An Update on the Population of the Oilbird, Steatornis caripensis, in Trinidad, W.I.

Abstract

The last island wide census of the Oilbird, Steatornis caripensis, population of Trinidad was conducted in the late 1950s to early 1960s by David Snow with an estimate of 1,460 individuals. A new census of the known roosts was undertaken between February 2016 and September 2019. Caves were entered and counts were taken by one to three observers. The total number of birds in known colonies was estimated to be 3,320. This shows a more than doubling in population since the last count and suggests that the hunting of Oilbirds may no longer be the threat it once was to the survival of the species in Trinidad.