No other country in the world holds as many bird species in such a reduced space of land. Ecuador is the third country in the world in bird diversity, regardless of its small territory. You don't need to be an expert to experience the exhilaration of the encounter with such a diversity of birds. Their amazing explosion of colors and astonishing whereabouts are hard for anyone to pass up!

Some bird species are only found in the country -14 to be precise. Such is the case of the Black-breasted Puffleg, the emblematic bird of Quito. Other 260 species are found only in Ecuador and the neighboring countries.

Hummingbirds have a special ability to overwhelm their observers. In Andean America, these birds are commonly known as "quindes" (from the indigenous Quichua word). The more than 130 species that live in Ecuador include the stunning Sword-billed Hummingbird and the Fiery Topaz. To cite an example of the country's diversity based in field studies, 20 hummingbird species coexist in the Yanacocha cloud forests close to Quito, on the Northwest side of the Pichincha volcano. Of these twenty species, 18 can be found simultaneously at the same altitude.

More than 100 sites of special importance of bird diversity have been pointed out in the country.

These sites are known as IBAs (Important Bird Areas), and are part of an international program that is being developed to protect sites of exceptional importance for bird conservation. In Ecuador, this program is coordinated by Aves&Conservación, partner of BirdLife International. The main criteria for the identification of these sites are: the presence of endangered and / or endemic species and the presence of migratory and gregarious bird species.

Ecuador's IBAs are found not only in national protected areas, but also in urban sites. More than 50% of Ecuador's IBAs already have tourist facilities, and are growing in infrastructure. The distribution of the IBAs in the county's regions is as follows: 10 in the Galapagos Islands, 44 in the Coast, 47 in the Andes and 6 in the Amazonia.

One of the ecosystems with the most outstanding bird diversity in the country is the cloud forest. Located in this ecosystem, Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve (see ad below) is only an hour and a half drive from Quito (Northwest). Some other exceptional bird diversity sites in the country are: the Machalilla, Yasuní, and Podocarpus National Parks, and the Tapichalaca Reserve.

Recommended reading: The Birds of Ecuador by Bob Ridgely and Paul Greenfield.

Info and photos courtesy of: Aves & Conservation and Andean Birding

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