This is a list of the bird species recorded in Cape Verde. The avifauna of Cape Verde

Cape Verde

The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

 includes a total of 187 species, of which 4 are endemic

Endemism in birds

An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....

, 3 have been introduced

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 by humans, and 75 are rare or accidental. 1 species listed is extirpated

Local extinction

Local extinction, also known as extirpation, is the condition of a species which ceases to exist in the chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere...

 in Cape Verde and is not included in the species count. 4 species are globally threatened.

This list's taxonomic

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

 treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of Clements

James Clements

Dr. James Franklin Clements was an ornithologist, author and very successful businessman. He was born in New York....

's 5th edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflects this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for Cape Verde.

The following tags have been used to highlight certain relevant categories. The commonly occurring, native, species do not fall into any of these categories.

• (A) Accidental A species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Cape Verde.
• (E) Endemic A species endemic to Cape Verde.
• (I) Introduced A species introduced to Cape Verde as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions.
• (Ex) Extirpated A species that no longer occurs in Cape Verde although populations exist elsewhere.

Table of contents
Non-passerines: Grebes . Shearwaters and Petrels . Storm-Petrels . Tropicbirds . Boobies and Gannets . Cormorants . Frigatebirds . Bitterns, Herons and Egrets . Storks . Ibises and Spoonbills . Flamingos . Ducks, Geese and Swans . Osprey . Hawks, Kites and Eagles . Caracaras and Falcons . Pheasants and Partridges . Guineafowl . Rails, Crakes, Gallinules, and Coots . Oystercatchers . Avocets and Stilts . Pratincoles and Coursers . Plovers and Lapwings . Sandpipers and allies . Skuas and Jaegers . Gulls . Terns . Auks, Murres, and Puffins . Pigeons and Doves . Parrots, Macaws and allies . Cuckoos and Anis . Barn owls . Typical owls . Swifts . Kingfishers . Bee-eaters . Typical Rollers . Hoopoes .
Passerines: Larks . Swallows and Martins . Wagtails and Pipits . Thrushes and allies . Old World warblers . Old World flycatchers . Crows, Jays, Ravens and Magpies . Starlings . Weavers and allies . Waxbills and allies . Siskins, Crossbills and allies . Sparrows .
See also       References

Grebes

Order: Podicipediformes
Family: Podicipedidae

Grebe

Grebe

A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...

s are small to medium-large sized freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes, and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land. There are 20 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Little Grebe
  Little Grebe
  The Little Grebe , also known as Dabchick, member of the grebe family of water birds. At 23 to 29 cm in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.-Description:The Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed...
  
   Tachybaptus ruficollis

Shearwaters and petrels

Order: Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...

Family: Procellariidae

Procellariidae

The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...

The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized 'true petrels', characterised by united nostrils with a medium septum, and a long outer functional primary. There are 75 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Fea's Petrel
  Fea's Petrel
  Fea's Petrel is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, Pterodroma. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the Soft-plumaged Petrel, P. mollis, but they are actually not closely related at all. However, P. feae is very closely related to Zino's Petrel and Deserta's Petrel, two...
  
   Pterodroma feae
• Bulwer's Petrel
  Bulwer's Petrel
  The Bulwer's Petrel is a small petrel in the family Procellariidae, and is one of two species in the genus Bulweria . This bird is named after the Scottish naturalist James Bulwer.- Description :...
  
   Bulweria bulwerii
• Cory's Shearwater
  Cory's Shearwater
  The Cory's Shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.This species breeds on islands and cliffs in the Mediterranean, with the odd outpost on the Atlantic coast of Iberia. The nest is on open ground or among rocks or less often in a burrow where one white egg is laid,...
  
   Calonectris diomedea
• Cape Verde Shearwater
  Cape Verde Shearwater
  The Cape Verde Shearwater , or Cagarra locally, is a medium-large shearwater, a seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. It is a breeding endemic of the Cape Verde archipelago of Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa.-Taxonomy:The Cape Verde Shearwater was originally...
  
   Calonectris edwardsii
• Greater Shearwater Puffinus gravis
• Sooty Shearwater
  Sooty Shearwater
  The Sooty Shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name tītī and as "muttonbird", like its relatives the Wedge-tailed Shearwater and the Australian Short-tailed Shearwater The Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) is...
  
   Puffinus griseus (A)
• Manx Shearwater
  Manx Shearwater
  The Manx Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx Shearwaters were called Manks Puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters...
  
   Puffinus puffinus (A)
• Balearic Shearwater
  Balearic Shearwater
  The Balearic Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It was long regarded a subspecies of the Manx Shearwater; see there for more on the Puffinus puffinus superspecies; following an initial split it was held to be a subspecies of the "Mediterranean Shearwater"...
  
   Puffinus mauretanicus
• Little Shearwater
  Little Shearwater
  The Little Shearwater is a small shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data indicates that the former North Atlantic Little Shearwater group is closer to Audubon's Shearwater , and myrtae being closer to the Newell's and possibly Townsend's Shearwater...
  
   Puffinus assimilis
• Audubon's Shearwater
  Audubon's Shearwater
  Audubon's Shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri, is a common tropical seabird from the family Procellariidae. Sometimes called Dusky-backed Shearwater, the scientific name of this species commemorates the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier....
  
   Puffinus lherminieri

Storm-Petrels

Order: Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...

Family: Hydrobatidae

The storm-petrel

Storm-petrel

Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan...

s are relatives of the petrel

Petrel

Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...

s, and are the smallest of sea-birds. They feed on plankton

Plankton

Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...

ic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat

Bat

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

-like. There are 21 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Cape Verde Storm-petrel
  Cape Verde Storm-petrel
  The Cape Verde Storm Petrel is an ocean going bird found in the Atlantic Ocean, especially around the islands of Cape Verde. It was at one time considered to be a subspecies of the Band-rumped Storm Petrel, but is now considered to be a separate species by the British Birding Association, the Dutch...
  
   Oceanodroma jabejabe
• Wilson's Storm-Petrel
  Wilson's Storm-petrel
  Wilson's Storm Petrel , also known as Wilson's Petrel, is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly in the seas of the southern hemisphere but extending northwards during the summer of the northern...
  
   Oceanites oceanicus
• White-faced Storm-Petrel
  White-faced Storm-petrel
  The White-faced Storm Petrel , also known as White-faced Petrel is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Pelagodroma....
  
   Pelagodroma marina
• White-bellied Storm-Petrel
  White-bellied Storm-petrel
  The White-bellied Storm Petrel is a species of seabird in the Hydrobatidae family.It is found in Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Maldives, Namibia, New Zealand, Saint Helena, South Africa, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich...
  
   Fregetta grallaria (A)
• European Storm-Petrel
  European Storm-petrel
  The European Storm Petrel or Storm Petrel is a small bird of the storm-petrel family, Hydrobatidae, part of the seabird order Procellariiformes. It is the only member of the genus Hydrobates.-Description:...
  
   Hydrobates pelagicus
• Band-rumped Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma castro
• Leach's Storm-Petrel
  Leach's Storm-petrel
  The Leach's Storm Petrel or Leach's Petrel is a small seabird of the tubenose family. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach....
  
   Oceanodroma leucorhoa

Tropicbirds

Order: Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

Family: Phaethontidae

Tropicbird

Tropicbird

Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds now classified in their own order Phaethontiformes. Their relationship to other living birds is unclear, and they appear to have no close relatives. There are three species in one genus, Phaethon...

s are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings. There are 3 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Red-billed Tropicbird
  Red-billed Tropicbird
  The Red-billed Tropicbird, Phaethon aethereus, also known as the Boatswain Bird is a tropicbird, one of three closely related seabirds of tropical oceans.-Distribution and habitat:...
  
   Phaethon aethereus
• White-tailed Tropicbird
  White-tailed Tropicbird
  The White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, is a tropicbird, smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It occurs in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans...
  
   Phaethon lepturus

Boobies and gannets

Order: Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

Family: Sulidae

Sulidae

The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulidas, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula...

The sulids comprise the gannet

Gannet

Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...

s and boobies

Booby

A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. Boobies are closely related to the gannets , which were formerly included in Sula.-Description:...

. Both groups comprise medium-to-large coastal sea-birds that plunge-dive for fish. There are 9 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Northern Gannet
  Northern Gannet
  The Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...
  
   Morus bassanus (A)
• Masked Booby
  Masked Booby
  The Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. This species breeds on islands in tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic; in the eastern Pacific it is replaced by the Nazca Booby, Sula granti, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Masked Booby...
  
   Sula dactylatra (Ex)
• Red-footed Booby
  Red-footed Booby
  The Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. As suggested by the name, adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings...
  
   Sula sula (A)
• Brown Booby
  Brown Booby
  The Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...
  
   Sula leucogaster

Cormorants

Order: Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

Family: Phalacrocoracidae

The Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium-to-large coastal, fish-eating sea-birds 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. There are 38 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Great Cormorant
  Great Cormorant
  The Great Cormorant , known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the Black Cormorant in Australia and the Black Shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds...
  
   Phalacrocorax carbo

Frigatebirds

Order: Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

Family: Fregatidae

Frigatebird

Frigatebird

The frigatebirds are a family, Fregatidae, of seabirds. There are five species in the single genus Fregata. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them...

s are large sea-birds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black and white or completely black, with long wings and deeply-forked tails. The males have inflatable coloured 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. There are 5 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Magnificent Frigatebird
  Magnificent Frigatebird
  The Magnificent Frigatebird was sometimes previously known as Man O'War, reflecting its rakish lines, speed, and aerial piracy of other birds....
  
   Fregata magnificens

Bitterns, herons and egrets

Order: Ciconiiformes

Ciconiiformes

Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

Family: Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae contains the bittern

Bittern

Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family, Ardeidae, a family of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family...

s, heron

Heron

The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....

s and egret

Egret

An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...

s. Herons and egrets are medium to large sized wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Unlike other long-necked birds suck as storks, ibises and spoonbills, members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted. There are 61 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Gray Heron Ardea cinerea
• Purple Heron
  Purple Heron
  The Purple Heron is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The European populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa; the more northerly Asian populations also migrate further south within Asia...
  
   Ardea purpurea
  • Bourne's Heron
    Bourne's Heron
    Bourne's Heron , also known as the Cape Verde Heron, Cape Verde Purple Heron or Santiago Heron, or locally in Portuguese as the garça vermelha, is an endangered subspecies of the Purple Heron that is endemic to the Cape Verde archipelago, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa...
    
     Ardea purpurea bournei (E)
• Great Egret
  Great Egret
  The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...
  
   Ardea alba (A)
• Black Heron
  Black Heron
  The Black Heron also known as the Black Egret, is an African heron. It is a medium-sized , black-plumaged heron with yellow legs and feet. It is found south of the Sahara Desert, including Madagascar, and prefers shallow open waters, such as the edges of freshwater lakes and ponds...
  
   Egretta ardesiaca (A)
• Intermediate Egret
  Intermediate Egret
  The Intermediate Egret, Median Egret, or Yellow-billed Egret is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeder from east Africa across tropical southern Asia to Australia. It often nests in colonies with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs...
  
   Egretta intermedia (A)
• Western Reef-Heron Egretta gularis (A)
• Little Egret
  Little Egret
  The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....
  
   Egretta garzetta
• Squacco Heron
  Squacco Heron
  The Squacco Heron, Ardeola ralloides, is a small heron, long, of which the body is , with wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East.-Behaviour:...
  
   Ardeola ralloides (A)
• Cattle Egret
  Cattle Egret
  The Cattle Egret is a cosmopolitan species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret...
  
   Bubulcus ibis
• Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax (A)

Storks

Order: Ciconiiformes

Ciconiiformes

Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

Family: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills. Storks are mute; bill-clattering is an important mode of stork communication at the nest. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory. There are 19 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• White Stork
  White Stork
  The White Stork is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to end of tail, with a wingspan...
  
   Ciconia ciconia

Ibises and spoonbills

Order: Ciconiiformes

Ciconiiformes

Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

Family: Threskiornithidae

Threskiornithidae

The family Threskiornithidae includes 34 species of large terrestrial and wading birds, falling into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills. It was formerly known as Plataleidae. The spoonbills and ibises were once thought to be related to other groups of long-legged wading birds in the...

The Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibis

Ibis

The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....

es and spoonbill

Spoonbill

Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side...

s. They have long, broad wings with 11 primary and about 20 secondary feathers. They are strong fliers and despite their size and weight, very capable soarers. There are 36 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Waldrapp Geronticus eremita (A)
• Glossy Ibis
  Glossy Ibis
  The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...
  
   Plegadis falcinellus (A)
• Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia (A)

Flamingos

Order: Phoenicopteriformes
Family: Phoenicopteridae

Flamingo

Flamingo

Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...

s are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet high, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. They are more numerous in the latter. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly-shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume, and are uniquely used upside-down. There are 6 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Greater Flamingo
  Greater Flamingo
  The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...
  
   Phoenicopterus roseus (A)

Ducks, geese and swans

Order: Anseriformes

Anseriformes

The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living species of birds in three extant families: the Anhimidae , Anseranatidae , and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans.All species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at...

Family: Anatidae

Anatidae

Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...

The family Anatidae includes the duck

Duck

Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...

s and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese

Goose

The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....

 and swan

Swan

Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...

s. These are birds that are modified for an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating. There are 131 species worldwide and 7 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor
• White-faced Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna viduata
• Eurasian Teal Anas crecca (A)
• Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris
• Common Pochard Aythya ferina (A)
• Ferruginous Pochard Aythya nyroca (A)
• Tufted Duck
  Tufted Duck
  The Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula, is a medium-sized diving duck with a population of close to one million birds.- Description :The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill. It has an obvious head tuft that gives the species its name.The adult female is brown with paler...
  
   Aythya fuligula (A)

Osprey

Order: Falconiformes

Falconiformes

The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

Family: Pandionidae

The Pandionidae family contains only one species, the Osprey. The Osprey is a medium large raptor

Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....

 which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution.

• Osprey
  Osprey
  The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
  
   Pandion haliaetus

Hawks, kites and eagles

Order: Falconiformes

Falconiformes

The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

Family: Accipitridae

Accipitridae

The Accipitridae, one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes , are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a...

Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey and include hawk

Hawk

The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...

s, eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

s, kites

Kite (bird)

Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae....

, harriers

Harrier (bird)

A harrier is any of the several species of diurnal hawks forming the Circinae sub-family of the Accipitridae family of birds of prey. Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds....

 and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. There are 233 species worldwide and 7 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Red Kite
  Red Kite
  The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...
  
   Milvus milvus
• Black Kite
  Black Kite
  The Black Kite is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. Unlike others of the group, they are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. They spend a lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. Their...
  
   Milvus migrans
• Egyptian Vulture
  Egyptian Vulture
  The Egyptian Vulture is a small Old World vulture, found widely distributed from southwestern Europe and northern Africa to southern Asia. It is the only living member of the genus Neophron. It has sometimes also been known as the White Scavenger Vulture or Pharaoh's Chicken...
  
   Neophron percnopterus
• Western Marsh-Harrier Circus aeruginosus
• Montagu's Harrier
  Montagu's Harrier
  The Montagu's Harrier is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu.-Plumage:...
  
   Circus pygargus
• Eurasian Buzzard Buteo buteo
• Long-legged Buzzard
  Long-legged Buzzard
  The Long-legged Buzzard is a bird of prey.-Description:It is similar in appearance to the Rough-legged Buzzard , but larger and more robust. There are many different colour forms, but usually Long-leggeds have a clear orange tint to the plumage, red or orange tail, pale head and largely white...
  
   Buteo rufinus (A)

Caracaras and falcons

Order: Falconiformes

Falconiformes

The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

Family: Falconidae

Falconidae

The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets.-Description:Falcons and...

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 feet. There are 62 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
• Peregrine Falcon
  Peregrine Falcon
  The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
  
   Falco peregrinus

Pheasants and partridges

Order: Galliformes

Galliformes

Galliformes are an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game bird, containing turkey, grouse, chicken, New and Old World Quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and the Cracidae. Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds or galliforms...

Family: Phasianidae

Phasianidae

The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...

The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quail

Quail

Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...

s, partridge

Partridge

Partridges are birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are a non-migratory Old World group.These are medium-sized birds, intermediate between the larger pheasants and the smaller quails. Partridges are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East...

s, snowcock

Snowcock

The snowcocks are a group of bird species in the genus Tetraogallus of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are ground-nesting birds which breed in the mountain ranges of southern Eurasia from the Caucasus to the Himalayas and western China. The Himalayan Snowcock has been introduced...

s, francolin

Francolin

Francolins are birds that traditionally have been placed in the genus Francolinus, but now commonly are divided into multiple genera , although some of the major taxonomic listing sources have yet to divide them. They are members of the pheasant family, Phasianidae...

s, spurfowls, tragopan

Tragopan

Tragopan is a genus of bird in the family Phasianidae. These birds are commonly called "horny pheasants" because of two brightly-colored, fleshy horns on their heads that they can erect during courtship displays...

s, monal

Monal

A Monal is a bird of genus Lophophorus of the Pheasant family, Phasianidae. There are three species and several sub-species within the genus Lophophorus:* Himalayan Monal Lophophorus impejanus* Sclater's Monal Lophophorus sclateri...

s, pheasant

Pheasant

Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...

s, peafowl

Peafowl

Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...

s and jungle fowls. In general, they are plump (although they may vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings. There are 156 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Common Quail
  Common Quail
  The Common Quail, Coturnix coturnix, is a small bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is widespread and is found in parts of Europe, .- Description :It is a small rotund bird, essentially streaked brown with...
  
   Coturnix coturnix

Guineafowl

Order: Galliformes

Galliformes

Galliformes are an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game bird, containing turkey, grouse, chicken, New and Old World Quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and the Cracidae. Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds or galliforms...

Family: Numididae

Guineafowl are a group of African, seed-eating, ground-nesting birds that resemble partridges, but with featherless heads and spangled grey plumage. There are 6 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Helmeted Guineafowl
  Helmeted Guineafowl
  The Helmeted Guineafowl is the best known of the guineafowl bird family, Numididae, and the only member of the genus Numida...
  
   Numida meleagris (I)

Rails, crakes, gallinules, and coots

Order: Gruiformes

Gruiformes

The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....

Family: Rallidae

Rallidae

The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...

Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coot

Coot

Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...

s, and gallinule

Rallidae

The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...

s. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs, and have long toes which are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers. There are 143 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Little Crake
  Little Crake
  The Little Crake is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae.Their breeding habitat is reed beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and just into western Asia. They nest in a dry location in reed vegetation, laying 4-7 eggs...
  
   Porzana parva
• Common Moorhen
  Common Moorhen
  The Common Moorhen is a bird in the Rallidae family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to...
  
   Gallinula chloropus

Oystercatchers

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

Family: Haematopodidae

The oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

The oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia...

s are large and noisy plover

Plover

Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.Plovers are found throughout...

-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs. There are 11 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Eurasian Oystercatcher
  Eurasian Oystercatcher
  The Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or just Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia,...
  
   Haematopus ostralegus

Avocets and stilts

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

Family: Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups of birds, the avocets and the stilts .-Description and diet:...

Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the avocet

Avocet

The four species of Avocets are a genus, Recurvirostra, of waders in the same avian family as the stilts.Avocets have long legs and long, thin, upcurved bills which they sweep from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer...

s and the stilt

Stilt

Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates....

s. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills. There are 9 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Black-winged Stilt
  Black-winged Stilt
  The Black-winged Stilt or Common Stilt is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family . Opinions differ as to whether the birds treated under the scientific name H. himantopus ought to be treated as a single species and if not, how many species to recognize...
  
   Himantopus himantopus
• Pied Avocet
  Pied Avocet
  The Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta, is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and western and Central Asia. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia...
  
   Recurvirostra avosetta (A)

Pratincoles and coursers

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

Family: Glareolidae

Glareolidae

Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadri. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The coursers include the atypical Egyptian Plover, Pluvianus aegyptius, which has sometimes been placed in its own family...

Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincole

Pratincole

The Pratincoles or Greywaders are a group of birds which together with the coursers and Egyptian Plover make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails....

s, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the courser

Courser

The Coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards...

s, which have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. There are 17 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Cream-colored Courser Cursorius cursor
• Collared Pratincole
  Collared Pratincole
  The Collared Pratincole or Common Pratincole, Glareola pratincola, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae.Pratincoles are unusual among waders in that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground.The Collared Pratincole is a...
  
   Glareola pratincola

Plovers and lapwings

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

Family: Charadriidae

Charadriidae

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...

The family Charadriidae includes the plover

Plover

Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.Plovers are found throughout...

s, dotterels, and lapwing

Lapwing

Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...

s. 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, although there are some exceptions. There are 66 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Northern Lapwing
  Northern Lapwing
  The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....
  
   Vanellus vanellus (A)
• Pacific Golden-Plover Pluvialis fulva (A)
• American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica
• European Golden-Plover Pluvialis apricaria
• Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
• Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
• Semipalmated Plover
  Semipalmated Plover
  The Semipalmated Plover is a small plover.This species weighs and measures in length and across the wings. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband...
  
   Charadrius semipalmatus (A)
• Little Ringed Plover
  Little Ringed Plover
  The Little Ringed Plover is a small plover. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill...
  
   Charadrius dubius
• White-fronted Plover
  White-fronted Plover
  The White-fronted Plover or White-fronted Sandplover, Charadrius marginatus, is a small wader. This plover is resident in much of Africa south of the Sahara on rocky, sandy or muddy coasts and large inland rivers and lakes....
  
   Charadrius marginatus (A)
• Snowy Plover
  Snowy Plover
  The Snowy Plover is a small wader in the plover bird family. It breeds in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, the southern and western USA and the Caribbean...
  
   Charadrius alexandrinus

Sandpipers and allies

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

Family: Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae

The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...

The Scolopacidae are a large diverse family of small to medium sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlew

Curlew

The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...

s, godwit

Godwit

The godwits are a group of large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory wading birds of the genus Limosa. They form large flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter....

s, shanks

Tringa

Tringa is a genus of waders, containing the shanks and tattlers. They are mainly freshwater birds, often with brightly coloured legs as reflected in the English names of six species, as well as the specific names of two of these and the Green Sandpiper. They are typically associated with northern...

, tattler

Tattler (bird)

The tattlers are the two very similar bird species in the shorebird genus Tringa. They formerly had their own genus, Heteroscelus. The old genus name means "different leg" in Greek, referring to the leg scales that differentiate the tattlers from their close relatives, the shanks.The species are:*...

s, woodcock

Woodcock

The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea...

s, snipe

Snipe

A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...

s, dowitcher

Dowitcher

The three dowitchers are medium-sized long-billed wading birds. They resemble godwits in body and bill shape, and the reddish underparts in summer, but are much shorter legged, more like snipe to which they are also somewhat closer related...

s and phalarope

Phalarope

A phalarope or wadepiper is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus Phalaropus of the bird family Scolopacidae. They are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the Actitis and Terek Sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids...

s. The majority of species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. There are 89 species worldwide and 30 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Eurasian Woodcock
  Eurasian Woodcock
  The Eurasian Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola, is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts...
  
   Scolopax rusticola
• Jack Snipe
  Jack Snipe
  The Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus is a small stocky wader. It is the smallest snipe, and the only member of the genus Lymnocryptes...
  
   Lymnocryptes minimus (A)
• Great Snipe
  Great Snipe
  The Great Snipe, Gallinago media is a small stocky wader in the genus Gallinago.This bird's breeding habitat is marshes and wet meadows with short vegetation in north-eastern Europe including north-western Russia. Great Snipes are migratory, wintering in Africa...
  
   Gallinago media (A)
• Common Snipe
  Common Snipe
  The Common Snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia...
  
   Gallinago gallinago (A)
• Black-tailed Godwit
  Black-tailed Godwit
  The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...
  
   Limosa limosa
• Bar-tailed Godwit
  Bar-tailed Godwit
  The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...
  
   Limosa lapponica
• Whimbrel
  Whimbrel
  The Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the mostwidespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland....
  
   Numenius phaeopus
• Eurasian Curlew
  Eurasian Curlew
  The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia...
  
   Numenius arquata (A)
• Spotted Redshank
  Spotted Redshank
  The Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus, is a wader in the large bird family Scolopacidae. It breeds across northern Scandinavia and northern Asia and migrates south to the Mediterranean, the southern British Isles, France, tropical Africa, and tropical Asia for the winter...
  
   Tringa erythropus (A)
• Common Redshank
  Common Redshank
  The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
  
   Tringa totanus
• Marsh Sandpiper
  Marsh Sandpiper
  The Marsh Sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis, is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to central Asia....
  
   Tringa stagnatilis
• Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
• Greater Yellowlegs
  Greater Yellowlegs
  The Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca, is a large North American shorebird, similar in appearance to the smaller Lesser Yellowlegs. Its closest relative, however, is the Greenshank, which together with the Spotted Redshank form a close-knit group...
  
   Tringa melanoleuca (A)
• Lesser Yellowlegs
  Lesser Yellowlegs
  The Lesser Yellowlegs is a medium-sized shorebird similar in appearance to the larger Greater Yellowlegs. It is not closely related to this bird, however, but instead to the much larger and quite dissimilar Willet; merely the fine, clear and dense pattern of the neck shown in breeding plumage...
  
   Tringa flavipes (A)
• Green Sandpiper
  Green Sandpiper
  The Green Sandpiper is a small wader of the Old World. It represents an ancient lineage of the genus Tringa; its only close living relative is the Solitary Sandpiper . They both have brown wings with little light dots and a delicate but contrasting neck and chest pattern...
  
   Tringa ochropus
• Wood Sandpiper
  Wood Sandpiper
  The Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
  
   Tringa glareola
• Common Sandpiper
  Common Sandpiper
  The Common Sandpiper is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the Spotted Sandpiper , make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize...
  
   Actitis hypoleucos
• Ruddy Turnstone
  Ruddy Turnstone
  The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...
  
   Arenaria interpres
• Red Knot
  Red Knot
  The Red Knot, Calidris canutus , is a medium sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers, second only to the Great Knot...
  
   Calidris canutus (A)
• Sanderling
  Sanderling
  The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
  
   Calidris alba
• Little Stint
  Little Stint
  The Little Stint, Calidris minuta , is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia...
  
   Calidris minuta
• Temminck's Stint
  Temminck's Stint
  Temminck's Stint, Calidris or Erolia temminckii, is a small wader.This stint's breeding habitat is bogs and marshes in the taiga of Arctic northern Europe and Asia. It will breed in southern Scandinavia and occasionally Scotland. It has a distinctive hovering display flight. It nests in a scrape...
  
   Calidris temminckii (A)
• Least Sandpiper
  Least Sandpiper
  The Least Sandpiper is the smallest shorebird.This species has greenish legs and a short thin dark bill. Breeding adults are brown with dark brown streaks on top and white underneath. They have a light line above the eye and a dark crown. In winter, Least Sandpipers are grey above...
  
   Calidris minutilla (A)
• Pectoral Sandpiper
  Pectoral Sandpiper
  The Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, is a small wader. It is sometimes separated with the "stint" sandpipers in Erolia. This may or may not represent a good monophyletic group, depending on the placement of the phylogenetically enigmatic Curlew Sandpiper , the type species of Erolia...
  
   Calidris melanotos (A)
• Curlew Sandpiper
  Curlew Sandpiper
  The Curlew Sandpiper is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australasia...
  
   Calidris ferruginea
• Dunlin
  Dunlin
  The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...
  
   Calidris alpina
• Purple Sandpiper
  Purple Sandpiper
  The Purple Sandpiper, Calidris, Arquatella or Erolia maritima is a small shorebird.Adults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill with a yellow base. The body is dark on top with a slight purplish gloss and mainly white underneath. The breast is smeared with grey and the rump is black...
  
   Calidris maritima
• Ruff Philomachus pugnax
• Red-necked Phalarope
  Red-necked Phalarope
  The Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans....
  
   Phalaropus lobatus (A)
• Red Phalarope
  Red Phalarope
  The Red Phalarope , Phalaropus fulicarius, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia...
  
   Phalaropus fulicarius

Skuas and jaegers

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

Family: 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. There are 7 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Great Skua
  Great Skua
  The Great Skua, Stercorarius skua, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. In Britain, it is sometimes known by the name Bonxie, a Shetland name of unknown origin.-Description:...
  
   Stercorarius skua
• Pomarine Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus
• Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus
• Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus (A)

Gulls

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

Family: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large birds seabirds and includes gull

Gull

Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...

s and kittiwake

Kittiwake

The kittiwakes are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the Black-legged Kittiwake and the Red-legged Kittiwake . The epithets "Black-legged" and "Red-legged" are used to distinguish the two species in North America, but in Europe, where R...

s. They are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. There are 55 species worldwide and 7 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Lesser Black-backed Gull
  Lesser Black-backed Gull
  The Lesser Black-backed Gull is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa...
  
   Larus fuscus
• Caspian Gull
  Caspian Gull
  Caspian Gull is a name applied to the gull taxon Larus cachinnans, a member of the Herring Gull/Lesser Black-backed Gull complex.- Description :...
  
   Larus cachinnans
• Yellow-legged Gull
  Yellow-legged Gull
  The Yellow-legged Gull , sometimes referred to as Western Yellow-legged Gull , is a large gull of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species...
  
   Larus michahellis
• Black-headed Gull
  Black-headed Gull
  The Black-headed Gull is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident...
  
   Larus ridibundus
• Slender-billed Gull
  Slender-billed Gull
  The Slender-billed Gull, Chroicocephalus genei, is a mid-sized gull which breeds very locally around the Mediterranean and the north of the western Indian Ocean on islands and coastal lagoons. Most of the population is somewhat migratory, wintering further south to north Africa and India, and a...
  
   Larus genei (A)
• Sabine's Gull
  Sabine's Gull
  The Sabine's Gull is a small gull. Its generic placement is disputed; some authors treat it as the sole species in the genus Xema as Xema sabini, while others retain it in the genus Larus as Larus sabini. It breeds in the arctic and has a circumpolar distribution through northernmost North America...
  
   Xema sabini
• Black-legged Kittiwake
  Black-legged Kittiwake
  The Black-legged Kittiwake is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae.This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Larus tridactylus....
  
   Rissa tridactyla

Terns

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

Family: Sternidae

Tern

Tern

Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...

s are a group of generally general medium to large sea-birds 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 now known to live in excess of 25 to 30 years. There are 44 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Gull-billed Tern
  Gull-billed Tern
  The Gull-billed Tern formerly Sterna nilotica , is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae...
  
   Sterna nilotica (A)
• Caspian Tern
  Caspian Tern
  The Caspian Tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no subspecies accepted either...
  
   Sterna caspia
• Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis
• Royal Tern
  Royal Tern
  The Royal Tern is a seabird in the tern family Sternidae. This bird has two distinctive subspecies. T. m. maximus breeds on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the southern USA and Mexico into the Caribbean. The slightly smaller T. m. albididorsalis breeds in coastal west Africa...
  
   Sterna maxima (A)
• Roseate Tern
  Roseate Tern
  The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....
  
   Sterna dougallii
• Common Tern
  Common Tern
  The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...
  
   Sterna hirundo
• Arctic Tern
  Arctic Tern
  The Arctic Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America...
  
   Sterna paradisaea
• Little Tern
  Little Tern
  The Little Tern, Sternula albifrons or Sterna albifrons, is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns . The former North American and Red Sea S. a...
  
   Sterna albifrons (A)
• Sooty Tern
  Sooty Tern
  The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
  
   Sterna fuscata
• Whiskered Tern
  Whiskered Tern
  The Whiskered Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details....
  
   Chlidonias hybridus

Auks, Murres, and Puffins

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

Family: Alcidae

Alcids are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits, however they are not related to the penguins bnd differ in being able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest. There are 24 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Common Murre Uria aalge

Pigeons and doves

Order: Columbiformes

Columbiformes

Columbiformes are an avian order that includes the very widespread and successful doves and pigeons, classified in the family Columbidae, and the extinct Dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire, long classified as a second family Raphidae. 313 species, found worldwide, comprise the Columbiformes order....

Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and dove

Dove

Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...

s are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere

Cère

The Cère is a long river in south-western France, left tributary of the Dordogne River. Its source is in the south-western Massif Central, near the mountain Plomb du Cantal...

. There are 308 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Rock Pigeon
  Rock Pigeon
  The Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon, is a member of the bird family Columbidae . In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon"....
  
   Columba livia
• Eurasian Turtle-Dove Streptopelia turtur
• Red-eyed Dove
  Red-eyed Dove
  The Red-eyed Dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in Africa south of the Sahara. It is a common, if not abundant, species in most habitats other than desert....
  
   Streptopelia semitorquata

Parrots, macaws and allies

Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae

Parrot

Parrot

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

s are small to large birds with a characteristic curved beak shape. Their upper mandibles have slight mobility in the joint with the skull and the have a generally erect stance. All parrots are zygodactyl, having the four toes on each foot placed two at the front and two back. There are 335 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Rose-ringed Parakeet
  Rose-ringed Parakeet
  The Rose-ringed Parakeet , also known as the Ringnecked Parakeet, is a gregarious tropical parakeet species that has an extremely large range. Since the trend of the population appears to be increasing, the species has been evaluated as Least Concern by IUCN in 2009.Rose-ringed parakeets are...
  
   Psittacula krameri (A)

Cuckoos and anis

Order: Cuculiformes

Cuculiformes

The near passerine bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below:* Musophagidae - turacos and allies* Cuculidae - cuckoos, coucals, roadrunners and anis* Opisthocomidae - Hoatzin...

Family: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoo

Cuckoo

The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...

s, roadrunner

Geococcyx

The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America...

s and anis

Ani (bird)

The anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. They are essentially tropical New world birds, although the range of two species just reaches the United States...

. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Unlike the cuckoo species of the Old World, North American cuckoos are not brood parasites. There are 138 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Great Spotted Cuckoo
  Great Spotted Cuckoo
  The Great Spotted Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
  
   Clamator glandarius
• Common Cuckoo
  Common Cuckoo
  The Common Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
  
   Cuculus canorus

Barn owls

Order: Strigiformes
Family: Tytonidae

Tytonidae

Barn-owls are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons...

Barn owl

Barn Owl

The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...

s are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons. There are 16 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Barn Owl
  Barn Owl
  The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
  
   Tyto alba

Typical owls

Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae

Typical owl

Typical owl

True owl or Typical owl are one of the two generally accepted families of Owls, the other being the barn owls . The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Strigidae...

s are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk. There are 195 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Short-eared Owl
  Short-eared Owl
  The Short-eared Owl is a species of typical owl . In Scotland this species of owl is often referred to as a cataface, grass owl or short-horned hootlet. Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may...
  
   Asio flammeus (A)

Swifts

Order: Apodiformes

Apodiformes

Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts , the tree swifts , and the hummingbirds . In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes...

Family: Apodidae

Swift

Swift

The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...

s are small aerial birds, spending 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 that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. There are 98 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Alpine Swift
  Alpine Swift
  The Alpine Swift syn. is a species of Swift. The bird is superficially similar to a large Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes...
  
   Tachymarptis melba (A)
• Alexander's Swift
  Alexander's Swift
  The Cape Verde Swift or Alexander's Swift is a small bird of the swift family found only in the Cape Verde Islands. It has been recorded from all the islands except Santa Luzia although it probably breeds only on Santiago, Fogo, Brava, Santo Antão and São Nicolau. It is generally common with a...
  
   Apus alexandri (E)
• Common Swift
  Common Swift
  The Common Swift is a small bird, superficially similar to the Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes...
  
   Apus apus
• Pallid Swift
  Pallid Swift
  The Pallid Swift is a small bird, superficially similar to a Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since the swifts are in the order Apodiformes...
  
   Apus pallidus (A)

Kingfishers

Order: Coraciiformes

Coraciiformes

The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

Family: Alcedinidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. There are 93 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Gray-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala

Bee-eaters

Order: Coraciiformes

Coraciiformes

The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

Family: Meropidae

The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine

Near passerine

Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...

 birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colorful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar. There are 26 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
  Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
  The Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Merops persicus, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in Northern Africa, and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations breed...
  
   Merops persicus (A)
• European Bee-eater
  European Bee-eater
  The European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka...
  
   Merops apiaster (A)

Typical rollers

Order: Coraciiformes

Coraciiformes

The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

Family: Coraciidae

Rollers resemble crow

Crow

Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...

s in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

s and bee-eater

Bee-eater

The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers...

s. They share the colourful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not. There are 12 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• European Roller
  European Roller
  The European Roller, Coracias garrulus, is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East and Central Asia and Morocco....
  
   Coracias garrulus (A)
• Broad-billed Roller
  Broad-billed Roller
  The Broad-billed Roller, Eurystomus glaucurus, is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and southern areas of its range towards the moister equatorial...
  
   Eurystomus glaucurus (A)

Hoopoes

Order: Coraciiformes

Coraciiformes

The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

Family: Upupidae

Hoopoes have black, white and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head. There are 2 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Hoopoe
  Hoopoe
  The Hoopoe is a colourful bird that is found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for its distinctive 'crown' of feathers. It is the only extant species in the family Upupidae. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe of Saint Helena, is extinct, and the Madagascar subspecies of the Hoopoe is sometimes...
  
   Upupa epops (A)

Larks

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Alaudidae

Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds. There are 91 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark
  Black-crowned Sparrow-lark
  The Black-crowned Sparrow-lark is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family.It is found in Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Jordan, Kuwait, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia,...
  
   Eremopterix nigriceps
• Bar-tailed Lark
  Bar-tailed Lark
  The Bar-tailed Lark is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family.It is found in Afghanistan, Algeria, Cape Verde, Chad, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia,and...
  
   Ammomanes cincturus
• Greater Hoopoe-Lark
  Greater Hoopoe-lark
  The Greater Hoopoe-lark or Hoopoe Lark , is a passerine bird which is a breeding resident of arid, desert and semi-desert regions from the Cape Verde Islands across much of north Africa, through the Arabian peninsula , Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India...
  
   Alaemon alaudipes
• Razo Skylark Alauda razae (E)

Swallows and martins

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae

The Hirundinidae family is a group of passerines characterized by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Their adaptations include a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and short bills with wide gape. The feet are designed for perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base. There are 75 species worldwide and 5 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Bank Swallow Riparia riparia (A)
• Plain Martin Riparia paludicola (A)
• Barn Swallow
  Barn Swallow
  The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas...
  
   Hirundo rustica
• Red-rumped Swallow
  Red-rumped Swallow
  The Red-rumped Swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India and tropical Africa. The Indian and African birds are resident, but European and other Asian birds are migratory...
  
   Cecropis daurica (A)
• Common House-Martin Delichon urbica (A)

Wagtails and pipits

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Motacillidae

Motacillidae

The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. There are around 65 species in 6 genera and they include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominately found in Europe, Africa and...

The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country. There are 54 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• White Wagtail
  White Wagtail
  "Pied Wagtail" redirects here. For the related African bird, see African Pied Wagtail.The White Wagtail is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa...
  
   Motacilla alba
• Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava (A)
• Tawny Pipit
  Tawny Pipit
  The Tawny Pipit, Anthus campestris, is a medium-large passerine bird which breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia, and northwest Africa. It is a migrant moving in winter to tropical Africa and the Indian subcontinent....
  
   Anthus campestris (A)
• Tree Pipit
  Tree Pipit
  Tree Pipit, Anthus trivialis, is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and temperate western and central Asia. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia....
  
   Anthus trivialis (A)

Thrushes and allies

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae

The thrushes

Thrush (bird)

The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...

 are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs. There are 335 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Song Thrush
  Song Thrush
  The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It is also known in English dialects as throstle or mavis. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies...
  
   Turdus philomelos (A)

Old World warblers

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sylviidae

Sylviidae

Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...

The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. The Sylviidae mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia and, to a lesser extent Africa. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs. There are 291 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Grasshopper Warbler
  Grasshopper Warbler
  The Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella naevia, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is migratory, wintering from northwest Africa to India....
  
   Locustella naevia (A)
• Cape Verde Swamp-warbler Acrocephalus brevipennis (E)
• Booted Warbler
  Booted Warbler
  The Booted Warbler is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler group. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with Sykes' Warbler, but the two are now usually both afforded species status...
  
   Hippolais caligata
• Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
  Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
  The Eastern Olivaceous Warbler is a "warbler", formerly placed in the Old World warblers when these were a paraphyletic wastebin taxon. It is now considered a member of the acrocephaline warbelrs, Acrocephalidae, in the tree warbler genus Hippolais ...
  
   Hippolais pallida (A)
• Western Olivaceous Warbler
  Western Olivaceous Warbler
  The Western Olivaceous Warbler, also known as Isabelline Warbler, is a "warbler", formerly placed in the Old World warblers when these were a paraphyletic wastebin taxon. It is now considered a member of the acrocephaline warblers, Acrocephalidae, in the tree warbler genus Hippolais ...
  
   Hippolais opaca (A)
• Willow Warbler
  Willow Warbler
  The Willow Warbler is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia...
  
   Phylloscopus trochilus (A)
• Blackcap
  Blackcap
  The Blackcap is a common and widespread sylviid warbler which breeds throughout temperate Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and winters from northwestern Europe south to tropical Africa...
  
   Sylvia atricapilla
• Greater Whitethroat Sylvia communis (A)
• African Desert Warbler
  African Desert Warbler
  The African Desert Warbler Sylvia deserti is a typical warbler which breeds in the deserts of northwestern Africa south of the Atlas Mountains from southern Morocco east to western Libya and south to Mali and Niger. It winters in the same area, and does not migrate other than short distances...
  
   Sylvia deserti (A)
• Subalpine Warbler
  Subalpine Warbler
  The Subalpine Warbler, Sylvia cantillans, is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and northwest Africa. This small passerine bird is migratory, and winters along the southern edge of the Sahara...
  
   Sylvia cantillans (A)
• Spectacled Warbler
  Spectacled Warbler
  The Spectacled Warbler is a species in the typical warbler genus Sylvia. It breeds in north west Africa, southwest Europe from Iberia to Italy, and then further east on the eastern Mediterranean islands and coastal regions. It is mainly resident in Africa, but other populations migrate to winter...
  
   Sylvia conspicillata

Old World flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae

Old World flycatchers are a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small arboreal insectivores. The appearance of these birds is very varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls. There 274 species worldwide and 5 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Spotted Flycatcher
  Spotted Flycatcher
  The Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and western Asia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range....
  
   Muscicapa striata (A)
• European Pied Flycatcher
  European Pied Flycatcher
  The Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family, one of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers. It breeds in most of Europe and western Asia. It is migratory, wintering mainly in western Africa. It hybridizes with...
  
   Ficedula hypoleuca (A)
• Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos (A)
• Common Redstart
  Common Redstart
  The Common Redstart , or often simply Redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus...
  
   Phoenicurus phoenicurus (A)
• Northern Wheatear
  Northern Wheatear
  The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
  
   Oenanthe oenanthe (A)

Crows, jays, ravens and magpies

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae

Corvidae

Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...

The Corvidae family includes crow

Crow

Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...

s, raven

Raven

Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...

s, jay

Jay

The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, and the evolutionary relationships are rather complex...

s, chough

Chough

The Red-billed Chough or Chough , Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax...

s, magpie

Magpie

Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...

s, treepie

Treepie

The treepies comprise four closely related genera of long-tailed passerine birds in the family Corvidae...

s, nutcracker

Nutcracker (bird)

The nutcrackers are a genus of two species of passerine bird, in the family Corvidae, related to the jays and crows. One, the Spotted Nutcracker , occurs in Europe and Asia, the other, Clark's Nutcracker , in western North America.The most important food resources for both these species are the...

s, and ground jay

Ground jay

The ground jays or ground choughs belong to a distinct group of the passerine order of birds in the genus Podoces of the crow family Corvidae...

s. Corvids are above average in size for the bird order Passeriformes. Some of the larger species show high levels of learning behavior. There are 120 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Brown-necked Raven
  Brown-necked Raven
  The Brown-necked Raven is a larger bird than the Carrion Crow though not as large as the Common Raven. It has similar proportions to the common raven but the bill is not so large or deep and the wings tend to be a little more pointed in profile...
  
   Corvus ruficollis

Starlings

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct, and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen. There are 125 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• European Starling
  European Starling
  The Common Starling , also known as the European Starling or just Starling, is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia...
  
   Sturnus vulgaris (A)

Weavers and allies

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ploceidae

The weavers are small passerine birds related to the finch

Finch

The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...

es. They are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills. The males of many species are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black, some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season. There are 116 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Cape Verde.

• Village Weaver
  Village Weaver
  The Village Weaver , also known as the Spotted-backed Weaver or Black-headed Weaver , is a species of bird found in much of sub-Saharan Africa...
  
   Ploceus cucullatus (A)

Waxbills and allies

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae

The estrildid finch

Estrildid finch

The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They can be classified as the family Estrildidae , or as a sub-group within the family Passeridae, which also includes the true sparrows....

es are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia

Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

. They are gregarious and often colonial seed-eaters with short thick but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but have a wide variation in plumage colours and pattern. There are 141 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• Red-billed Firefinch
  Red-billed Firefinch
  The Red-billed Firefinch or Senegal Firefinch is a very small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in almost all parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km²...
  
   Lagonosticta senegala
• Red-cheeked Cordonbleu Uraeginthus bengalus (A)
• Common Waxbill
  Common Waxbill
  The Common Waxbill , also known as the St Helena Waxbill, is a small passerine bird belonging to the estrildid finch family. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa but has been introduced to many other regions of the world and now has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km²...
  
   Estrilda astrild

Siskins, crossbills and allies

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae

Finch

Finch

The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...

es are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have 12 tail feathers and 9 primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well. There are 137 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• European Goldfinch
  European Goldfinch
  The European Goldfinch or Goldfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family.-Habitat and range:The goldfinch breeds across Europe, North Africa, and western and central Asia, in open, partially wooded lowlands. It is resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from colder regions...
  
   Carduelis carduelis (I)
• Trumpeter Finch
  Trumpeter Finch
  The Trumpeter Finch is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird breeds in the Canary Islands, across north Africa, and in the Middle East and into central Asia. There is a small European population in southern Spain...
  
   Bucanetes githaginea (A)

Sparrows

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passeridae

Sparrow

Sparrow

The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...

s are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or grey birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed-eaters, and they also consume small insects. There are 35 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in Cape Verde.

• House Sparrow
  House Sparrow
  The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...
  
   Passer domesticus (I)
• Spanish Sparrow
  Spanish Sparrow
  The Spanish Sparrow or Willow Sparrow is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is found in the Mediterranean region and southwest and central Asia...
  
   Passer hispaniolensis
• Iago Sparrow
  Iago Sparrow
  The Iago Sparrow , is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is also known as the Cape Verde Sparrow and the Rufous-backed Sparrow. It is endemic to the Cape Verde Islands, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean....
  
  Passer iagoensis (E)