To be well informed about the many different birds that you can find in Ecuador we established this separate page about our favorite birds that you may discover during your birdwatching tour in Ecuador.
Antbirds
Moustached Antpitta
Grallaria alleni
This midsize to large antpitta is quite rare. It lives in subtropical forest undergrowth.
Boobies / Sulas
Nazca booby
Sula granti
Galapagos and Isla de la Plata, coastal areas, lives at open Sea when not breeding.
Blue-footed booby
Sula nebouxii
Galapagos and Isla de la Plata, coastal areas.
Cardinals
Red-capped cardinal
Paroaria gularis
Can be found in open waterside areas (East of Ecuador).
Cotinga
Andean Cock of the Rock
Rupicola Peruviana
Lives in subtropical forests, near rivers.
Flycatchers
Grey masked water tyrant
Fluvicola nengeta
This Ecuadorian bird can be found in lower subtropics, near water.
Social Flycatcher
Myiozetetes similis
Open wooded areas, near to water.
Herons
Snowy egret
Egretta thula
An Ecuadorian Bird that is mostly seen in Galapagos, near fresh and saltwater.
Striated heron (juv.)
Butorides striata
Common in lowlands, near water.
Lava heron
Butorides sundevalli
Galapagos only.
Hummingbirds
Long-tailed sylph
Aglaiocercus coelestis
Common in the eastern forest.
Long-tailed sylph
Aglaiocercus coelestis,
Common in the eastern forest.
Booted racked-tail
Ocreatus underwoodii
Great sapphirewing
Pterophanes cyanopterus
This bird is fairly seen in humid temperate forests.
Motmots
Broad-billed motmot
Electron platyrhynchum
Can be observed in humid forests. In east Ecuador mostly in flooded areas.
Opisthocomidae
Hoatzin
Opisthocomus hoazin,
Very common in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Tanager
Blue-necked Tanager
Tangara cyanicollis
Outside the forest, rather seen in subtropical forest edge.
Flame-faced Tanager
Tangara parzudakii
Andean mixed area, near canopy
Swallow Tanager
Tersina veridis
Lives on the humid forest edge, widespread in South America.
Trogons
Masked trogon
Trogon personatus
There are eight subspecies of the masked trogon that live in humid montane forests.
Woodpeckers
Crimson-mantled woodpecker
Colaptes rivolii
Remarkable about this woodpecker are its bright red and yellow colors.
Of course this is just a small selection. For a complete reference of all the birds in Ecuador we recommend this great field guide:
Ridgely, Robert S. and Paul J. Greenfield (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Cornell University Press. ISBNÂ 978-0801487217.
