SOUTHEASTERN CARIBBEAN BIRDS PHOTO GALLERY

Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club         Southeastern Caribbean Bird Alert         Trinidad and Tobago Rare Bird Committee

VIRGIN ISLANDS

Striated Heron (Butorides striatus)

Adult at Concordia, St. John, 25 May 2003. Photos © by Floyd Hayes. First record for the Virgin Islands and Greater Antilles, and second for the West Indies. Note the solid neck colouration (appears darker in shade), long back plumes and lack of spotting on wing coverts, which are indicative of an adult. The grey sides and rear of the neck with a slight rufous tinge on the face is diagnostic for Striated Heron; in contrast, the locally breeding Green Heron has a rufous neck. The neck colouration of this individual was scored as 2 on Payne's hybrid index of 1-9, well within the range of variation of Striated Heron (1-4) and below the range of variation in Green Heron (6-9); for further information on identification, click here. The only previous West Indian record is a specimen taken from St. Vincent in 1924 (click here).