Marquesas and Tuamotus Species List

Blue Damsels

We spent much of our time in the Tuamotus snorkeling and identifying fish as well as walking around the small “motus” or cays. These walks were of course while we were looking for birds, specifically the Tuamotu Sandpiper. This is a small endemic brown bird, endangered because introduced rats like to eat them and their chicks when nesting. Finally we found a few of these little birds during our last few days in the islands. They are not like the sandpipers we are used to at home on the west coast; while we were watching and photographing one, Stephen was crouched with a 400m lens on and one came right up to him to investigate!

Tuamotu Sandpiper

Marquesas and Tuamotus Species List
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Bulwer’s Petrel
Tahiti Petrel
White-necked Petrel
Polynesian Storm-Petrel
White-tailed Tropicbird
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Masked Booby
Brown Booby
Red-footed Booby
Lesser Frigatebird
Pacific Reef Heron
Wandering Tattler
Tuamotu Sandpiper
Bristle-thighed Curlew
Great Crested Tern
Spectacled Tern
Sooty Tern
Brown Noddy
Black Noddy
Blue-grey Noddy
Common Fairy-Tern
Little Fairy-Tern
Zebra Dove
Atoll Fruit-Dove
White-capped Fruit-Dove
Nukuhiva Pigeon
Long-tailed Cuckoo
Marquesas Swiftlet
Marquesas Reed-Warbler
Tuamotu Reed-Warbler
Common Myna
Red-browed Firetail
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin
Spinner Dolphins
Bottlenose Dolphins
Rough-toothed Dolphins
Melon-headed Whales