The island of Puerto Rico is situated in the Caribbean, close to Cuba and Hispaniola (the island of Haiti and Dominican Republic). Together with two smaller islands, it forms the Puerto Rico archipelago. The climate is tropical, but the ocean moderates the heat.
The birds in Puerto Rico come mainly from North and South America. At least 349 species have been sighted on the island, but only 120 are known to breed there. Sixteen species are native to the Puerto Rico archipelago, and 42 species have been introduced by humans. The South American birds include Hummingbirds, Tyrant Flycatchers, Bananaquit (the most abundant bird in Puerto Rico) and Tanagers. The Stripe-headed Tanager is the national bird.
Birds native to Puerto Rico include the Tody, which is common all across the Caribbean, and the yellow-shouldered blackbird. Several species are endangered. The Puerto Rican Parrot almost became extinct in 1975 and remains on the endangered species list. The Puerto Rican Amazon parrot is among the top 10 endangered species in the world. The Hispaniolan Parakeet, the White-Necked Crow, the Cuban Crow,and the Limpkin are verging on being endangered, and the Black-bellied Whistling Duck, the Black Rail and the Greater Flamingo no longer have breeding grounds in the Puerto Rico archipelago.
Originally, the island of Puerto Rico was covered by forest, but clearing for agriculture and lumber has changed the habitat, and several introduced species are present on the island, including flowers. Bougainvilleas are found in most gardens, and have spread into the wild as well. The state flower is the Puerto Rican hibiscus.
The indigenous flowers are mostly found in the mountains. These include the impatiens, which is common in gardens in the mainland U.S. More than 50 varieties of orchid can also be found in the mountains. They tend to be smaller than orchid varieties in other locations, the smallest the size of a fingertip. Orchids grow together with bromeliads, which look like pineapples with leaves instead of fruit, and a colored tube in the center.
There are four type of forest in Puerto Rico, dominated by different trees. On the north side of the island, the tropical rain forests dominate. The classification depends on the elevation above sea level. Nearest sea level is the subtropical wet forest, the "Tabonuco forest," which is named for the Tabonuco tree that dominates it.
Above this comes an area of subtropical forest, the Colorado forest (named after the Colorado tree), and the palm forest. Nearest the peak is the dwarf forest, where trees do not reach above three meters in height, and there are open swathes and herbal plants.
Many of these trees have colorful flowers, including the epiphytes (plants that grow on trees) and, at the higher elevation, the herbal plants.
Even though the island is tropical, the southwestern coast is dry, and there are several varieties of cactus growing there.
Puerto Rico has two large nature reserves, set up to preserve the indigenous species of plants and animals. On the southwest side, the Guánica Commonwealth Forest Reserve comprises 15 square miles of dry land, with more than 600 species of plant and animal life that are rarely found anywhere else. Forth-eight of them are endangered.
On the other side of the island, the rainforest reserve of El Yunque has more than 240 different species of plants, of which 26 are endemic to Puerto Rico. Here, 50 bird species are also found, including the critically endangered Puerto Rican Amazon.
