List of birds of Nauru

Order: Galliformes   Family: Phasianidae

The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds comprising the quails, partridges, snowcocks, francolins, spurfowls, tragopans, monals, pheasants, peafowls, grouse, ptarmigan, and junglefowls. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings.[9]

• Red junglefowl, Gallus gallus (I)

Order: Columbiformes   Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.[10]

• Rock pigeon, Columba livia (I)
• Micronesian imperial-pigeon, Ducula oceanica

Order: Cuculiformes   Family: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. They are brood parasites.[11]

• Long-tailed koel, Eudynamys taitensis

Pacific golden-plover

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Charadriidae

The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.[12]

• Black-bellied plover, Pluvialis squatarola (A)
• Pacific golden-plover, Pluvialis fulva
• Lesser sand-plover, Charadrius mongolus (A)
• Greater sand-plover, Charadrius leschenaultii (A)

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae

Whimbrel

Scolopacidae is a large, diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds that includes the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.[13]

• Bristle-thighed curlew, Numenius tahitiensis (A)
• Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus
• Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica (A)
• Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres
• Sharp-tailed sandpiper, Calidris acuminata (A)
• Gray-tailed tattler, Tringa brevipes (A)
• Wandering tattler, Tringa incana (A)

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae

Black noddy

Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water.[14] Black noddies are extensively hunted as food in Nauru.[15]

• Brown noddy, Anous stolidus
• Black noddy, Anous minutus
• White tern, Gygis alba
• Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus (A)
• Black-naped tern, Sterna sumatrana (A)
• Great crested tern, Thalasseus bergii (A)

Red-tailed tropicbird

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Phaethontidae

Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings.[16]

• White-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon lepturus
• Red-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda (A)

Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Procellariidae

The procellariiforms are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with a medium nasal septum and a long outer functional primary flight feather.[17]

• Tropical shearwater, Puffinus bailloni

Male great frigatebird

Order: Suliformes   Family: Fregatidae

Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black and white or completely black, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have coloured inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan to body weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week.[18]

• Lesser frigatebird, Fregata ariel
• Great frigatebird, Fregata minor

Order: Suliformes   Family: Sulidae

The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.[19]

• Brown booby, Sula leucogaster
• Red-footed booby, Sula sula (A)

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Pelecanidae

Pelicans are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes.[20]

• Australian pelican, Pelecanus conspicillatus (A)

A dark morph of the Pacific reef-heron

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons, and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills.[21]

• Pacific reef-heron, Egretta sacra

Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Alcedinidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs and stubby tails.[22]

• Sacred kingfisher, Todirhamphus sanctus (A)
• Collared kingfisher, Todirhamphus chloris (A)

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Acrocephalidae

The family Acrocephalidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. Most have a generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs. They are usually found in open woodland, reedbeds, or tall grass.[23]

• Nauru reed warbler, Acrocephalus rehsei (E)

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Estrildidae

The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They are gregarious and often colonial seed eaters with short thick but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but have wide variation in plumage colours and patterns.[24]

• Zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata (Ex)

• List of birds
• Lists of birds by region