New England Seabirds | Wandering Birder | Midway | Bird List

Birds of Midway Atoll

Revised 1997 by Stephen F. Bailey with Robert L. Pyle and Peter Pyle

Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross	rare, visitor,endangered
Black-footed Albatross	abundant, breeding ,visitor
Laysan Albatross	abundant, breeding, visitor
Petrels, Shearwaters
Northern Fulmar	casual, visitor
Bonin Petrel	abundant, breeding, visitor, nocturnal
Bulwer's Petrel	extirpated, breeding, visitor
Jouanin's Petrel	casual, visitor
Wedge-tailed Shearwater	common, breeding, visitor, nocturnal
Sooty Shearwater	rare, visitor
Christmas Shearwater	uncommon, breeding, visitor
Newell's ( Townsend's) Shearwater	rare, visitor
Little Shearwater	casual, visitor
Storm-petrels
Leach's Storm-petrel	rare, visitor
Tristram's Storm-petrel	rare, visitor ( recolonizing breeding visitor ?)
Tropicbirds
White-tailed Tropicbird	rare, breeding, visitor
Red-tailed Tropicbird	abundant, breeding, resident
Boobies
Masked Booby	rare, breeding, resident
Brown Booby	rare non-breeding, resident (extirpated breeder)
Red-footed Booby	common, breeding resident
Cormorants
Pelagic Cormorant	casual, visitor
Frigatebirds
Great Frigatebird	common, breeding, visitor
Lesser Frigatesbird	casual, visitor
Herons
Cattle Egret	rare, visitor
Black-crowned Night-Heron	casual,visitor
Waterfowl
Tundra Swan Greater White-fronted Goose Snow Goose Emperor Goose Canada Goose Green-winged Teal Mallard Northern Pintail Garganey Northern Shoveler Gadwall Eurasian Widgeon American Wigeon Pochard Canvasback Redhead Tufted Duck Lesser Scaup Harlequin Duck Oldsquaw Black Scoter Common Goldeneye Bufflehead,	rare or casual visitors
Raptors
Osprey, Black Kite Steller's Sea- Eagle Northern Harrier Merlin, Peregrine Falcon	casual visitors
Rails
Laysan Rail	extinct, resident, introduced
Common Moorhen, Hawaiian Coot	casual, visitor
Plovers
Black-bellied Plover	casual, visitor
Pacific Golden Plover	common, visitor
Common Ringed Plover	casual visitor
Semipalmated Plover	casual, visitor
Sandpipers
Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Wood Sandpiper	casual,visitor
Wandering Tattler	uncommon,visitor
Gray-tailed Tattler Spotted Sandpiper Whimbrel	casual ,visitor
Bristle-thighed Curlew	common, visitor
Bar-tailed Godwit	casual,visitor
Ruddy Turnstone	common,visitor
Red Knot	casual,visitor
Sanderling	uncommon,visitor
Western Sandpiper Long-toed Stint	casual,visitor
Pectoral Sandpiper Sharp-tailed Sandpiper	rare,visitor
Dunlin Buff-breasted Sandpiper Ruff Short-billed Dowitcher Long-billed Dowitcher Common Snipe	casual,visitor

Gulls
Franklin's Gull Black-headed Gull Silver Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Slaty-backed Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glaucous Gull Black-legged Kittiwake	casual,visitor
Terns
Little Tern	casual, visitor
Gray-backed Tern	common,breeding,visitor
Sooty Tern	abundant breeding visitor
Black Tern	casual,visitor
Brown Noddy	common, breeding, visitor
Black Noddy	abundant, breeding, visitor
Common White-tern	abundant, breeding, resident
Alcids
Ancient Murrelet Parakeet Auklet Horned Puffin	casual, visitor
Pigeons
Rock Dove	extirpated, resident, introduced
Cuckoos
Common Cuckoo	casual, visitor
Owls
Short-eared Owl	rare, visitor
Swifts
Fork-tailed Swift	casual,visitor
Larks
Eurasian Sky Lark	casual, visitor
Swallows
Barn Swallow	casual,visitor
Starlings and Myna
Common Myna	common, breeding, resident, introduced
Finches
Common Redpoll	casual, visitor
Common Canary	abundant, breeding, resident, introduced
Laysan Finch	extirpated, resident, introduced, endangered
House Sparrow	casual, visitor (from ship?)

Definitions

Abundant - Very numerous in proper habitats; peak populations may exceed 5000

Common - Numerous in at least some habitats; peak populations usually 100-5000

Uncommon - Occurs regularly; peak populations usually 10-100

Rare - Probably regular, but in small numbers, usually fewer than 10

Casual - Irregular and very rare; infrequent in very small numbers

Extirpated - Population on Midway no longer survives.

Extinct - Species no longer survives anywhere

Breeding Resident - Non-migratory breeding population present year-round

Breeding visitor (seabirds) - Breeds on Midway; most or all individuals spend non-breeding season at sea; a few may appear all year.

Visitor (non-breeding) - Visits Midway, but breeds elsewhere; immature birds may be present all year. Most non-breeding visitors appear during the fall and winter seasons, except that the more common shorebirds and seabirds often occur in spring and even summer.