A new species has been added to the roster of birds that once lived in the West Indies. It’s an owl, and an impressive one, a relative of the Barn Owl alive today but much larger. Gone for thousands of years now, it is known only from fossils unearthed in Cuba. The discoverer, ornithologist and paleornithologist William Suárez, and Storrs L. Olson, curator emeritus in the Division of Birds of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, described the new species recently in the prestigious journal Zootaxa.
Ubiquitous, approachable Rock Pigeon is the most familiar representative of the Columbidae family. One of the most beautiful is the endangered Blue-headed Quail-Dove, endemic to Cuba. It has long been considered unique, and is the only member of the genus Starnoenas, but new research suggests that it is far more unusual than previously believed.
Spring Migration Cuba Bird Survey – April 2016. Itinerary included Cuba’s Western Mountains, Zapata Peninsula, Northern Archipelago, Escambray Valley and Havana.
For the second time, BirdWatching magazine, in collaboration with the Caribbean Conservation Trust, is promoting an exclusive, birding program to Cuba, the Caribbean’s largest and most ecologically diverse island nation.
With the recent relaxation of restrictions on travel to Cuba, many U.S. birders are considering a visit to that bird-rich nation so close to Florida. What to bring? – binoculars, for starters, and probably a field guide. But what sort of field guide? –...
