Endemic Birds & Endemic Birds & Reptiles Reptiles of St. Luciaof St. Luciaof St. Luciaof St. Lucia

Forestry Department

Endemic BirdsEndemic Birds

Endemic: A specie which is native to or characteristic of a particular place or

country.

The following slides illustrate the endemic birds of St Lucia.

Many of these species are also endangered.

The St. Lucia The St. Lucia ParrotParrot((AmazonaAmazona versicolorversicolor))

About 42-46 cm (16.5-18´´) in length. It inhabitsthe rainforest in themountains of St. Lucia.mountains of St. Lucia.

It feeds in the forestcanopy on a wide varietyof fruits, seeds and flowers.The parrot nests in cavitiesin tall trees.

The St. Lucia Black The St. Lucia Black FinchFinch((MelanospizaMelanospiza richardsonirichardsoni))

The Black Finch is about 13-14 cm in length. It is foundin both moist and dry forestareas. It forages in the leafareas. It forages in the leaflitter in dense understory.

The finch usually nests in aspherical nest of twigs builtin a low shrub or palmabout 2 m above ground.

The St. Lucia The St. Lucia PeweePewee((ContopusContopus oberioberi))

The adult pewee grows toabout 15 cm in length. It isquite common and residesmostly in moist forest, butmostly in moist forest, butalso found in dry forest areas.

It perches low and sallies forinsects. The pewee nests in acup-shaped nest made ofleaves and moss placed on abranch.

The St. Lucia The St. Lucia OrioleOriole((IcterusIcterus laudabilislaudabilis))

The adult oriole grows toabout 20-22 cm in length. Itis found in woodlandsincluding dry and moistforest. It is uncommon andforest. It is uncommon andperhaps becoming scarcer.

It feeds on insects, fruits,flowers and nectar. Theoriole builds a nest sewnunder a leaf or palm wellabove the ground.

The St. Lucia The St. Lucia WarblerWarbler((DendroicaDendroica delicatadelicata) )

The warbler is about 12.5cm in length. It is found inall forest types and at allaltitudes. It forages foraltitudes. It forages forinsects and spiders fromleaves and twigs.

It lays in a nicely woven,cup-shaped nest built ina tree about 1-5 mabove the ground.

The St. Lucia The St. Lucia WrenWren(Troglodyte (Troglodyte aedonaedon))

The wren is about 11.5-13cm. It is found in moistupland forest to dry scrubvegetation.vegetation.

It feeds on insects, spidersand fruits. It builds a twignest in a cavity in a treewell above the ground.

The St. Lucia The St. Lucia NightjarNightjar((CaprimulgusCaprimulgus otiosusotiosus))

The nightjar grows toabout 28 cm in length. It isquite rare residing in thequite rare residing in thedry forest areas of thenortheast of St. Lucia.

It is nocturnal feeding on insects that it captures inflight.The nightjar nests in a scrape on the ground.

Semper’sSemper’sWarblerWarbler((LeucopezaLeucopeza semperisemperi))

Endemic to St. Luciacritically endangered andvery possibly extinct. Lastcertain report was in 1961,certain report was in 1961,reported sightings in 1989,1995 and on Mount Gimiein 2003.

It is 5.7inches in length with pale legs and pale feet.A rain forest species.

The St. Lucia WhiteThe St. Lucia White--breasted breasted ThrasherThrasher( ( RamphocinclusRamphocinclus brachyurusbrachyurus))

The thrasher is about 20-21 cm in length. It inhabitsdry forest areas particularlynear rivers and streams.near rivers and streams.

It feeds mostly on invertebrates found in the leaflitter. It lays its eggs in a roughly built nest of twigsin a shrub about 2 m in height.

Endemic ReptilesEndemic Reptiles

The following slides illustrate endemic reptiles of illustrate endemic reptiles of

St Lucia.

These species are also endangered.

The St. Lucia The St. Lucia WhiptailWhiptail((CnemidophorusCnemidophorus vanzoivanzoi))

The Whiptail is also knownas Zandoli Terre. It wasunknown to science before1958. It is considered oneof the world’s rarest lizards.

They feed mainly on insectsand other ground dwellinginvertebrates. Found onlyon Maria and Praslin Islands.

of the world’s rarest lizards.Males grow to about 36 cmand female to about 25 cm.

The St. Lucia The St. Lucia Iguana (Iyanola)Iguana (Iyanola)((Iguana Iguana iguanaiguana))

The St. Lucia Iguana comesfrom a unique populationdistinct from other greeniguanas. It grows to about155 cm (6ft) in length, its155 cm (6ft) in length, itstail accounting for twothirds its entire body length.It occurs mainly along thenortheast coast of St.Lucia. It is predominantlyvegetarian. Females may layup to 20 eggs in a holewhich she digs.

The St. Lucia The St. Lucia AnolisAnolis((AnolisAnolis luciaeluciae))

The St. Lucia Anolis is thelargest of 4 anoles found inSt. Lucia. It is identifiedfrom the others by theblack and white stripeblack and white striperunning along the sides ofthe body.

It is abundant in lowlandsand also in the rainforest. Itis an insect feeder, but willalso eat ripe fruits.

The St. Lucia Boa The St. Lucia Boa ConstrictorConstrictor((Boa constrictorBoa constrictor))

The Boa Constrictor locallycalled Tete Chien bears aresemblance to that of adog. It may grow to about425 cm (14ft) in length.425 cm (14ft) in length.

The boa has no poison fangsand kills its prey bysuffocation. It bears it youngalive and may give birth toabout 70 young in one litter.Found in both dry and wetforest.

The St. Lucia Racer(Liophis ornatus)

The St. Lucia Racer orCouresse Snake isrestricted to MariaIslands, its last refuge inIslands, its last refuge inthe world. It belongs tothe Colubridae family.

It grows to a length of 92 cm (3ft). The racerfeeds on lizards and frogs and possibly small birds.

The St Lucia Viper(Bothrops caribbaeus)

The Fer-de-Lance is locallycalled serpent. The head isbroadly triangular, showingevidence of large poisonglands. It ranges from Roseauto Canaries on the west andto Canaries on the west andMarquis to Micoud on theeast. It feeds on birds, andsmall mammals.

The serpent may grow up to 245 cm (8ft) in length. It is alive bearer and may give birth to as many as 70 young.Found in both dry and rain forest