Tobago's 12 birds of Christmas

Faraaz Abdool brings you 12 of Tobago’s birds. Enjoy these stunning photos of island residents in their common habitats. All photos courtesy Faraaz Abdool; Trinidad Motmot by Joanne Husain.

Tobago boasts some of the bird world’s most incredible representatives – a mixture of South America and the Caribbean with seasonal migrants from as far as the Arctic Circle. Coincidental confluences of southward migration and the Atlantic hurricane season bring to Tobago some Europeans as well. Exciting rarities aside, let’s look at some of the island’s most familiar inhabitants.

Widespread across Tobago, the rufous-vented chachalaca is known to most as the “cocrico” – a name that sounds like the loudest call in its extensive repertoire of sounds.

The commonest hummingbird across most of our two islands, copper-rumped hummingbirds actually have a very unique bond with Tobago. Its scientific name, Amazilia tobaci reflects the island’s name, for it is where the species was first described.

Almost wiped out by Hurricane Flora in 1963, white-tailed Sabrewings are still listed as near threatened, according to the IUCN Red List. Large and possessing a mystical beauty, this species on the rebound seems to vary between green and blue. Special feathers combine pigment with a crystalline structure to reflect the light .

Endemic to TT, the Trinidad Motmot could easily be named after Tobago instead, as it is more common and seen on the smaller island.

Equipped with exceedingly long, straight bills to protect their faces from any antagonistic wasp or bee mounting a last-ditch attack, before having their stinger methodically removed to be swallowed, the metallic looking Rufous-tailed Jacamar nests in tunnels and is thought to form monogamous bonds.

Despite the powerful stature and impressive weaponry of the Great Black Hawk, they seem to prefer smaller prey, such as frogs, lizards and snakes.

Residents of Main Ridge Forest Reserve and adjoining forested areas, blue-backed manakins are high on the list of any birder. Dark undergrowth sets the stage for an unforgettable performance: several males gather together in a predetermined dancehall called a lek and “dance off” for the accepting nod of a female bird.

Although red-billed tropicbirds don’t quite look like grizzled seafarers, they spend most of their life at sea. Dainty and delicate, they touch land only to breed, preferring uninhabited and often inhospitable offshore islands for protection from predators. Lacking sharp talons or even an aggressive personality, red-billed tropicbirds are extremely vulnerable to human activity on their nesting grounds such as Little Tobago.

Male and female barred antshrikes are generally found together, both in and out of the breeding season, suggesting that these birds create deep and meaningful bonds beyond basic procreation.

Magnificent frigatebirds are in a constant predicament: they feed on fish, yet their feathers aren’t waterproof. Furthermore, the freshest fish are already in the bellies of hardworking boobies and tropicbirds. Spurred on by hunger, gangs of marauding magnificent frigatebirds harass the smaller seabirds, tugging at their feathers until they regurgitate their meals.

The ubiquitous bananaquit is a unique and fascinating little bird, with a voice and personality full of sunshine.

Many people who have visited both Trinidad and Tobago have remarked that the “blue jeans” on Tobago seem much more vibrant than those on Trinidad. Some ascribe it to the weather, others to the pervasive good vibes on Tobago. Either way, it is no trick of light or the imagination, for the blue-grey tanagers on Tobago are a separate subspecies that are indeed bluer and brighter than their Trinidadian kin. What’s more is that this subspecies is unique to Tobago, and can be found nowhere else!