391. Zenaida Dove

Date         November 26, 2025

Location    Basseterre, St. Kitts

As we were making our way back to the ship, I saw this dove at our feet and had just enough time to take a quick picture. While it's obviously not a great picture, it was enough, along with range information (and confirmation from Merlin), to identify it. The little bit of white on the wing tip and the rounded tail distinguishes it from Mourning Dove.

Wikipedia: Zenaida Dove

390. Scaly-naped Pigeon

Date         November 26, 2025

Location    St. Kitts

Later on during the train ride, I saw several of these flying among some trees. They were obviously pigeons, they were rather gregarious as described in the field guide, and had a dark coloration.

Wikipedia: Scaly-naped Pigeon

389. Gray Kingbird

Date         November 26, 2025

Location    St. Kitts

We boarded a train that went around most of the island of St. Kitts. The tour guide described what we were seeing. We were served drinks and enjoyed dancers in native dress.

Believe it or not, I was able to identify two birds while on a moving train without binoculars. Well, I had binoculars with me, but they were virtually worthless as the train cars had a habit of violently rocking back and forth. But I am confident I have these correct even with just naked eye views. Again the field guide was very useful, especially with respect to range.

I saw this kingbird fairly early on in the trip, perched on a wire. In fact, my view of it, to the left of the train, looked very much like this picture.

Cornell: Gray Kingbird

398. Carib Grackle

Date         November 26, 2025

Location    Basseterre, St. Kitts

No question, range maps helped identifying this one, as it was very similar to all other grackles that I was familiar with. I saw this at the port as we waited for a bus to take us to our scenic train trip.

Wikipedia: Carib Grackle

387. Brown Booby

Date         November 25, 2025

Location    on the ocean near the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico

About 30 minutes before docking in San Juan, while still out in the ocean but approaching land, I saw several birds including at least of couple of these. They were much easier to identify than the red-footed since they were full adults. The flesh-colored bill and the distinct brown and white coloration were a good field marks.

Cornell: Brown Booby

386. Greater Antillean Grackle

Date         November 24, 2025

Location    Ocean World, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

After spending the day at a place called Ocean World where we swam with the dolphins and fed some tropical birds, we were sitting outside the gift shop waiting for the bus that would take us back to our ship. There was a small wooded area across the way, so I decided to explore. I did not have binoculars, but I gave it a try anyway.

There were lots of different bird calls that I was hearing, and I was getting glimpses of birds in the trees, but the only one that I could definitively identify were several of these grackles that were hopping about on the lawn areas. Their behavior was very similar to the Common Grackle in the US. The identification was greatly helped by the range information in the West Indies field guide that I had purchased for the cruise.

Wikipedia: Greater Antillean Grackle

385. Red-footed Booby

Date         November 23, 2025

Location    on the ocean in the northern Bahamas

In November of 2025, Mieka and I went on a Caribbean cruise. Our cabin was at the rear of the ship with a balcony, which afforded lots of opportunity for searching out pelagic species. I managed to get two on the trip. This juvenile Red-footed Booby was the first.

This photo is of the actual bird that I saw. It's obviously not great, but it was taken from a phone on the 10th deck of a cruise ship, and it actually shows some field marks, most notably the bluish bill.

I saw this particular bird -- at least, I think it was the same bird -- three times as it flew from behind the ship and over to the port side. Each circuit showed a very similar pattern.

It was fascinating to watch it fly just above the water, never getting clipped by the waves jutting up.

Cornell: Red-footed Booby