With over 1500 species of birds, Ecuador offers more bird diversity in less space than any other country in the world.

Geographic good fortune has blessed Ecuador with a wide variety of faunal zones, including some of the richest on this planet, each with its characteristic birds.

Ecuador's Amazonian faunal zone alone has more than 600 species of birds, and several other Ecuadorian zones are nearly as rich.
Ecuador's small size (equal to the U.S. state of Colorado) and well-developed transportation system means that this diversity can be easily accessed and experienced even by those with limited time and money.

The key to seeing lots of species in Ecuador is to visit as many different faunal zones as possible. However, if your goal is to observe a selection of birds closely, you will have a more satisfying experience by picking one or two zones and remaining there as long as
Ecuador's Faunal Zones.

For birding purposes, Ecuador can be divided into eight faunal zones:

• Amazonian Lowlands
• Northwestern (Choco) Lowlands
• Southwestern (Tumbesin) Lowlands
• Subtropics
• Eastern Subtropics
• Temperate
• Paramo
• Galapagos Islands

These zones are largely the result of the uplift of the Andes mountains, which separate and isolate western Ecuador from the eastern part of the country. Additionally, the western lowlands experience a strong moisture gradient from south (arid) to north (very wet), causing even more diversity.

Logistics

Birding Strategies in the Tropics
If you choose to go on your own, you can follow certain strategies to improve your chances of seeing that once-in-a-lifetime rarity.

One unsettling characteristic of tropical birds is their habit of foraging in large mixed-species flocks. This means that a birder might not see any birds at all for a long while, and then suddenly be confronted with forty or more species flitting around for ten minutes or so, followed once again by silence. Tropical birding depends on finding these flocks so why not let our guides do it for you!

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