July 2001
by Daniel M. Brooks
I just got back from Cozumel Island, Quintana Roo, Mexico, and did some REALLY casual birding. Encountered about 27 species, of which 2 were endemic to the Yucatan (+), and 3 were endemic to Cozumel Island (nearly 20% were endemics total).
Here's a list of species that I encountered:
# Species (habitat) - notes
Key For Notes:
~ = approximate #s
(#) = heard
+ = Yucatan Endemic
* = Cozumel Endemic
^ = to be archived in Center for Bioacoustics - Texas A&M
University
1 Brown Pelican (gulf shores) - juv.
1 Neotropic Cormorant (flying over gulf)
~20 Magnificent Frigatebird (flying over gulf - feeding frenzy observed a distance offshore)
~40 Black Vulture (air)
~60 Turkey Vulture (air)
3 Black-necked Stilt (quarry with shallow water) - ^
1 White-crowned Pigeon (flying over mangrove)
~25 Ruddy Ground-Dove (feeding in town square with Rock Doves)
(~20) Caribbean Dove (tropical forest) - ^
(2) Yucatan Parrot (flying over tropical forest) - +, ^
~20 Vaux's Swift (flying over forest edge and mangrove)
2 Cozumel Emerald (mangrove) - *, both males
6 Least Flycatcher (2nd growth) - ?, ^
2 Brown-crested Flycatcher (tropical forest canopy) - ^, calling pair
1 Yucatan Flycatcher (2nd growth)
1 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (phone wire near mangrove/forest transition) - ?
15 Tropical Kingbird (phone wire near mangrove/forest transition and town square)
1 N. Rough-winged Swallow (air) - ?
3 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (2nd growth) - ^, incl. active pair
1 Black Catbird (tropical forest) - +, ^?
~30 Tropical Mockingbird (mangrove, 2nd growth, gardens, etc.) - ^
1 Yellow-green Vireo (tropical forest)
2 Yucatan Yellow Warbler (2nd growth) - *, D. p. rufivertex
~20 Cozumel Bananaquit (2nd growth) - *, ^, 1 pr building nest 6 m high in tropical forest edge
5 Blue-black Grassquit (2nd growth) - ^
~200 Great-tailed Grackle (mangrove, 2nd growth, gardens, etc.) - ^
2 Hooded Oriole (feeding at Cecropia in 2nd growth) - possible
Yellow-tailed Oriole?
Daniel M. Brooks
E-mail: dbrooks@hmns.org