The West Indian Whistling-Duck (WIWD) is endemic to the West Indies, meaning that it is found nowhere else in
the world. The species is classified as globally threatened, with a total
population probably between 10,000 to 20,000 birds; it is rare and endangered
on many islands throughout its range. Small populations occur on islands of the
Greater Antilles (Bahamas, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico,
Turks and Caicos Islands);
Antigua and Barbuda are at the southern edge of the range.The largest population is in Cuba where
the bird is doing well because of the rice culture.
Red Bill Tropicbird
are striking birds, with a vivid, white body, black wing edges and eye stripe,
red bill, and two long, streaming tail feathers. Like some of the other
pelecaniformes, tropicbirds are plunge-divers, feeding on squid and fish, well
out at sea. After a dive, they bob back up to the surface, sitting momentarily,
with their two tail feathers cocked in an upright position.
Tropicbirds court each other with an aerial display and callings. They make their nests on
ledges and in holes and crevices in the cliffs, and lay a single egg on the
ground. Both parents share in incubation and in feeding of the chick. The
juvenile tropicbird looks much like its parents except that its bill is yellow.
Antigua's Pelicans
The pouch of skin below a pelican's bill can hold up to 3 times more than the
bird's stomach can .
The wing span ranges from
6 to 7 ft. They can fly in calm
winds up to 35 mph.
They can plunge-dive from a
great height into the sea to
catch their prey-mostly fish.