


Top 20 Most Common Bird in Grenada
Nestled amid the Caribbean's azure waters, Grenada boasts diverse landscapes, from volcanic peaks to mangrove forests, all buzzing with avian life. Of its numerous bird species, 20 are exceptionally commonplace. These winged denizens present unique traits in appearance and behavior, and some exhibit intriguing species-specific adaptations, carving out an ecological niche in Grenada's rich tapestry of habitats.

Most Common Bird

1. Bananaquit
The bananaquit is a common bird found in tropical forests, woodlands, and home gardens where they primarily feed on nectar and fruit. There are over 40 known subspecies endemic to specific regions with noticeable differences in appearance. The exact taxonomic placement of Coereba flaveola is a subject of much debate among ornithologists, with some suggesting it should be split into at least three different species.

2. Magnificent Frigatebird
The magnificent frigatebird is the largest species of frigatebird. It measures 89–114 cm (35–45 in) in length, has a wingspan of 2.17–2.44 m (7.1–8.0 ft) and weighs 1.1–1.59 kilograms (2.4–3.5 lb). Males are all-black with a scarlet throat pouch that is inflated like a balloon in the breeding season. Although the feathers are black, the scapular feathers produce a purple iridescence when they reflect sunlight, in contrast to the male great frigatebird's green sheen. Females are black but have a white breast and lower neck sides, a brown band on the wings, and a blue eye-ring that is diagnostic of the female of the species. Immature birds have a white head and underparts. This species is very similar to the other frigatebirds and is similarly sized to all but the lesser frigatebird. However, it lacks a white axillary spur, and juveniles show a distinctive diamond-shaped belly patch. The magnificent frigatebird is silent in flight, but makes various rattling sounds at its nest. It spends days and nights on the wing, with an average ground speed of 10 km/h (6.2 mph), covering up to 223 km (139 mi) before landing. They alternately climb in thermals, to altitudes occasionally as high as 2,500 m (8,200 ft), and descend to near the sea surface. The only other bird known to spend days and nights on the wing is the common swift.


3. Grey Kingbird
The grey Kingbird is known for its long beak and loud calls. This species has developed large populations in Florida where it can be found in marsh and savanna ecosystems. The grey Kingbird likes to sit on tall, exposed perches in order to watch for insects, lizards, and any potential threats to its territory.

4. Lesser Antillean Bullfinch
The lesser Antillean Bullfinch has a very limited subtropical and tropical range and prefers to stick to the dense coverage of thickets. These birds are sometimes confused with the St. Lucia black finch (Melanospiza richardsoni) as they share the same black coloration. The lesser Antillean Bullfinch has a recognizable song of several “wheet” notes.

5. Black-faced Grassquit
A male black-faced grassquits is around 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs approximately 10 g (0.35 oz). It has a short conical black bill, a black head and breast with an olive green back. Females and immature birds have dull olive-grey upperparts and head, and paler grey underparts becoming whiter on the belly. Males on the South American mainland have more extensively black underparts, shading to a grey belly. The male has a display flight in which he flies for short distances, vibrating his wings and giving a buzzing dik-zeezeezee call.


6. Royal Tern
This is a large tern, second only to Caspian tern but is unlikely to be confused with the carrot-billed giant, which has extensive dark under wing patches. The royal tern has an orange-red bill, pale grey upper parts and white under parts. Its legs are black. In winter, the black cap becomes patchy. Juvenile royal terns are similar to non-breeding adults. Differences include juveniles having black splotched wings and a yellower bill. An adult royal tern has an average wingspan of 130 cm (51 in), for both sexes, but their wingspan can range from 125–135 cm (49–53 in). The royal tern's length ranges from 45–50 cm (18–20 in) and their average weight is anywhere from 350–450 g (12–16 oz). The calls of the royal tern are usually short, clear shrills. Some of the shrills sound like kree or tsirr; the royal tern also has a more plover like whistle that is longer, rolling and is more melodious. In various parts of its range, the royal tern could be confused with the elegant tern, lesser crested tern (the other orange-billed terns), and the greater crested tern. It is paler above than lesser crested tern and the yellow-billed great crested tern. The elegant tern has a longer more curved bill and shows more white on the forehead in winter.


7. Brown Pelican
The brown Pelican is a large seabird frequently found in and around marine and estuarine habitats as well as manufactured docks and jetties. They can be seen effortlessly gliding in the air along the coast when not feeding. These birds have a unique feeding behavior where they dive head-first into the water, using their throat pouches to capture their prey. They often nest in large colonies on islands with no natural predators.

8. Caribbean Elaenia
The Caribbean elaenia (Elaenia martinica) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae found in the West Indies and parts of Central America. Its natural habitats are tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and heavily degraded former forest.


9. Broad-winged Hawk
The broad-winged hawk is a relatively small Buteo, with a body size from 32 to 44 cm (13 to 17 in) in length and weighing 265 to 560 g (9.3 to 19.8 oz). The tail is relatively short, measuring 14.5–19.0 cm (5.7–7.5 in) in length. The tarsus measures from 5.6 to 6.6 cm (2.2 to 2.6 in). As in most raptors, females are slightly larger than males. Broad-winged hawks have relatively short and broad wings, pointed at the end, which have a tapered appearance unique to the species. The wingspan can range from 74 to 100 cm (29 to 39 in), with the extended wing bone (standard measurement) measuring 22.7–30 cm (8.9–11.8 in). An adult's body is a dark brown with a white belly and chest containing horizontal barring. Its tail can be a dark grey-black with white lines along the middle, base, and tip. The young hawks have a slightly different coloring with more white and longitudinal barring instead of horizontal barring. The two types of coloration are a dark morph with fewer white areas and a light morph that is more pale overall. The light morph of this bird is most likely to be confused with the red-shouldered hawk, but it has a longer, more heavily barred tail and wings with a solid rufous color in the adult, which are usually distinctive. Rare dark morphs are a darker brown on both upperparts and underparts. Dark-morph short-tailed hawks are similar, but are whitish under the tail with a single subterminal band.


10. Scaly-naped Pigeon
The scaly-naped pigeon is a large slate grey pigeon (14–16 in), with maroon coloured plumage around the neck. The plumage on the species' nape appears scaly, explaining both the common and scientific names of the species. There is a bare patch of skin which surrounds the birds red eyes; this patch tends to be reddish in males and more yellow in females. The legs and the base of the bill of the species are red, while the remainder of the bill is light coloured.


11. Green Heron
The green Heron is a shorter member of the long-legged heron family. This solitary bird can be tough to spot, for it grows nervous if out in the open and prefers to be tucked away safely. In fact, if you spot one out in the open, you’ll likely notice it flicking its tail and lifting and dropping its crest. If the green Heron becomes frightened, it typically responds with a squawk and then defecating behind itself as it flees.

12. Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warblers are small birds that are so tiny they are known to get tangled up in orb-weaver spiders' webs. Their nests are often parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds. No worries, says the yellow Warbler, for I'll just rebuild a new nest on top of the one you took from me. This sometimes goes on and on to the point where the nest grows to six tiers high.

13. Common Ground Dove
The common ground dove is North America's smallest dove and is one of the world's smallest by mass. This species ranges from 15–18 cm (5.9–7.1 in) in length, spans 27 cm (11 in) across the wings and weighs 26–40 g (0.92–1.41 oz). The common ground dove has a yellow beak with a black tip. Feathers surrounding the beak are pink in colour. The feathers on the head and the upper breast have a scale like appearance. The tail feathers are very short and similar colour to the back. The plumage on the back of the bird is brown. The coverts and wing feathers are also brown but have black spotting on them. The common ground dove has chestnut primaries and wing borders, which can only been seen when the bird is flying. The common ground dove shows some sexual dimorphism in their plumage. The males have slate gray feathers on the top of their heads and pink-gray colouration on their belly. Females on the other hand are more gray than their male counterparts and are more evenly coloured. The common ground dove's call can be described as soft whoops that increase in pitch. Often the call is heard in repetition, and is quite distinct. To hear the call of the common ground dove see the external links for a link to a website.


14. House Wren
Watch out for the small yet aggressive house Wrens; they are extremely territorial and think nothing of harassing other birds and their nestlings if they want to take their spot! They have been known to kill nestlings and even adult birds to get a nest hole they want. Once house Wrens lay eggs, the nest needs to stay below 100 degrees and above 65 degrees or the eggs will not survive—this could be the reason they are so particular about their nesting spots.

15. Eared Dove
The most widely-spotted dove of South America, the small eared Dove thrives in high altitudes. You can find this dove in the scrubland of areas that are around 4500 meters above sea level. Their easy association with humans has made them acclimate more easily to urban environments and rising human population levels.

16. Carib Grackle
The adult male Carib grackle is 27 cm (11 in) long with a long wedge-shaped tail, although the latter is not so long as other grackles. Its plumage is entirely black with a violet iridescence, its eyes are yellow, and it has a strong dark bill. The adult female is 23 cm (9.1 in) long, with a shorter tail and brown plumage, darker on the upperparts. Young males are shorter tailed than adult males and have some brown in the plumage. Young females are very similar to the adult females. The seven island subspecies differ from the nominate one in size, plumage shade (especially in the browns of the females), and vocalisations.


17. Little Blue Heron
A fairly small heron, the little Blue Heron is found in wetland habitats. Born with white feathers, a juvenile goes through a dramatic change to an all-dark adult. During the young stage, it looks very similar to the Snowy egret, with whom juveniles often mix during feeding time to get free food. A quiet and calm feeder, this heron is often overlooked; however, it's not easily approachable.

18. Antillean Crested Hummingbird
As the name implies, Antillean crested hummingbird is one of the few hummingbirds with a crest. It demonstrates the general sexual dimorphism for hummingbirds where the male is bright and colorful whilst the female is more tannish and dull. Males have a short straight black bill; head with green crest, tipped metallic green to bright blue-green, upperparts dull metallic bronze-green; underparts sooty black; tail black, rounded. The female bill is similar to male’s but its head is without a crest; the forehead, crown and upperparts are metallic bronzy-green; underparts light grey; tail blackish, rounded, four outer rectrices broadly tipped whitish grey. The subspecies can be distinguished by the colour of their crests: exilis is wholly green or slightly tinged blue on tip; ornatus has the terminal portion abruptly blue; cristatus is golden to emerald, violet terminally; emigrans is similar to the nominate but more bluish violet, throat paler grey; the degree of paleness in underparts of female varies with race. Calls include short "tsip" or "tzip" notes and a longer series of “tslee-tslee-tslee-tslee”.


19. Laughing Gull
The laughing Gull is the largest of all of the dark-hooded gulls and is aptly named due to its call, "ha ha ha," which of course resembles laughter. Interestingly, gulls will typically stop flying and roost when there is low atmospheric pressure (often indicative of oncoming rain).

20. Spotted Sandpiper
The spotted Sandpiper has a unique social structure compared to most birds. Males raise the young while females forage for food along the shoreline. The bird is often solitary and is identifiable by its bobbing tail. The shorebird also puts on a notable courtship dance. During the breeding season, females take up to four mates.