Top 20 Most Common Bird in French Polynesia

The white tern has a wingspan of 76–87 cm (30–34 in). It has white plumage and a long black bill. Nesting on coral islands, usually on trees with small branches but also on rocky ledges and on man-made structures, the white tern feeds on small fish which it catches by plunge diving.

The red-vented Bulbul is considered a pest by gardeners as it eats fruits and vegetables and spreads seeds to non-native regions. Because of this, these bird is considered an invasive species in some countries. The red-vented Bulbul is loud and can become aggressive to other birds and even humans in their forest, shrubland, and urban habitats.

The common Myna is a large, stocky starling that prefers to live near humans in towns and suburban areas. It forages among tall grasses for grasshoppers; in fact, its scientific name, Acridotheres tristis, means "grasshopper hunter." The common Myna likes to maintain two roosts at the same time - both a temporary summer roost near the breeding site as well as a year-round roost where the female can sit and brood.

The zebra Dove is a small dove found in dense forests, open fields, farmlands, and similar suburban areas. Unlike other dove species, this ground-dwelling bird likes to forage alone or in pairs, but not in large groups. The call of this slender dove is often described as very pleasant. Very common in urban areas, they are quite comfortable around humans.

The brown noddy is 38–45 cm (15–18 in) in length with a wingspan of 75–86 cm (30–34 in). The plumage is a dark chocolate-brown with a pale-grey or white crown and forehead. It has a narrow incomplete white eye-ring. The tail is long and wedge-shaped, and the feet and legs are dark.

The greater crested tern is a large tern with a long (5.4–6.5 cm or 2.1–2.6 in) yellow bill, black legs, and a glossy black crest that is noticeably shaggy at its rear. The breeding adult of the nominate subspecies T. b. bergii is 46–49 cm (18–19.5 in) long, with a 125–130 cm (49–51 in) wing-span; this subspecies weighs 325–397 g (11.4–14.0 oz). The forehead and the underparts are white, the back and inner wings are dusky-grey. In winter, the upperparts plumage wears to a paler grey, and the crown of the head becomes white, merging at the rear into a peppered black crest and mask. The adults of both sexes are identical in appearance, but juvenile birds are distinctive, with a head pattern like the winter adult, and upperparts strongly patterned in grey, brown, and white; the closed wings appear to have dark bars. After moulting, the young terns resemble the adult, but still have a variegated wing pattern with a dark bar on the inner flight feathers. The northern subspecies T. b. velox and T. b. thalassina are in breeding plumage from May to September or October, whereas the relevant period for the two southern African races is from December to April. For T. b. cristata, the moult timing depends on location; birds from Australia and Oceania are in breeding plumage from September to about April, but those in Thailand, China and Sulawesi have this appearance from February to June or July. The royal tern is similar in size to this species, but has a heavier build, broader wings, a paler back and a blunter, more orange bill. The greater crested often associates with the lesser crested tern, but is 25% larger than the latter, with a proportionately longer bill, longer and heavier head, and bulkier body. Lesser crested tern has an orange-tinted bill, and in immature plumage it is much less variegated than greater crested. The greater crested tern is highly vocal, especially at its breeding grounds. The territorial advertising call is a loud, raucous, crow-like kerrak. Other calls include a korrkorrkorr given at the nest by anxious or excited birds, and a hard wep wep in flight.

The chestnut-breasted mannikin (Lonchura castaneothorax), also known as the chestnut-breasted munia or bully bird (in Australia), is a small brown-backed munia with a black face and greyish crown and nape. It has a broad ferruginous breast bar above a white belly. The species is found in Australia, New Caledonia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. This species has also been introduced to French Polynesia and France.

The rock Pigeon is a wild ancestor of all domestic and feral pigeons, inhabiting coasts, cliffs, and caves. Pairs nest in rock crevices, often mating for life. They are known for their ability to fly very long distances to return to their homes, navigating using the sun's position and the earth's magnetic fields. Thanks to this ability, pigeons were used as messengers, particularly during World Wars I and II.

A small bird 11 to 13 cm in length and around 10 g in weight, it has a conspicuous ring of white feathers around its eye. There are a number of plumage variations depending on the sub-species. Generally it has olive-green wings and either a grey or olive-green back, a lighter coloured throat - yellow or grey, flanks that range from chestnut to pale buff, and an undertail that may be white or yellow. Within Australia there are seasonal migrations and the ranges of the sub-species overlap. The other islands within its range tend to host only a single sub-species each so only one plumage variant is seen.

The adult white-tailed tropicbird is a slender, mainly white bird, 71–80 cm long including the very long central tail feathers, which double its total length. The wingspan is 89–96 cm. The bird has a black band on the inner wing, a black eye-mask, and an orange-yellow to orange-red bill. The bill colour, pure white back and black wing bar distinguish this species from the red-billed tropicbird. The white-tailed tropicbird breeds on tropical islands, laying a single egg directly onto the ground or a cliff ledge. It disperses widely across the oceans when not breeding, and sometimes wanders far. It feeds on fish and squid, caught by surface plunging, but this species is a poor swimmer. The call is a high screamed keee-keee-krrrt-krrt-krrt. Sexes are similar, although males on average are longer tailed, but juveniles lack the tail streamers, have a green-yellow bill, and a finely barred back. The white-tailed tropicbird does not have a yearly breeding cycle; instead, breeding frequency depends on the climate and availability of suitable breeding sites. The bird can reproduce 10 months after the last successful breeding, or 5 months after an unsuccessful one.

Pacific reef herons are medium-sized herons, reaching 57 to 66 cm in length. They have a wingspan of between 90 and 110 cm and reach an average weight of 400 grams. The species displays an unusual, non-sexual dimorphism, with some members having entirely white plumage ('light' morph) and others (the larger portion) being charcoal-grey ('dark' morph). The reason for the colour variation or "morph", is unknown, though it is most commonly thought to be related to camouflage. The plumage of immature herons tends to be browner and duller in colour. Pacific reef herons have very short, yellow legs, and the grey variety's throats and chins are marked by a narrow, white stripe. They have brown beaks, gold-yellow coloured eyes and the surrounding areas of their faces are normally of a greenish to yellow cast.

The red Junglefowl is actually the wild ancestor of the most abundant and probably most important bird species in the world—the chicken. It inhabits tropical and subtropical forests, including monsoon forests. It's a highly sociable species that lives in large groups, where the most impressive male gets the highest rank and usually has a harem of 4-5 females during the mating season.

The red-footed booby is the smallest member of the booby and gannet family at about 70 cm (28 in) in length and with a wingspan of up to 152 cm (60 in). The average weight of 490 adults from Christmas Island was 837 g (1.845 lb). It has red legs, and its bill and throat pouch are coloured pink and blue. This species has several morphs. In the white morph the plumage is mostly white (the head often tinged yellowish) and the flight feathers are black. The black-tailed white morph is similar, but with a black tail, and can easily be confused with the Nazca and masked boobies. The brown morph is overall brown. The white-tailed brown morph is similar, but has a white belly, rump, and tail. The white-headed and white-tailed brown morph has a mostly white body, tail and head, and brown wings and back. The morphs commonly breed together, but in most regions one or two morphs predominates; for example, at the Galápagos Islands, most belong to the brown morph, though the white morph also occurs. The sexes are similar, and juveniles are brownish with darker wings, and pale pinkish legs, while chicks are covered in dense white down. The species has been recorded three times from Sri Lanka. In September 2016, a male red-footed booby was found washed up on a beach in East Sussex, UK, 5,000 miles from its nearest usual habitat. It was the first of its species ever recorded in the UK. The bird, later named Norman, was said by some to be exhausted and malnourished, though it flew onto the beach freely and was of normal weight when checked. He was brought back to health before being transported by plane to an environmental center in the Cayman Islands in December 2016, where he subsequently died before ever being released into the wild. In January 2017, a red-footed booby was sighted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time. A red-footed booby was observed to be preyed upon by a large coconut crab on the Chagos Archipelago in 2016.

The great frigatebird measures 85 to 105 cm (33 to 41 in) in length and has a wingspan of 205–230 cm (81–91 in). Male great frigatebirds are smaller than females, but the extent of the variation varies geographically. The male birds weigh 1,000–1,450 g (2.20–3.20 lb) while the heavier female birds weigh 1,215–1,590 g (2.679–3.505 lb). Frigatebirds have long narrow pointed wings and a long narrow deeply forked tail. They have the highest ratio of wing area to body mass and the lowest wing loading of any bird. This has been hypothesized to enable the birds to use marine thermals created by small differences between tropical air and water temperatures. The plumage of males is black with scapular feathers that have a green iridescence when they refract sunlight. Females are black with a white throat and breast and have a red eye ring. Juveniles are black with a rust-tinged white face, head, and throat.

The lesser frigatebird is the smallest species of frigatebird and measures 66–81 cm (26–32 in) in length with a wingspan of 155–193 cm (61–76 in) and long forked tails. Male birds weight 625–875 g (1.378–1.929 lb). Female birds are heavier and weight 760–955 grams (1.676–2.105 lb). Like all frigatebirds the male has a large red sac on the front of the throat which is inflated during courtship. Courtship display also involves a variety of calls, bill rattling and spreading of the wings. The male is mostly all black save for a white patch on the flank which extends on to the underwing as a spur. Males also have a pale bar on the upper wing. Females have a black head and neck with a white collar and breast as well as a spur extending on to the underwing. The female also has a narrow red ring around the eye. Juveniles and immature birds are more difficult to differentiate but the presence of the spurs of white in the armpits is a helpful distinguishing sign. Frigate birds are built for flying; they rarely swim and cannot walk but can manage to climb around the trees and bushes in which they nest. They have a very light skeleton and long narrow wings and are masters of the air. Their name probably derives from the fact that they harass other sea birds such as boobies and tropicbirds as they return to their nests from feeding, forcing them to disgorge their catch, which is then swooped upon and caught by the frigate birds before it reaches the water below. This practice seems to be more common among female frigate birds, but probably only accounts for a fairly small proportion of the diet, which mainly consists of squid and flying fish scooped up from the surface of the sea.

The red-browed finch (Neochmia temporalis) is an estrildid finch that inhabits the east coast of Australia. This species has also been introduced to French Polynesia. It is commonly found in temperate forest and dry savannah habitats. It may also be found in dry forest and mangrove habitats in tropical region. The species is distinguished by the bright red stripe above the eye, and bright red rump. The rest of the body is grey, with olive wing coverts and collar. Juveniles do not have red brow marks, and lack olive colouration on the collar and wing coverts. The adults are 11–12 cm long.

The black noddy has a length of 35–37 cm (14–15 in), a wingspan of 66–72 cm (26–28 in) and a weight of 98–144 g (3.5–5.1 oz). It has dark plumage and a pale crown. There is a small white crescent under each eye and a white spot above. It has long tapering wings and a truncated tail. The sharply pointed bill is black. The feet are fully webbed and are black in most subspecies but orange in melanogenys.

The swamp harrier is largely dark brown, becoming lighter with age, and has a distinct white rump. It hunts by flying slowly, low to the ground, on upswept wings. The body length is 48 to 62 cm (19 to 24.5 in), and the wingspan is 118 to 145 cm (3 ft 10 in to 4 ft 9 in). The recorded weights of adults range from 580 to 1,100 g (1.28 to 2.43 lb). Females are significantly larger than the males. In New Zealand, 54 males averaged 640 g (1.41 lb) and 66 females averaged 870 g (1.92 lb). Going on mean weights and linear measurements, the swamp harrier may be by a slight margin the largest extant species of harrier but it is only marginally larger than some other species, like the marsh harriers and the Reunion harrier.

The common Waxbill is a small and brightly colored bird, native to Africa. It is a highly social bird, often seen in flocks foraging for seeds and insects. With its distinctive red bills and cheerful chirps, the Common Waxbill brings a touch of brightness to its habitat. This charming bird is well-adapted to its environment, making it an important part of the ecosystem. Whether foraging for food or engaging in lively courtship displays, the bird is a delight to observe.

The Tahiti petrel (Pseudobulweria rostrata) is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is found in American Samoa, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Mexico, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, and possibly the Cook Islands. It is a pelagic bird of the open seas, but nests in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland. It has been recorded as a vagrant in Hawaii, Taiwan, Baja California, and, most surprisingly, in North Carolina.