List of birds of the Pitcairn Islands

This is a list of the bird species recorded in the Pitcairn Islands. The avifauna of the Pitcairn Islands include a total of 65 species, of which five are endemic.

This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2022 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account.

The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. Not all species fall into one of these categories. Those that do not are commonly occurring native species.


 * (A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in the Pitcairn Islands
 * (I) Introduced - a species introduced to the Pitcairn Islands as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions
 * (E) Endemic - a species endemic to the Pitcairn Islands
 * (Ex) Extinct - a species formerly endemic to the Pitcairn Islands, now extinct

Pheasants, grouse, and allies
Order: GalliformesFamily: Phasianidae

The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quails, partridges, snowcocks, francolins, spurfowls, tragopans, monals, pheasants, peafowls, grouse, ptarmigan, and junglefowls. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings.


 * Red junglefowl, Gallus gallus (I)

Pigeons and doves
Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.


 * Henderson fruit-dove, Ptilinopus insularis (E)
 * Henderson imperial-pigeon, Ducula harrisoni (Ex)
 * Henderson ground dove, Pampusana leonpascoi (Ex)
 * Henderson archaic pigeon, Bountyphaps obsoleta (Ex)

Cuckoos
Order: CuculiformesFamily: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. The Old World cuckoos are brood parasites.


 * Long-tailed koel, Eudynamys taitensis

Rails, gallinules, and coots
Order: GruiformesFamily: Rallidae

Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots and gallinules. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers.


 * Henderson Island crake, Zapornia atra (E)
 * Spotless crake, Zapornia tabuensis

Plovers and lapwings
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Charadriidae

The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.


 * Black-bellied plover, Pluvialis squatarola (A)
 * Pacific golden-plover, Pluvialis fulva

Sandpipers and allies
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.


 * Bristle-thighed curlew, Numenius tahitiensis
 * Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres
 * Sanderling, Calidris alba
 * Wandering tattler, Tringa incana

Gulls, terns, and skimmers
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years.


 * Laughing gull, Leucophaeus atricilla
 * Brown noddy, Anous stolidus
 * Black noddy, Anous minutus
 * Gray noddy, Anous albivitta
 * Blue-gray noddy, Anous ceruleus
 * White tern, Gygis alba
 * Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus
 * Gray-backed tern, Onychoprion lunatus
 * Great crested tern, Thalasseus bergii (A)

Tropicbirds
Order: PhaethontiformesFamily: Phaethontidae

Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings.


 * White-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon lepturus
 * Red-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda

Albatrosses
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Diomedeidae

The albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and the great albatrosses from the genus Diomedea have the largest wingspans of any extant birds.


 * Buller's albatross, Thalassarche bulleri
 * Black-browed albatross, Thalassarche melanophris (A)
 * Wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans (A)

Southern storm-petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Oceanitidae

The southern storm-petrels are relatives of the petrels and are the smallest seabirds. They feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.


 * Wilson's storm-petrel, Oceanites oceanicus
 * White-faced storm-petrel, Pelagodroma marina
 * White-bellied storm-petrel, Fregetta grallaria
 * Black-bellied storm-petrel, Fregetta tropica
 * Polynesian storm-petrel, Nesofregetta fuliginosa

Shearwaters and petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae

The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.


 * Southern giant-petrel, Macronectes giganteus
 * Cape petrel, Daption capense
 * Gray-faced petrel, Pterodroma gouldi
 * Kermadec petrel, Pterodroma neglecta
 * Herald petrel, Pterodroma heraldica
 * Murphy's petrel, Pterodroma ultima
 * Henderson petrel, Pterodroma atrata
 * Soft-plumaged petrel, Pterodroma mollis
 * White-headed petrel, Pterodroma lessonii
 * Juan Fernandez petrel, Pterodroma externa
 * White-necked petrel, Pterodroma cervicalis
 * Black-winged petrel, Pterodroma nigripennis
 * Cook's petrel, Pterodroma cookii
 * Gould's petrel, Pterodroma leucoptera
 * Phoenix petrel, Pterodroma alba
 * Bulwer's petrel, Bulweria bulwerii
 * Tahiti petrel, Pseudobulweria rostrata
 * Grey petrel, Pseudobulweria cinerea (A)
 * White-chinned petrel, Procellaria aequinoctialis
 * Parkinson's petrel, Procellaria parkinsoni
 * Wedge-tailed shearwater, Ardenna pacificus
 * Buller's shearwater, Ardenna bulleri
 * Christmas shearwater, Puffinus nativitatis
 * Tropical shearwater, Puffinus bailloni

Frigatebirds
Order: SuliformesFamily: Fregatidae

Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black and white or completely black, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have coloured inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week.


 * Lesser frigatebird, Fregata ariel
 * Great frigatebird, Fregata minor

Boobies and gannets
Order: SuliformesFamily: Sulidae

The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.


 * Masked booby, Sula dactylatra
 * Brown booby, Sula leucogaster
 * Red-footed booby, Sula sula

Herons, egrets, and bitterns
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons, and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills.


 * Pacific reef-heron, Egretta sacra

Falcons and caracaras
Order: FalconiformesFamily: Falconidae

Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.


 * Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus

Old World parrots
Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Psittaculidae

Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly colored, and some are multi-colored. In size they range from 8 cm to 1 m in length. Old World parrots are found from Africa east across south and southeast Asia and Oceania to Australia and New Zealand.


 * Stephen's lorikeet, Vini stepheni (E)

Reed warblers and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Acrocephalidae

The members of this family are usually rather large for "warblers". Most are rather plain olivaceous brown above with much yellow to beige below. They are usually found in open woodland, reedbeds, or tall grass. The family occurs mostly in southern to western Eurasia and surroundings, but it also ranges far into the Pacific, with some species in Africa.


 * Pitcairn reed warbler, Acrocephalus vaughani (E)
 * Henderson Island reed warbler, Acrocephalus taiti (E)