BREEDING SPECIES

Sixty-two species of birds breed in Seychelles. This total includes 15 endemics, 18 seabirds, 11 waterbirds, 10 native (non-endemic) land birds and 8 introduced species.


Seychelles Endemics
There are 15 species endemic to Seychelles, 12 of which breed in the granitic islands with a further 3 species at Aldabra:

Seychelles Kestrel Falco araeus
Seychelles Blue Pigeon Alectroenas pulcherrima
Seychelles Parrot Coracopsis barklyi
Seychelles Scops-owl Otus insularis
Seychelles Swiftlet Aerodramus elaphrus
Seychelles Bulbul Hypsipetes crassirostris
Seychelles Magpie-robin Copsychus sechellarum
Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis
Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone corvina
Seychelles Sunbird Nectarinia dussumieri
Seychelles White-eye Zosterops modesta
Seychelles Fody Foudia sechellarum
Aldabra Drongo Dicrurus aldabranus
Aldabra Fody  Foudia aldabrana
Aldabra White-eye Zosterops aldabrensis
                                              
Waterbirds
There are 11 native waterbird species:
Grey Heron  Ardea cinerea                                                                              
Cattle Egret  Bubulcus ibis                                                                               
Dimorphic Egret  Egretta gularis dimorpha                                                                               
Madagascar Pond-heron  Ardeola idae                                                         
Striated Heron  Butorides striata                                         
Black-crowned Night Heron  Nycticorax nycticorax                                  
Yellow Bittern  Ixobrychus sinensis                                                                
Greater Flamingo  Phoenicopterus ruber                                                      
Madagascar Sacred Ibis Threskiornisbernieri abbotti
Aldabra Rail  Dryolimnas cuvieri aldabranus
Common Moorhen  Gallinula chloropus 

Seabirds
There are 18 breeding seabird species:
Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica                                                              
Tropical Shearwater  Puffinus bailloni                                                          
Red-tailed Tropicbird  Phaethon rubricauda                                                               
White-tailed Tropicbird  Phaethon lepturus                                                  
Masked Booby  Sula dactylatra                                                                     
Red-footed Booby  Sula sula                                                                          
Brown Booby  Sula leucogaster                                                                     
Great Frigatebird  Fregata minor                                                                    
Lesser Frigatebird  Fregata ariel                                                                     
Caspian Tern   Hydroprogne caspia                                                                              
Greater Crested Tern  Thalasseus bergii                                                                        
Roseate Tern  Sterna dougallii                                                                       
Black-naped Tern  Sterna sumatrana                                                            
Bridled Tern  Sterna anaethetus                                                                      
Sooty Tern  Onychoprion fuscatus                                                                                            
Brown Noddy  Anous stolidus                                                                         
Lesser Noddy  Anous tenuirostris                                                                   
Fairy Tern  Gygis alba                                                                                      

        
Native (non-endemic) land birds
Though not endemic to Seychelles 9 of the following 10 species have endemic races in Seychelles (as shown in the scientific names). Madagascar Cisticola is endemic to the Malagasy region, also present on Madagascar and Iles Glorieuses. Pied Crow is a natural coloniser present throughout the western Malagasy region and sub-Saharan Africa.

Madagascar Kestrel  Falco newtoni aldabranus                  
Comoro Blue Pigeon  Alectroenas sganzini minor                                
Madagascar Turtle Dove Streptopelia picturata
Madagascar Coucal  Centropus toulou insularis                                       
Madagascar Nightjar Caprimulgus madagascariensis           
Madagascar Bulbul  Hypsipetes madagascariensis                    
Madagascar Cisticola  Cisticola cherina                                                      
Souimanga Sunbird Nectarinia souimanga aldabrensis (Aldabra), buchenorum (Cosmoledo), abbotti (Assumption)               
Madagascar White-eye  Zosterops maderaspatana                    
Pied Crow  Corvus albus                                                                                   
                                  
Introduced land birds
Some introduced species have been eradicated. There are 8 remaining introduced species.
Grey Francolin  Francolinus pondicerianus                                                 
Feral Pigeon  Columba livia                                                                             
Barred Ground Dove  Geopelia striata                                                          
Barn Owl  Tyto alba                                                                                           
Common Myna    Acridotheres tristis                                                           
Common Waxbill  Estrilda astrild                                                                 
House Sparrow  Passer domesticus
Madagascar (Red) Fody  Foudia madagascariensis