Transatlantic vagrancy of Palearctic species to the Caribbean region The large proportion of large wader birds (such as herons and egrets) in the list of Caribbean records may be explained by several factors. First, they are conspicuous birds that are more easily found, recognized and collected than, for instance, small passerines. Second, large birds have a higher average speed of flight and may therefore have a higher chance to make a successful crossing of large water surfaces than smaller birds. Third, large wader birds can swim if necessary. However, one may wonder if birds flying so low over the surface are likely to fly long distances, since long-distance migration is normally related to a higher altitude of flight. Fourth, south-easterly air streams that favour ‘reverse’ transatlantic vagrancy may dominate in more southerly regions (off the African north-west coast) where the numbers of large wader birds can be high, making them more susceptible to vagrancy. The fact that Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis have successfully colonized South America and, from there, North America from Africa, is an indication that large wader birds may be more prone to transatlantic vagrancy from east to west than other species. List of records Eurasian Wigeon Mareca penelope This species is a vagrant with records from October to February from Barbados (9 October to 22 February, no year given), Barbuda, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The record on Barbuda concerned a bird ringed in Iceland (Bond 1985, Raffaele et al 1998). This species is a regular visitor on both sides of North America and has been recorded in nearly every province or state. Garganey Anas querquedula January to March 1978, Puerto Rico. According to Raffaele et (1998), the species is ‘accidental on Puerto Rico’, probably referring to the 1978 record. Bond (1985) gives one record without year for Barbados, on 29 August, where there is reportedly also a more recent record (Floyd Hayes in litt). This species is a regular vagrant in the USA; it has been recorded in most states, both on the Pacific and the Atlantic coast as well as inland. Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris borealis This is an uncommon migrant among the Bahamas primarily in May and June (sometimes into September) and has also been recorded off Cuba, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Barbados (Raffaele et al 1998). There are at least five records from Trinidad of birds found dead or exhausted (21 June 1955, 19 February 1956, 29 April 1961, 29 January 1998 and 20 November 2001). In most cases, Scopoli’s Shearwater C diomedea will not have been excluded but this taxon is less likely to occur in the Caribbean region.
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Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus ffrench (1991) mentions the record of a bird ringed on Skokholm, Wales, on 30 August 1967 and collected at Manzanilla beach, Trinidad, on 10 November 1968. Manx Shearwater breeds in small numbers off Newfoundland and is a regular visitor to Atlantic waters of North America; it is a rare visitor to the Caribbean region. (Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus) Raffaele et al (1998) list this species for Barbados, without further details. Little Egret Egretta garzetta Since January 1993, this species has been regularly observed on Barbados and the first breeding occurred in late 1994; in late 1996, the species was firmly established as a breeding bird with c 12 pairs, increasing to 20 pairs and c 80 individuals in 1998 (Massiah 1996, Raffaele et al 1998). In total, there are now at least 33 records of up to five individuals at a time for Trinidad and at least 17 records with up to two at a time for Tobago; the species may already be breeding in the islands (Hayes & White 2001; Cotinga nr 12: 80, 1999; Floyd Hayes in litt). Oberle (2000) states that it is ‘accidental in wetlands on Puerto Rico’ and gives two records (25 September to 26 December 1999, Arecibo river mouth, and December 1999 to March 2000, Caño Tiburones) as examples. One was recorded on 28 August 1999 on Grand Bahama, Bahamas (Mazar Barnett & Kirwan 2002). The following records before 1990 have been published: 16 April 1954, Barbados. 13 January 1957, Caroni swamp, Trinidad (shot, ringed as nestling at Coto Doñana, Spain, on 24 July 1956). 6 October 1962, Martinique (ringed in Spain in June 1962). 1985 to 1987, St Lucia (several birds). Late May to early June 1986, Culebra island, Puerto Rico. November 1989 to March 1990, near Trinicity and Port of Spain, and Buccoo, Tobago (several birds). In addition, there are at least two records from mainland South America: in June 1969, a bird ringed as a nestling in June 1968 in Spain was collected in Surinam, and, on 19 January 1997, one was observed near the mouth of the Mahaiconey river in Guyana (Ryan 1997). Little Egrets are rare but increasingly regular visitors to the Atlantic coast of the USA; the first North American record was in May 1954 on Newfoundland, Canada. For more information on the occurrence of this species in the New World, see Murphy (1992). Western Reef Egret Egretta gularis 18 February 1984, St Lucia. 20 February to 13 April 1984, Barbados. 31 January 1985, St Lucia. 22 January 1986, Nariva swamp, Trinidad (dark-morph, photographed; Murphy & Nana 1987). 16 December 2000 to at least 11 January 2002,