Birds / Aves

In the work of Reverend Father Ernesto Schmitz entitled Die Vögel Madeira's, thirty-eight nesting birds in the archipelago and one hundred and fifty-seven migratory birds are listed.

The nesting birds in the archipelago are mostly European species, while the migratory birds are generally from the African coast. Of the latter, the ones that appear most frequently are, according to J. Y. Johnson, the following: Accipter nisus, Fringilla chloris, Upupa epops, Ardea cinerea, A. nycticorax, Limosa melanura, Numenius arquata, Gallinago major, Gallinula chloropus, Fulica atra, Mareca penelope, Larus tridactylus, and Sula alba. The Cegialitis vociferus, an American species, has been sighted several times in Madeira, and the Phyloscosus superciliosus, from Asia, was collected years ago in Porto Santo. Of the indigenous species, the canary, the Berthelot's pipit, the Madeiran rock sparrow, the Trocaz pigeon, and the Madeira firecrest are common to Madeira and the Canary Islands, not having been found elsewhere. The chaffinch only appears in Madeira, the Canary Islands, and the Azores, and the Madeira firecrest is a species unique to our island. The Madeira warbler is a curious variety that we believe has not been found outside Madeira.