Ecuador - The Tanagers

Birding in the tropics holds a special fascination for me.  It is due to the outstanding families of birds, many of which are not represented in the United States and Canada.  Of those families found in the United States, the number of species in the tropics exceeds all we have to offer and really makes one aware of why there are over 10,000 species of the birds in the entire world.  However, we are losing species every year to extinction and most of that is due to habitat loss.  Mass areas of tropical rain forest are being cleared daily and many species are being squeezed out of places to breed and live.  

Fortunately, some countries in the tropics are starting to take note of this and are getting on the bandwagon and starting to promote ecotourism.  The natives are learning that tourism can bring revenue to their land and by not destroying the native vegetation, they will have income in years to come.  Costa Rica comes to mind as being a front-runner, but some South American countries are starting to take advantage of the ecotourism as well, and one of those countries is Ecuador.  

Ecuador is a fairly small country in size, but the diversity of bird life is amazing.  Over 1600 species of birds have been documented in a country that is roughly the size of the state of Nevada in the United States.  Compare those numbers to the United States that has documented a little over 1000 species. It is easy to see the incredible diversity in species in this small country. It is a must see location for any bird enthusiast of tropical birding. 

This first blog post will cover the tanagers that I was able to photograph during my stay.  The viewer will quickly note the diversity and palette of color in this family of birds.

Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager

 Black-chested Mountain-Tanager

Fawn-breasted Tanager

Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager

 Black-capped Tanager

Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager

 Flame-faced Tanager

 Golden Tanager

Golden-naped Tanager

 Flame-rumped Tanager

 Rufous-throated Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager

Lacrimose Mountain-Tanager

Total species of tanagers seen was 24, but I was only able to photograph 13 species.  There are a lot more species to be seen in Ecuador, so a future trip might someday be of interest.  However, there are a lot of places to see birds in this world and I know I will not be able to see them all, so I have to pick and choose what are the most appealing for me and my life list.  

Next post will feature a different family of birds that was very numerous in Ecuador.