ENDEMIC BIRDS – CHOCÓ

Colombia is known for its coffee, emeralds, cocaine smuggling, and lively salsa and merengue music. However, for birders, Colombia provides the richest avifauna on earth.

It is a country with a complex history, once encompassing all of adjacent Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador – the early republic of Gran Colombia.

Founded by Simón Bolívar, Colombia became smaller over time but remains a vast country with diverse landscapes and birds. The Chocó area of Western Colombia encompasses the Pacific slope of both the Colombian West Andes and the main Andes.

Chocó has one of the richest lowland ecosystems, with many unique plants, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, and birds.

Colombia is a top bird-watching destination, home to about 1,950 bird species—more than any other country.
On top of that, 79 species are endemic to Colombia.

Chocó holds 10% of the 80,000–90,000 neotropical plant species, with 25% found nowhere else.

Chocó also supports the largest number of restricted-range bird species of any area in the Americas, with more than sixty species being endemic.

Colombia, rivaled only by Peru in bird diversity, boasts not just many species but also numerous endemics and near-endemics.

On Colombia’s Pacific Coast, among the best places to visit is  the beautiful Bahia Solano, a surf town by the Utria National Park https://www.parquesnacionales.gov.co/nuestros-parques/pnn-utria/

The mangrove boardwalk in Utria National Park

Near Bahia Solano, several beautiful lodges offer birdwatching, but you must fly in as there are no roads

Endemic birds here include the Baudó Oropendola, Baudó Guan, and Sooty-capped Puffbird, all highly sought after in Chocó.

Other noteworthy species include the Harpy Eagle, Tawny-faced Quail, Brown Wood-Rail, Choco Tinamou, and Crested Eagle.

Crested Eagle

The Montezuma Nature Reserve https://montezumarainforest.com/ is part of the buffer zone of the Tatama National Park https://montezumarainforest.com/index.php/about/
and consists mainly of a 14-kilometre road that runs from the lodge to a military base at the top of Cerro Tatamá. Managed by matriarch Leopoldina Tapasco and her five daughters, Montezuma, one of Colombia’s top birdwatching sites.

The Montezuma region is where the stunning Gold-ringed and Black-and-gold Tanagers can be found, alongside other colourful Chocó endemics and near-endemics. These include the Velvet-purple Coronet, Violet-tailed Sylph, and Orange-breasted Fruiteater, plus rarities like Parker’s Antbird and Munchique Wood Wren.

Also, the possibility of the majestic endemic Baudo Oropendola. Many restricted and endemic bird species occur in this lush tropical rainforest and cloud forest.

Multi-coloured Tanager

The Pacific Lowlands at San Cipriano’s Pacific rainforest is incredibly wet, very lush, and home to the lower elevation Chocó endemics.
Among them are the five coloured Barbet, Chocó Toucan, Chocó Woodpecker, Rose-faced Parrot, Stub-tailed Antbird, Bicolored Antbird, and Black-tipped Cotinga.

Doña Dora https://www.donadorabirding.com/ near Cali is an excellent birding spot in southern Colombia.  Not only is it a charming hostelry, but the birding is top class.

478 species have been reported, including Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Black-chinned Mountain Tanager, Rufous-throated Tanager, Silver-throated Tanager, Tricolored Brushfinch, Black-headed Brushfinch, Chestnut-headed Oropendola, and Sickle-winged Guan – regular visitors to the banana feeders, which can be seen most days. Keep an eye out for Bay Wren and Sooty-headed Wren in the bushes behind the feeders as well. A Tayra, too, has been seen along the trail just below the house.

The star bird at Doña Dora is almost certainly the Toucan Barbet, though. This Chocó endemic species is only found in western Ecuador and Colombia and is typically a canopy species that can be hard to see well.

Not so here, where a large family of Toucan Barbets nest in a hollow tree trunk and are almost permanently present in the ficus tree and visiting the banana feeders. They can be observed practically at arm’s length throughout the day, making for spectacular photo opportunities. There likely is not a better place anywhere to admire this iconic species.

Birders with a thirst for adventure should continue south into Nariño, a former conflict area that is newly accessible to visitors.
Nariño is significantly more rustic than Valle or Cauca, but presents fantastic birding, particularly on the humid Pacific Slope.

Among the highlights is the legendary La Planada Reserve https://reservalaplanada.com/ which offers some of the best birding in Colombia.

With a bird list of almost 300 species, including some range-restricted ones, the jewel in the crown is the Plate-billed Mountain Toucan. Typically encountered in pairs or small groups, they move through the forest canopy.

Song is a far-carrying, metallic wail preceded by a bill rattle, repeated every few seconds. This beautiful toucan is only found at this one reserve in Colombia.

Plate-billed Mountain Toucan/Andigena laminirostris

Standing at the mirador (lookout) at dawn, overlooking a breathtaking view over the jungle towards the distant volcanoes and mountains of Ecuador, you can clearly hear their wailing calls.
When one finally lands in a nearby tree, it is enough to get your serious attention.

Other amazing species that can be found at La Planada include the Hoary Puffleg, White-faced Nunbird, and Toucan Barbet.
While at the mirador, right at the top of the preserve, it is possible to imagine what much of the continent looked like before the arrival of humans.

The Chocó Biogeographical Region comprises an area of some 75,000 sq kms/28,958 sq miles on the Pacific Coast of Colombia, spreading from Panamá to Ecuador.

Thanks to a combination of evolutionary, ecological, climatic, and geologic factors, this region presents the highest biodiversity concentration per area in the world. Between 7,000 and 8,000 out of the 45,000 species registered in Colombia are found in the Chocó.

Endemic plant species are more than 2,000 while endemic birds comprise more than 100 species, which represent the highest endemism levels on the Planet.

Afro-Colombian communities living in the area have developed a rich culture in harmony with the environment in that tropical oasis. It is a biodiverse region in a biodiverse country.
For these reasons and more, a visit to Chocó has to be high on any birder’s itinerary when visiting Colombia.

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