cuckoo
- Jamaican Mango
- Jamaican Oriole
- Jamaican Owl
- Jamaican Parakeet
- Jamaican Pauraque
- Jamaican Pewee
- Jamaican Spindalis
- Jamaican Tody
- Jamaican Vireo
- Jamaican Woodpecker
- Orangequit
- Red-billed Streamertail
- Ring-tailed Pigeon
- Rufous-tailed Flycatcher
- Sad Flycatcher
- White-chinned Thrush
- White-eyed Thrush
- Yellow-billed Parrot
- Yellow-shouldered Grassquit
Other Native Birds
- American Kestrel
- Bananaquit
- Barn Owl
- Black-and-white Warbler
- Black-billed Streamertail
- Black-faced Grassquit
- Black-whiskered Vireo
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Blue Mountain Vireo
- Broad-billed Hummingbird
- Brown Pelican
- Caribbean Dove
- Caribbean Elaenia
- Caribbean Martin
- Caribbean Pewee
- Caribbean Screech Owl
- Cave Swallow
- Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Common Ground Dove
- Cuban Emerald
- Cuban Pewee
- Cuban Tody
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- Gray Catbird
- Gray-crowned Palm-tanager
- Gray Kingbird
- Greater Antillean Bullfinch
- Greater Antillean Grackle
- Green Heron
- Green-throated Carib
- Hooded Warbler
- Jamaican Black Swift
- Jamaican Petrel
- Jamaican Potoo
- Laughing Gull
- Limpkin
- Loggerhead Kingbird
- Long-billed Dowitcher
- Magnificent Frigatebird
- Mangrove Cuckoo
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Mockingbird
- Northern Parula
- Northern Waterthrush
- Olive-throated Parakeet
- Palmchat
- Pearly-eyed Thrasher
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Warbler
- Prairie Warbler
- Puerto Rican Vireo
- Red-billed Streamertail
- Red-legged Thrush
- Roseate Tern
- Royal Tern
- Ruddy Duck
- Ruddy Quail-dove
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Rufous-throated Solitaire
- Saint Vincent Amazon
- Scaly-naped Pigeon
- Scarlet Tanager
- Shiny Cowbird
- Smooth-billed Ani
- Snowy Egret
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Stolid Flycatcher
- Swallow-tailed Kite
- Tennessee Warbler
- Thick-billed Vireo
- Tropical Mockingbird
- Turkey Vulture
- Vervain Hummingbird
- Warbling Silverbill
- West Indian Whistling-duck
- White-crowned Pigeon
- White-eyed Vireo
- White-winged Dove
- Wilson’s Plover
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-crowned Night Heron
- Yellow-faced Grassquit
- Yellow-throated Vireo
- Yellow Warbler
- Zenaida Dove
Non-native Birds
- Blue-headed Quail-dove
- Chestnut Munia
- Common Myna
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Great-tailed Grackle
- Green-rumped Parrotlet
- Helmeted Guineafowl
- House Sparrow
- Northern Red Bishop
- Rock Pigeon
- Saffron Finch
- Scaly-breasted Munia
- Shiny Cowbird
- Tricolored Munia
- Yellow-crowned Bishop
- Yellow-headed Parrot
- Yellow-naped Parrot
Some of the best places to experience the avifauna of the island nation of Jamaica include Portland Parish, Cockpit Country, and Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park. The last one is notable as it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The peak season for birdwatching in Jamaica generally falls between November and April.
