Local Names for the Birds of Jamaica
By Mike • November 7, 2009 • 7 commentsPreparing for a birding excursion can be tremendous fun if one actually enjoys studying field guides, trip reports, and various and sundry other resources. I personally love the process. Not only does the preliminary research heighten anticipation of an already exciting trip, but the payoff in the field when I have no problem recognizing a bird I’ve never seen before in life cannot be beat!
Of all the foreign destinations I’ve ever done birding research for, Jamaica has to be the most fun. You can’t beat the hilarious, evocative nicknames Jamaican birds have acquired over the years. If all goes as planned, I will already be in the air winging towards Hotel Mocking Bird Hill in Port Antonio as this post publishes. Please enjoy these fruits of my labor, a master list of the nicknames for most Jamaican birds:
SEABIRDS
Generally, gulls and terns known in Jamaica as boobies
White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus catesbyi) is Bo’sun Bird
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus o. occidentalis) is Old Joe
Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) is Man o’ War Bird
EGRETS AND HERONS
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula brewsteri) is Golden Slippers
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) is Blue Gaulin
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) is Tick Bird
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli) is Quok
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violaceus bancrofti) is Crab-catcher
WATERFOWL AND GREBES
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps antillarum) is Duck-and-Teal
West Indian Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna arborea) is Mangrove Duck, Night Duck, or Whistling Teal
VULTURES AND RAPTORS
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) is John Crow or Carrion Crow
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius sparveroides) is Killy-killy
RAILS AND WADERS
Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris) is Mangrove Hen
Yellow-breasted Crake (Porzana flaviventer) is Twopenny Chick
Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa violacea) is River Chink
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) is Captain Lewis
PIGEONS AND DOVES
White-crowned Pigeon (Patagioenas leucocephala) is Baldpate
Ring-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas caribaea) is Ringtail
Plain Pigeon (Patagioenas inornata) is Blue Pigeon
Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita zenaida) is Pea Dove
White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica) is White-wing
Caribbean (or White-bellied) Dove (Leptotila j. jamaicensis) is White-belly
Ruddy Quail-Dove (Geotrygon montana) is Partridge, Red Partridge, or Brown Partridge
Crested Quail-Dove (Geotrygon versicolor) is Mountain Witch or Blue Partridge
PARROTS
Yellow-billed Parrot (Amazona collaria) is Yellowbill
Black-billed Parrot (Amazona agilis) is Blackbill
CUCKOOS
Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo (Coccyzus vetula) is Old Woman Bird
Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo (Coccyzus pluvialis) is Old Man Bird
NOCTURNAL BIRDS
Jamaican Owl (Pseudoscops grammicus) is Patoo with the big eyes
Jamaican (or Northern) Potoo (Nyctibius j. jamaicensis) is Patoo with the long bill
Antillean Nighthawk (Chordeiles g. gundlachii) is Gimme-me-bit
HUMMINGBIRDS
Most hummingbird species in Jamaica are dubbed Doctorbird. Red-billed Streamertail (Trochilus polytmus), Black-billed Streamertail (Trochilus scitulus), and even Jamaican Mango (Anthracothorax mango) are called Doctorbird.
Vervain Hummingbird (Mellisuga minima) is, naturally, Little Doctorbird
FLYCATCHERS
Observe how many Jamaican flycatchers are called Tom Fool…
Jamaican Tody (Todus todus) is Robin Redbreast
Jamaican Elaenia (Myiopagis cotta) is Sarah Bird
Jamaican Becard (Pachyramphus niger) is Mountain Dick (male) or Mountain Judy (female)
Gray Kingbird (Tyrannus d. dominicensis) is Petchary
Loggerhead Kingbird (Tyrannus caudifasciatus jamaicensis) is Jamaican Petchary
Stolid Flycatcher (Myiarchus s. stolidus) is Tom Fool
Rufous-tailed Flycatcher (Myiarchus validus) is Big Tom Fool
Sad Flycatcher (Myiarchus barbirostris) is Little Tom Fool
Jamaican Pewee (Contopus pallidus) is Willie Pee or Little Tom Fool
CORVIDS
Jamaican Crow (Corvus jamaicensis) is Jabbering Crow, Jamicrow, Jamming Crow, or Gabbling Crow
THRUSHES
White-eyed Thrush (Turdus jamaicensis) is Shine-eye or Glasseye
White-chinned Thrush (Turdus aurantius) is Hopping Dick
Rufous-throated Solitaire (Myadestes genibarbis solitarius) is Mountain Whistler
VIREOS
Jamaican Vireo (Vireo modestus) is Sewi-sewi
Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo a. altiloquus) is John-to-Whit
WOOD-WARBLERS
Arrow-headed Warbler (Dendroica pharetra) is Ants Picker or Ants Bird
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) is Butterfly Bird
TANAGERS AND ALLIES
Bananaquit (Coereba f. flaveola) is Sugar Bird, Teasy, or Beanie Bird
Orangequit (Euneornis campestris) is Blue Quit or Blue Blaize
Jamaican Spindalis (Spindalis nigricephala) is Mark Head
ICTERIDS
Greater Antillean Grackle (Quiscalus niger crassinostris) is Cling-cling
Jamaican Oriole (Icterus l. leucopteryx) is Banana Katie or Auntie Katie
Jamaican Blackbird (Nesopsar nigerrimus) is Wildpine Sargeant
GRASSBIRDS
In general, grassquits are called grass birds
Yellow-shouldered Grassquit (Loxipasser anoxanthus) is Yellow-back
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I discovered your homepage by coincidence.
Very interesting posts and well written.
I will put your site on my blogroll.
this kind of research will help you avoid an error I made when first arriving in the caribbean. Talking to a local at a salt pond I pointed out a peregrine (a reasonably rare bird where we were). He said this was “the best place on the island to see falcon and also in winter a good place to see scissortail”. I spent that winter hopefully scanning the bushes for a vagrant scissortail flycatcher before learning scissortail is a local name for mag. frigatebird. As the man says: d’oh!
I hear they call everything seen on the Brooklyn side of Jamaica… “Boids”.
I live in Jamaica and spend a lot of my time birdwatching and i have never heard some of these names. You did your research well. The names are truly hilarious and i could add a few names that you missed. The rufous-tailed flycatcher for example is called Big Head Bob in some parts of the island.
I hope you have a wonderful visit and if you are ever in the Kingston area give me a shout, I will take you birding.
Hi Mike -
I worked for several winters at a small Jamaican resort taking visitors on bird walks into the hills. I loved your list and remember having to learn all of them - one I didn’t see on your list was “rain bird”, which I thought was reference to all the cuckoos. Maybe that was a local (SW Jamaica) term? Carol
Carol, I think you are right, I have heard cuckoos being called “Rain Bird” but i cannot recall which section of the island I was at the time. I know for a fact though that the Antillean Nighthawk is also called the “Rain Bird” as it is often observed in the summer just after a shower of rain or on overcast days.
Mike, I understand you had a wonderful time in Jamaica. John Fletcher told me all about your trip. Do visit again soon
Hi Carol, you’re right. Rain Bird is used for both the Chestnut-bellied and Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo. I brought back a lot more names from my trip and will be revising this list soon!
Hey Ricardo, thanks for sharing that info. Yes, I did have a wonderful time and look forward to coming back. Maybe you can help me see some of the birds I missed!