List of birds of the Prince Edward Islands

This is a list of the bird species recorded in the Prince Edward Islands. The Prince Edward Islands, c. 1,750 km (1,087 mi) offshore in the Roaring Forties, are near-pristine and deemed the second most important sub-Antarctic archipelago in terms of breeding birds.

The avifauna of the Prince Edward Islands include a total of 76 species. 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. The commonly occurring native species do not fall into any of these categories.


 * (A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in the Prince Edward Islands
 * (I) Introduced - a species introduced to the Prince Edward Islands as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions

Ducks, geese, and waterfowl
Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae

Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating.


 * Northern pintail, Anas acuta (A)

Pigeons and doves
Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae

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


 * Ring-necked dove, Streptopelia capicola (A)
 * Laughing dove, Streptopelia senegalensis

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.


 * African cuckoo, Cuculus gularis (A)

Swifts
Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Apodidae

Swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang.


 * Common swift, Apus apus (A)

Sheathbills
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Chionididae

The sheathbills are scavengers of the Antarctic regions. They have white plumage and look plump and dove-like but are believed to be similar to the ancestors of the modern gulls and terns.


 * Black-faced sheathbill, Chionis minor

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.


 * Common ringed plover, Charadrius hiaticula (A)
 * Three-banded plover, Charadrius tricollaris (A)

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.


 * Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus (A)
 * Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres
 * Little stint, Calidris minuta (A)
 * Pectoral sandpiper, Calidris melanotos (A)
 * Terek sandpiper, Xenus cinereus (A)
 * Red phalarope, Phalaropus fulicarius (A)
 * Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
 * Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia
 * Wood sandpiper, Tringa glareola (A)

Skuas and jaegers
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Stercorariidae

The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants.


 * Brown skua, Stercorarius antarcticus
 * Parasitic jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus (A)

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.


 * Sabine's gull, Xema sabini (A)
 * Franklin's gull, Leucophaeus pipixcan (A)
 * Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus (A)
 * Kelp gull, Larus dominicanus
 * Arctic tern, Sterna paradisaea
 * Antarctic tern, Sterna vittata
 * Kerguelen tern, Sterna virgata

Penguins
Order: SphenisciformesFamily: Spheniscidae

The penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sealife caught while swimming underwater.


 * King penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus
 * Gentoo penguin, Pygoscelis papua
 * Chinstrap penguin, Pygoscelis antarcticus
 * Macaroni penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus
 * Southern rockhopper penguin, Eudyptes chrysocome

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.


 * Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross, Thalassarche chlororhynchos
 * Indian yellow-nosed albatross, Thalassarche carteri
 * Gray-headed albatross, Thalassarche chrysostoma
 * White-capped albatross, Thalassarche cauta (A)
 * Black-browed albatross, Thalassarche melanophris (A)
 * Sooty albatross, Phoebetria fusca
 * Light-mantled albatross, Phoebetria palpebrata
 * Southern royal albatross, Diomedea epomophora (A)
 * Wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans

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
 * Gray-backed storm-petrel, Garrodia nereis
 * Black-bellied storm-petrel, Fregetta tropica

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 giganticus
 * Northern giant-petrel, Macronectes halli
 * Southern fulmar, Fulmarus glacialoides
 * Antarctic petrel, Thalassoica antarctica
 * Cape petrel, Daption capense
 * Kerguelen petrel, Aphrodroma brevirostris
 * Great-winged petrel, Pterodroma macroptera
 * Soft-plumaged petrel, Pterodroma mollis
 * White-headed petrel, Pterodroma lessonii
 * Blue petrel, Halobaena caerulea
 * Fairy prion, Pachyptila turtur
 * Broad-billed prion, Pachyptila vittata
 * Salvin's prion, Pachyptila salvini
 * Antarctic prion, Pachyptila desolata (A)
 * Gray petrel, Procellaria cinerea
 * White-chinned petrel, Procellaria aequinoctialis
 * Cory's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea
 * Sooty shearwater, Ardenna grisea (A)
 * Subantarctic shearwater, Puffinus elegans (A)
 * Common diving-petrel, Pelecanoides urinatrix
 * South Georgia diving-petrel, Pelecanoides georgicus

Storks
Order: CiconiiformesFamily: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills. Storks are mute, but bill-clattering is an important mode of communication at the nest. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory.


 * White stork, Ciconia ciconia (A)

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.


 * Australasian gannet, Morus serrator (A)

Cormorants and shags
Order: SuliformesFamily: Phalacrocoracidae

Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium to large coastal, fish-eating seabirds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage colouration varies, with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black-and-white and a few being colourful.


 * Imperial cormorant, Leucocarbo atriceps
 * Crozet shag, Leucocarbo melanogenis

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.


 * Intermediate egret, Ardea intermedia (A)
 * Cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis

Shrikes
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Laniidae

Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A shrike's beak is hooked, like that of a typical bird of prey.


 * Red-backed shrike, Lanius collurio (A)

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.


 * Great reed warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus (A)

Swallows
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Hirundinidae

The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings, and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.


 * Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica

Leaf warblers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Phylloscopidae

Leaf warblers are a family of small insectivorous birds found mostly in Eurasia and ranging into Wallacea and Africa. The species are of various sizes, often green-plumaged above and yellow below, or more subdued with grayish-green to grayish-brown colors.


 * Willow warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus (A)

Old World sparrows
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Passeridae

In general, Old World sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or gray birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects.


 * House sparrow, Passer domesticus (I)

Wagtails and pipits
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Motacillidae

Motacillidae is a family of small birds with medium to long tails which includes the wagtails, longclaws, and pipits. They are slender ground-feeding insectivores of open country.


 * Western yellow wagtail, Motacilla flava