Bird Island, also known as Man-O-War Caye, is an island of the

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

n country of

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

Description

Bird Island is a

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Grea ...

and bird sanctuary located near

Tobacco Caye Tobacco Caye is a tiny island in Belize, about east of Dangriga. It is approximately in area, shaped like a yam, with a north-south dimension of about and an east-west dimension of . It has a permanent population of about 20, and sees a reg ...

in the western

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. The island is home to

frigatebird Frigatebirds are a Family (biology), family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, l ...

s and

red-footed boobies The red-footed booby (''Sula sula'') is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. Adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings. They are ...

and tourists are not allowed to dock or set foot on it. In 2001, a hurricane destroyed the mangrove forest on the island, yet birds continued to roost. The forest has since regrown and the ecosystem restored.

Important Bird Area

A 1.2m ha site off the coast of Belize, comprising the nation’s offshore and barrier islands, has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports significant populations of several resident, passage or breeding bird species, including

white-crowned pigeon The white-crowned pigeon (''Patagioenas leucocephala'') is a fruit and seed-eating species of bird in the dove and pigeon family Columbidae. It is found primarily in the Caribbean. John James Audubon painted these pigeons, including the waterco ...

roseate tern The roseate tern (''Sterna dougallii'') is a species of tern in the family Laridae. The genus name ''Sterna'' is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and the specific ''dougallii'' refers to Scottish physician and collector Dr Peter McD ...

Yucatan vireo The Yucatan vireo (''Vireo magister'') is a species of bird in the family Vireonidae. Closely related to the red-eyed vireo, its plumage a duller overall. It measures . It has a stout, hooked bill that is gray, paler at the base. A broad white e ...

black catbird The black catbird (''Melanoptila glabrirostris'') is a songbird species in the monotypic genus ''Melanoptila'', part of the family (biology), family Mimidae. At in length and in mass, it is the smallest of the mimids. Sexes appear similar, wit ...

s, and golden-winged and

cerulean warbler The cerulean warbler (''Setophaga cerulea'') is a small songbird in the family Parulidae. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern North American hardwood forests. In the non-breeding season, it winters on the eastern slope of the Ande ...

s. The IBA encompasses the South Water Caye, Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes, Sapodilla Cayes and

Glover's Reef Glover's Reef is a partially submerged atoll located off the southern coast of Belize, approximately from the mainland. It forms part of the outermost boundary of the Belize Barrier Reef, and is one of its three atolls, besides Turneffe Atoll ...

marine reserves,

Half Moon Caye Half Moon Caye is an island and natural monument of Belize located at the southeast corner of Lighthouse Reef Atoll. This natural monument was the first nature reserve to have been established in Belize under the National Park Systems Act in 1 ...

, Laughing Bird Caye and Man-O-War Caye islands, as well as several spawning aggregations.

References

Uninhabited islands of Belize Islands of Belize Important Bird Areas of Belize Important Bird Areas of the Caribbean Caribbean Sea {{Belize-stub