West Indian Woodpecker

 

The West Indian Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker of drier forests including palm groves. Its strongly barred back eliminates all other species in it range except for Northern and Fernandina’s Flickers, but both flickers lack the West Indian Woodpecker’s extensively red nape and hind-crown.

The barring on the back of the Northern Flicker is also far less pronounced than it is on West Indian Woodpecker. West Indian Woodpeckers can be found nesting in palm trees around the resorts on Cayo Coco.

Gray Kingbird

 

The Gray Kingbird is a large, assertive flycatcher often seen around towns and mangroves in coastal areas. Large headed and heavy billed like other kingbirds, the Gray Kingbird has ashy gray upperparts that grade into dark gray-brown wings and tail, with the hint of a dark mask through the eyes. Note the forked tail.

This bird is a familiar favorite throughout its range owing to its boisterous vocalizations and fighter-pilot flycatching—pursuing dragonflies and wasps on aerial chases that may cover 100 yards. Cornell All About Birds

Cuban Peewee

This Cuban Peewee sat very patiently getting it's picture taken while I was out birding in the Cuban countryside early one morning.

The Cuban Peewee is an active small flycatcher of open woodlands and scrub. It is most similar to the Eastern Wood-Peewee however it is best distinguished from this species by the bold white crescent behind the eye, very evident in this image. Often flicks tail upwards once after landing. 

Cuban Green Woodpecker

 

The Cuban Green Woodpecker is a species endemic to Cuba. This green-backed woodpecker has a red crown and a white face with a blackish stripe extending backwards from the eye.

The Cuban Green Woodpecker is an attractive, small to medium-sized inhabitant of woodlands including mangroves; typically found in pairs, often on dead or dying branches.  No other species in its range is similar. Cornell All About Birds

Mangrove Cuckoo

 

Mangrove Cuckoos are another quite common bird out on Cayo Coco Cuba. It’s not long after you start birding in the morning before the familiar call of the Mangrove Cuckoo is heard.

Like other cuckoos, the secretive Mangrove Cuckoo is a quiet and still presence as it watches for insects and small lizard prey. This slender, long-tailed bird nests in tangled mangrove forests of southern Florida; in its large Caribbean and Latin American range it occurs in lowland and foothill rainforests as well. A mostly brown bird with a yellow or gray ring around the eye, it resembles the Yellow-billed Cuckoo but has a black mask and a warm buff belly. Cornell All About Birds

Like other cuckoos, the Mangrove Cuckoo has four toes on each foot in a "zygodactyl" arrangement, with two toes forward and two behind, rather than three-forward, one-back of many other birds.

Key West Quail-Dove

 

An area that I love birding out on Cayo Coco is Cueva del Jabali. There is a quite extensive cave system there, however it is also a great area to bird and one of the popular stops for birding tour groups. I have been there a few times with my favourite bird guide, Paulino Lopez Delgado, however I also hire a taxi to drop me off early in the morning and come back a few hours later to pick me up somewhere along the roadside as I hike back out. This year my best find there was the Key West Quail-Dove. In Cuba it is not uncommon to observe 6 or 7 species of dove while birding .

The male has purple iridescence on back and coverts, green on head and nape, and rufous on wings and tail. Quite a beautiful bird in the early morning light.

The Key West Quail-Dove is a smallish, chunky, ground-dwelling species of dense woodlands with thick leaf litter; prefers drier habitats. It is secretive but not shy; sometimes detected by the rustling of leaves it is strolling through.

The Key West Quail-Dove song is a soft, low plaintive “hooooooo,” given at a single pitch, but growing gradually louder before dropping off abruptly at the end. Cornell All About Birds

Least Tern

 

We have just returned from Cuba staying out on Cayo Coco. We had terrific weather and I was fortunate to get out birding every day. I observed 84 species, adding 7 new species to my Cuba bird list, with the Key West Quail-Dove being the only new lifer for me, bringing my Cuba bird list to 132 species. A bird that I had observed last year, but failed to photograph, was the Least Tern. These are adorable little terns that are only 8-9”.

The Least Tern is a distinctive, very small seabird, slim in all proportions, with long, narrow wings, trim body, and slender, sharp bill.

Breeding adults are pale gray and white, with a black cap, white forehead, and yellow bill. Nonbreeding adults have a dark bill, smudgy grayish crown, and may show a dark bar at the bend of the wing. The outer primaries are dark gray-black. Juveniles are similar to nonbreeding adults but scaly gray above. The legs are orange.

Least Terns dart over waterways, usually close to shore, diving for fish or other small prey. Males bring small fish to females for courtship feeding during much of the nesting season. Flight is strong and direct, on stiff, jerky, rapid wingbeats.

Least Tern habitat includes barrier islands and beaches, dredge spoil, river islands, flat gravel rooftops, and similar habitats for nesting. Cornell All About Birds

Bare-legged Owl

 

The Bare-legged Owl, endemic to Cuba, has very large dark eyes, bushy white or buff eyebrows, and a buffy mustache. For a time it was considered to be the same species as the Puerto Rican Owl, however later it was determined to be it’s own species.

The Bare-legged Owl is relatively small, measuring 8–9 inches long, and weighing about 2.8 oz. Its name comes from its featherless green-yellow legs, similar to those of the Burrowing Owl.

At night the Bare-legged Owl hunts woodlands or open areas with large trees and roosts in tree cavities or caves during the day.

Cuban Pygmy Owl

 The Cuban Pygmy Owl is a very small, tame owl of wooded habitats that is active both day and night.

On our recent trip to Holguin some mornings I would find two or three hanging around the resort.

Depending on attitude, its staring yellow eyes and prominent arched white eyebrows can impart cuteness or ferocity. It is often found perched with tail cocked, and when flushed, typically flies only a short distance on rounded wings.

The Cuban Pygmy Owl occurs in two color types, gray and rust. Their song is a low whistled “whuh” or “hoo” given in a slow series. It was the first call I heard every morning when leaving my lodging. Which made it an easy target to find. And like most owls I have observed, was very habitual about which trees it hung out in during the day. Returning to the same trees every day.

The first Cuban Pygmy Owl we observed was with our guide Ernesto Reyes Mouino on our way from Varadero to Zapata Swamp.

We observed this Cuban Pygmy Owl while birding with Paulino Lopez Delgado in the Cayo Coco area.

We found the Cuban Pygmy Owl to be a very tame owl often actively hunting during the daytime.

Western Spindalis

The Western Spindalis is found in thickets, along the forest edge, and in gardens. Usually in pairs or small flocks, and often quite inconspicuous. 

The handsome male is unmistakable, with bold head pattern, golden-yellow and dark reddish body plumage, and bold white wing pattern. Female is notably drab, grayish olive overall with a small white mark on the wing, and a ghosting of the male wing pattern.