Ecuador is a small country but it’s home to a mind boggling 1600 bird species. Tourism is a huge industry in Ecuador and our bird population is part of the reason why. About half of the bird species in South America can be found in Ecuador. They can be found in our rain forests, cloud forests, reserves, the Amazon, the Andes, our city parks and anywhere you go.

Birders come to Ecuador from all over the world to see as much of our diverse and plentiful bird population as they can.  Birding often goes hand in hand with a hike but it can also be done on a lazy canoe trip down a river.

To identify a bird species when you see one you need what’s called a Field Guide. They have color images of the various bird species, a description and the name, etc. so you can identify them.

I don’t consider myself a Birder really but I have one that I keep in my backpack and my backpack goes wherever I go every day.

My Field Guide is called “The Birds of Ecuador” and I highly recommend getting a copy if you live in Ecuador, are applying for residency here or are just coming for a visit. It’s available on Amazon and you can learn more about it here.