Photographer: Dušan Brinkhuizen   Destination: Ecuador

Found in a relatively narrow belt along the Pacific slopes of the Chocó of western Colombia and Ecuador, the brilliantly bizarre Long-wattled Umbrellabird is a bird you are not going to want to miss. It is one of three Umbrellabirds, all of which are found in Central and South America. The most notable feature of Umbrellabirds is their distinctive crest which extends out over the bill. In display, the Umbrellabird fans out its crest to attract a female. In addition to this, the Long-wattled Umbrellabird also has an expandable wattle which can reputedly reach up to a foot in length.

Not only do we target the Long-wattled Umbrellabird in the diverse habitats that we explore on our Southern Ecuador tour but we also look for Horned Screamer, Bearded Guan, El Oro and White-breasted Parakeets, El Oro Tapaculo, Watkins, Crescent-faced and Jocotoco Antpittas, Rufous Potoo, White-headed Brush Finch, Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner, Elegant Crescentchest, Rainbow Starfrontlet, Ochraceous Attilla, Giant Conebill, Orange-throated Tanager, Band-bellied Owl, Coppery-chested Jacamar, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan, Rose-faced Parrot and Club-winged Manakin to name just a few.

The tour offers birding in a number of key areas including arid xerophytic scrub and semideciduous tropical forests of the Tumbesian region, over the continental divide’s grassy paramos and into the abundant and thriving forests of the eastern Andes. In total, this tour offers the opportunity to bird seven very distinct habitats.

For further information on our departure to Southern Ecuador please contact our office or click on the link below:

Southern Ecuador Endemics (11 – 26 Mar 2016 (16 days), US$4,350 per person sharing).