List of birds of American Samoa facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Welcome to the amazing world of birds in American Samoa! This page lists all the different types of birds found here. As of 2023, there are 76 bird species living in American Samoa.

Some of these birds are quite special:

15 species are accidental or rare visitors. This means they don't usually live here but sometimes show up by chance.
4 species have been introduced by people. They were brought here, either on purpose or by accident, and now live in the wild.
One bird, the mao, is extirpated. This means it used to live in American Samoa but is no longer found here, even though it still lives in other places.

American Samoa doesn't have any birds found *only* there (called endemic species). However, many land birds live here in large numbers. Lots of seabirds also come to the islands to lay their eggs. Sadly, hunting and animals brought by humans have reduced bird numbers. But places like Lata Mountain on Ta'u Island are still very important breeding spots for birds.

This list uses a special way to organize birds, like putting them into families. This is called taxonomy. The names of the birds, both English and scientific, follow a well-known guide called The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World.

You'll see some special tags next to the bird names:

(A) Accidental - A bird that rarely or accidentally visits American Samoa.
(I) Introduced - A bird brought to American Samoa by people.
(Ex) Extirpated - A bird that no longer lives in American Samoa, but still lives elsewhere.

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

Pacific black duck or tolo'a, a bird that lives here in small numbers.

Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae

This family includes ducks, geese, and swans. These birds are perfect for life in water! They have webbed feet, flat bills, and oily feathers that shed water easily.

Northern shoveler, Spatula clypeata (A)
Pacific black duck, Anas superciliosa
Eastern spot-billed duck, Anas zonorhyncha

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies

Order: Galliformes Family: Phasianidae

The Phasianidae family includes birds like quails, partridges, and pheasants. They usually live on land. These birds are often plump and have broad, short wings.

Red junglefowl, Gallus gallus (I)

Pigeons and Doves

Many-colored fruit-dove or manuma, a rare bird threatened by hunting.

Order: Columbiformes Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are birds with sturdy bodies, short necks, and thin bills. They also have a soft, fleshy area at the base of their bill called a cere.

Rock pigeon, Columba livia (A)
Shy ground dove, Alopecoenas stairi
Many-colored fruit-dove, Ptilinopus perousii
Crimson-crowned fruit-dove, Ptilinopus porphyraceus
Pacific imperial-pigeon, Ducula pacifica

Cuckoos

Order: Cuculiformes Family: Cuculidae

The Cuculidae family includes cuckoos. These birds come in different sizes. They have slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs. Some cuckoos in the Old World are known for laying their eggs in other birds' nests.

Long-tailed koel, Urodynamis taitensis

Swifts

Order: Caprimulgiformes Family: Apodidae

Swifts are small birds that spend most of their lives flying. They have very short legs and almost never land on the ground. Instead, they perch on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long, curved wings that look like a boomerang.

White-rumped swiftlet, Aerodramus spodiopygius
Australian swiftlet, Aerodramus terraereginae

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

Australasian swamphen or manuali'i, found widely in thick plants.

Order: Gruiformes Family: Rallidae

Rallidae is a big family of small to medium-sized birds. It includes rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. They usually live in thick plants near wet places like lakes or swamps. They are often shy and hard to spot. Most have strong legs and long toes, which help them walk on soft ground. They tend to have short, rounded wings and are not strong fliers.

Buff-banded rail, Gallirallus philippensis
Black-backed swamphen, Porphyrio indicus
Australasian swamphen, Porphyrio melanotus
Spotless crake, Zapornia tabuensis

Plovers and Lapwings

Pacific golden-plover or tulī, a bird that moves around and is seen on coasts and grassy areas.

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Charadriidae

The Charadriidae family includes plovers and lapwings. These are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies and short, thick necks. They have long, often pointed, wings. You can find them in open areas all over the world, usually near water.

Pacific golden-plover, Pluvialis fulva
Masked lapwing, Vanellus miles (A)

Sandpipers and Allies

Bristle-thighed curlew or tuli'olovalu, a bird that travels from Alaska in small groups.

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae is a large family of shorebirds. It includes sandpipers, curlews, godwits, and tattlers. Most of these birds eat small bugs they find in mud or soil. Their different leg and bill lengths allow many species to feed in the same places without competing for food.

Bristle-thighed curlew, Numenius tahitiensis
Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus (A)
Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica
Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres
Sanderling, Calidris alba
Wandering tattler, Tringa incana

Skuas and Jaegers

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Stercorariidae

The Stercorariidae family includes medium to large birds. They usually have gray or brown feathers, often with white marks on their wings. They build nests on the ground in cooler parts of the world and travel long distances.

Parasitic jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus (A)

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Sooty tern or gogo'uli, over 67,000 nests were counted on Rose Atoll in 1998.

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, including gulls and terns. Gulls are usually gray or white, often with black on their heads or wings. They have strong bills and webbed feet. Terns are generally medium to large seabirds, often gray or white with black on their heads. Most terns catch fish by diving. Terns can live a long time, with some species living over 30 years.

Laughing gull, Leucophaeus atricilla (A)
Brown noddy, Anous stolidus
Black noddy, Anous minutus
Blue-gray noddy, Anous ceruleus
White tern, Gygis alba
Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus
Gray-backed tern, Onychoprion lunatus
Bridled tern, Onychoprion anaethetus (A)
Black-naped tern, Sterna sumatrana (A)
Greater crested tern, Thalasseus bergii (A)

Tropicbirds

White-tailed tropicbird or tava'e, a common seabird.

Order: Phaethontiformes Family: Phaethontidae

Tropicbirds are thin, white birds that live in tropical oceans. They have very long feathers in the middle of their tails. Their heads and long wings have black markings.

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

Southern Storm-Petrels

Order: Procellariiformes Family: Oceanitidae

The southern storm-petrels are related to petrels and are the smallest seabirds. They eat tiny sea creatures and small fish from the water's surface, often while hovering. Their flight is quick and fluttering, sometimes like a bat.

White-faced storm-petrel, Pelagodroma marina (A)
Black-bellied storm-petrel, Fregetta tropica (A)
Polynesian storm-petrel, Nesofregetta fuliginosa

Shearwaters and Petrels

Tahiti petrel or tai'o, a bird that lays its eggs in the mountains.

Order: Procellariiformes Family: Procellariidae

The procellariids are a main group of medium-sized "true petrels." They have nostrils that are joined together and a long, working outer wing feather.

Herald petrel, Pterodroma heraldica
Mottled petrel, Pterodroma inexpectata (A)
White-necked petrel, Pterodroma cervicalis
Black-winged petrel, Pterodroma nigripennis (A)
Gould's petrel, Pterodroma leucoptera
Collared petrel, Pterodroma brevipes
Phoenix petrel, Pterodroma alba
Tahiti petrel, Pterodroma rostrata
Flesh-footed shearwater, Ardenna carneipes (A)
Wedge-tailed shearwater, Ardenna pacificus
Sooty shearwater, Ardenna griseus
Short-tailed shearwater, Ardenna tenuirostris
Christmas shearwater, Puffinus nativitatis
Newell's shearwater, Puffinus newelli (A)
Tropical shearwater, Puffinus bailloni

Frigatebirds

Lesser frigatebird or atafa, a bird that lays its eggs on Rose Atoll.

Order: Suliformes Family: Fregatidae

Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are big, black and white, or completely black, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have colorful throat pouches that they can inflate. These birds don't swim or walk well and can't take off from flat ground. They have the largest wingspan compared to their body weight of any bird, meaning they can stay in the air for more than a week!

Lesser frigatebird, Fregata ariel
Great frigatebird, Fregata minor

Boobies and Gannets

Red-footed booby (left) and brown booby (right), often seen offshore.

Order: Suliformes Family: Sulidae

The sulids include gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large seabirds that live near coasts. They dive into the water to catch fish.

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

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

Pacific reef-heron or matu'u, a common bird that lives here.

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Ardeidae

The Ardeidae family includes bitterns, herons, and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns usually have shorter necks and are more cautious. When flying, these birds pull their necks back, unlike other long-necked birds like storks.

White-faced heron, Egretta novaehollandiae (A)
Pacific reef-heron, Egretta sacra

Barn-Owls

Barn owl or lulu, a bird that is active at night and found in many places.

Order: Strigiformes Family: Tytonidae

Barn-owls are medium to large owls with big heads and special heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful claws.

Barn owl, Tyto alba

Kingfishers

Pacific kingfisher or ti'otala is common in many different places.

Order: Coraciiformes Family: Alcedinidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and short tails.

Pacific kingfisher, Todirhamphus sacer
Collared kingfisher, Todiramphus chloris

Old World Parrots

Blue-crowned lorikeet or segavao, a bird that lays its eggs in the Manu'a islands.

Order: Psittaciformes Family: Psittaculidae

Parrots have strong, curved bills, stand upright, and have strong legs with special clawed feet (two toes forward, two toes back). Many parrots are brightly colored. They range in size from very small (8 cm or 3.1 inches) to quite large (1 meter or 3.3 feet). Old World parrots are found from Africa across Asia and Oceania to Australia and New Zealand.

Blue-crowned lorikeet, Vini australis

Honeyeaters

Eastern wattled-honeyeater or iao, a common bird that lives here.

Order: Passeriformes Family: Meliphagidae

Honeyeaters are a large and varied family of small to medium-sized birds. They are most common in Australia and New Guinea. They drink nectar from flowers and look a lot like other birds that also feed on nectar.

Samoan myzomela, Myzomela nigriventris
Mao, Gymnomyza samoensis (Ex)
Eastern wattled-honeyeater, Foulehaio carunculatus

Monarch Flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Monarchidae

Monarch flycatchers are small to medium-sized birds that eat insects. They catch insects while flying.

Fiji shrikebill, Clytorhynchus vitiensis

Bulbuls

Red-vented bulbul or manu pālagi, brought to Tutuila in the 1950s.

Order: Passeriformes Family: Pycnonotidae

Bulbuls are medium-sized songbirds. Some are colorful with yellow, red, or orange patches, but most are plain, with olive-brown to black feathers. Some species have distinct crests on their heads.

Red-vented bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer (I)

Starlings

Polynesian starling or miti vao, a native bird of the forests.

Order: Passeriformes Family: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized birds. They fly strongly and directly and often live in large groups. They prefer open areas and eat insects and fruit. Their feathers are usually dark with a shiny, metallic look.

Polynesian starling, Aplonis tabuensis
Samoan starling, Aplonis atrifusca
Common myna, Acridotheres tristis (I)
Jungle myna, Acridotheres fuscus (I)

Thrushes

Island thrush.

Order: Passeriformes Family: Turdidae

Thrushes are a group of birds mostly found in the Old World. They are plump, soft-feathered, and small to medium-sized. They eat insects or sometimes everything, often finding food on the ground. Many have beautiful songs.

Island thrush, Turdus poliocephalus