Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

• Amazonas - Gavilán Road

  Satellite View
  Due in part to lack of access, Venezuelan Amazonas is relatively little birded in comparison with the neighbouring countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. The best-known lodge, Junglaven, is rather remote and costly to access, so it comes as a welcome surprise to find excellent Amazonian birding just a few kilometres south of the sleepy town of Puerto Ayacucho. I first accompanied Mary Lou Goodwin along this road several years ago and am certain that continued exploration will produce a very respectable bird list. Although the road has been heavily deforested and initially looks rather fruitless, perseverance pays off. The road gives access to a variety of Amazonian habitats including savannah, white sand scrub, moriche palm swamps and tall humid forests and it is a good idea to bird all habitats to ensure a good representative overview. Typical Amazonian groups are the bread-and-butter of this road: about 15 species of parrot, six toucans, four Celeus woodpeckers, plenty of woodcreepers, Furnariids and antbirds and a host of flycatchers and tanagers. The remaining chunks of primary forest are good places to listen for Rufous-winged Ground-Cuckoo; White-plumed and Rufous-throated Antbirds will be found at the same antswarms. Treetops should be scanned for Paradise Jacamar, Spangled and Pompadour Cotingas and White-browed Purpletuft. Moriche swamps hold the specialist Point-tailed Palmcreeper and Sulphury Flycatcher. Forested creeks have Long-billed Woodcreeper, Black-chinned Antbird and, with luck, Amazonian Black-Tyrant. Guianan Cock-of-the-Rocks are not uncommon and add a touch of colour. Good accommodation exists on the outskirts of Puerto Ayacucho and many more Amazonian species can be picked up at a variety of sites nearby.

• Andes - La Mucuy and the Humboldt Trail

  Satellite View
  The Humboldt Trail is another of those must bird sites. This Andean trail is a wide, old Spanish pack-horse track which winds up from the ranger station at La Mucuy to the Pico Humboldt. Fortunately, the only users are hikers and birders with the occasional curious day-visitor, so that it is not uncommon to enjoy these marvellous cloud forests and their avian denizens in complete solitude. The trail begins at 2100m and can comfortably be birded to about 2700m in a morning – above that one can camp in order to access the high-altitude bamboo breaks and páramo. Often, the first species one encounters is Rufous-banded Owl in the La Mucuy car park itself. The recreation area provides excellent birding with Mérida Sunangel, Gorgeted Woodstar and Moustached Brush-Finch being typical. During the northern winter migrant warblers fill out the colourful subtropical mixed feeding flocks. Further up the trail Rose-headed Parakeet, Golden-headed Quetzal, Golden Starfrontlet, Mérida Tapaculo, Golden-breasted Fruiteater and White-fronted Whitestart are usually easy. Rusty-faced Parrots are a question of luck whilst the four species of Antpitta, including the endemic Grey-naped, require patience. Of the four Hemispingus, Grey-capped is common, whereas Slaty-backed is unreliable at the higher elevations. Excellent accommodation is available just a short drive from the trailhead.

• Coastal Cordillera - Henri Pittier National Park

  Satellite View
  Created in 1937 in honour of a Swiss botanist, Henri Pittier National Park has acquired legendary status amongst Neotropical birders and today figures as an obligatory stop on any visitor`s itinerary. Although the park comprises just over 1000 square kilometres – half the size of the United Kingdom`s Snowdonia National Park – the list of species recorded tops 550 and includes several Venezuelan first records. Besides quantity, the park also provides quality in the form of a large number of rare and endemic species. The chief attraction is its lush cloud forest which harbours avian delights such as Venezuelan Wood-Quail, Band-tailed Guan, Helmeted Curassow, Groove-billed Toucanet, Guttulated Foliage-gleaner, White-streaked Antvireo, Scallop-breasted Antpitta, Scalloped Antthrush, Caracas Tapaculo, Venezuelan Bristle-Tyrant, Handsome Fruiteater and Rufous-cheeked Tanager. Raptors are particularly conspicuous and Black Hawk-Eagle, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle and Solitary Eagle are all considerably easier to encounter here than elsewhere within their wide range. The deciduous forests of the lower slopes are home to Black-backed Antshrike, Venezuelan Flycatcher and Golden-winged Sparrow while the coast holds Buffy Hummingbird, Bicoloured Conebill and Glaucous Tanager. In addition to its resident avifauna, the park is famous for the Portachuelo Pass, which is one of the most studied migratory routes in the Neotropics. Excellent accommodation at several strategic sites on the park borders makes this area a real pleasure to bird.

• Llanos - Hato Piñero

  Satellite View
  The Venezuelan llanos, or 'flatlands', provide a wildlife spectacle on a par with anything else America has to offer and, indeed, have sometimes been referred to as America's East Africa. The llanos flood during the wet season and some regions become a vast lake. With the onset of the dry season, the waters drop and isolated creeks and pools begin to dry up, creating a feeding bonanza for caiman, anacondas, mammals and birds alike. Hato Piñero is a private cattle ranch nestling in the northern llanos and offering birding packages in comfortable accommodation. The draft list of birds found at the 800 square kilometre ranch currently stands at 300 and when you take your first ride in one of the open-top trucks, it's easy to believe that the total will eventually be much higher. Seven species of ibis can be found on a single excursion, herons and egrets abound, Yellow-knobbed Curassows are a traffic hazard and Sunbitterns are easier to view here than almost anywhere else. Besides its extensive wetlands, Hato Piñero also boasts one of the largest areas of intact deciduous forest in the entire llanos, a habitat which is home to White-fringed Antwren, White-throated Spadebill, Fuscous Flycatcher, Pale-tipped Inezia, Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant and Trinidad Euphonia. Gallery forests hold Pale-headed Jacamar, Rusty-backed Spinetail and Orinocan Saltator while forest patches are good for Dwarf Cuckoo, Scarlet Macaw, Russet-throated Puffbird and White-bearded Flycatcher. Night excursions are a major attraction and typically produce Common and Great Potoos, Lesser Nighthawk, Pauraque and White-tailed Nightjar, though Nacunda Nighthawk and Striped Owl, Spectacled Owl and large cats are regular: Hato Piñero is one of the best places anywhere within its wide range to encounter a Jaguar.

• Tepuis - La Escalera

  Satellite View
  Yet another, legendary birding name, La Escalera literally means the staircase and refers to a road which winds up from the Guayanan lowland forests onto the grassy plateau known as the Gran Sabana. The escarpment up which the road climbs is covered in a dense cloud forest which is home to most of the Pantepui endemics which are more typical of the foothill slopes of the table mountains (tepuis) proper; thus it gives easy access to real Pantepui birding. There are some at least 38 Pantepui endemics (more study is certain to reveal further endemics); many of which are only found in Venezuela and most of which are far more easily seen here than anywhere else. Easily found along the forested roadside are Fiery-shouldered Parakeet, Rufous-breasted Sabrewing, Peacock Coquette, Velvet-browed Brilliant, Scarlet-horned Manakin, Scarlet-horned Manakin, Orange-bellied Manakin, Tepui Brush-Finch, Tepui Whitestart and Tepui Mountain-Grackle. An eye overhead will usually be rewarded with Tepui Swifts and the rather less reliable Tepui Parrotlet. More challenging still are skulkers like Tepui Tinamou, Tepui Antpitta and Flutist Wren. The beginning of the Gran Sabana is the place to look for Tepui Goldenthroat as well as Russet-crowned Crake and Tawny-headed Swallow and rarities like Giant Snipe and Bearded Tachuri. In the dry season the forested slopes and sandstone cliffs echo to the ethereal songs of White and Bearded Bellbirds. In addition, more world-class birding is to be had in the lowlands at the foot of La Escalera. Excellent accommodation is available five minutes from the base of La Escalera.

• Chris Sharpe

  Contributor of Top Sites | sharpebirder AT gmail.com

• Gunnar Engblom

  | kolibriexp@telefonica.net.pe

  Website

• Number of bird species: 1383

  (As at May 2019)

• Number of bird species: National Bird

  Venezuelan Troupial Icterus icterus

• Number of endemics: 54 - 15 Non-passerines

  Tepui Tinamou Crypturellus ptaritepui, Venezuelan Wood-quail Odontophorus columbianus, Tepui Nightjar Systellura roraimae, Merida Sunangel Heliangelus spencei, Venezuelan Sylph Aglaiocercus berlepschi, White-bearded Helmetcrest Oxypogon lindenii, Golden Starfrontlet Coeligena eos, Scissor-tailed Hummingbird Hylonympha macrocerca, Rusty-flanked Crake Laterallus levraudi, Plain-flanked Rail Rallus wetmorei, Groove-billed Toucanet Aulacorhynchus sulcatus, Black-spotted Piculet Picumnus nigropunctatus, Venezuelan Parakeet Pyrrhura emma, Red-eared Parakeet Pyrrhura hoematotis, Rose-headed Parakeet Pyrrhura rhodocephala,

• Number of endemics: 54 - 39 Passerines

  Great Antpitta Grallaria excelsa, Tachira Antpitta Grallaria chthonia, Grey-naped Antpitta Grallaria griseonucha, Scallop-breasted Antpitta Grallaricula loricata, Sucre Antpitta Grallaricula cumanensis, Merida Tapaculo Scytalopus meridanus, Caracas Tapaculo Scytalopus caracae, Guttulate Foliage-gleaner Syndactyla guttulata, White-throated Barbtail Premnoplex tatei, Paria Barbtail Premnoplex pariae, Ochre-browed Thistletail Asthenes coryi, Orinoco Softtail Thripophaga cherriei, Delta Amacuro Softtail Thripophaga amacurensis, Black-throated Spinetail Synallaxis castanea, Handsome Fruiteater Pipreola formosa, Rufous-lored Tyrannulet Phylloscartes flaviventris, Venezuelan Bristle-tyrant Pogonotriccus venezuelanus, Maracaibo Tody-flycatcher Todirostrum viridanum, Venezuelan Tyrannulet Zimmerius petersi, Urich's Tyrannulet Phyllomyias urichi, Blackish Chat-tyrant Ochthoeca nigrita, Rufous-browed Chat-tyrant Ochthoeca superciliosa, Merida Wren Cistothorus meridae, Caracas Brush-finch Arremon phaeopleurus, Paria Brush-finch Arremon phygas, Merida Brush-finch Atlapetes meridae, Green-billed Oropendola Psarocolius oleagineus, Grey-headed Warbler Basileuterus griseiceps, White-fronted Whitestart Myioborus albifrons, Paria Whitestart Myioborus pariae, White-faced Whitestart Myioborus albifacies, Guaiquinima Whitestart Myioborus cardonai, Duida Grass-finch Emberizoides duidae, Slaty-backed Hemispingus Poospiza goeringi Grey-capped Hemispingus Kleinothraupis reyi, Venezuelan Flowerpiercer Diglossa venezuelensis, Merida Flowerpiercer Diglossa gloriosa, Rufous-cheeked Tanager Tangara rufigenis, Chestnut-breasted Tanager Tangara arthus,

• Birding in Venezuela

  | By Mary Lou Goodwin | Sociedad Conservacionista Audubon de Venezuela | 2003 | Edition 5 | Paperback | 332 pages, B/w illustrations | ISBN: 9788487334481 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds of Northern South America

  | Volume 1: Species Accounts An Identification Guide | By Robin Restall, Clemencia Rodner & Miguel Lentino | Christopher Helm | 2006 | Paperback | ISBN: 9780713672428 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds of Venezuela

  | By David Ascanio, Gustavo A Rodriguez & Robin L Restall | Bloomsbury Publishing | 2017 | Paperback | 592 pages, 248 plates with colour illustrations; colour photos, colour illustrations, colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9781408105351 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds of Venezuela

  | By Steven L Hilty, John Gwynne & Guy Tudor | Christopher Helm | 2002 | Paperback | 878 pages, 67 colour and b/w plates, 44 colour photos, 20 line illustrations, 1378 maps | ISBN: 9780713664188 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Site Guides: Venezuela

  | A Guide to the Best Birding Locations Dennis W Rogers48 pages, maps.Cinclus 1993 ISBN: 9780963776501 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• 

  All Birds Venezuela

  | (a complete field guide to identify all the bird species recorded in Venezuela) | Mullen & Pohland GbR | 2 GB | Requires iOS 8.0 or later |
  
  This app is an electronic field guide and contains all 1412 species ever recorded in Venezuela. This app fills a gap in the region and is the only bird app available for Venezuela! It is based on the renowned reference work of the Helm Guide Series "Birds of Northern South America" by Robin Restall, Clemencia Rodner, and Miguel Lentino. The creation of apps from the book is a co-production between Bloomsbury Plc and Sunbird Images. The app contains 4,620 illustrations and more than 3,000 bird songs and calls in total!

• La Mucuy Bird Observatory

  Observatory WebsiteSatellite View
  Located in the Mérida Mountains, Sierra Nevada National Park, Venezuela - Although Venezuela is not widely recognized as an important place for Neotropical migrant birds, its importance appears to be underestimated…

• Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales

  Facebook Page
  Edif. Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales, piso 2, Calle Arichuna, Urb. El Marques Caracas, Call (0212) 2728708 Twitter: @Audubon_VZLA

• Venezuelan Audubon Society

  Website
  The Venezuelan Audubon Conservation Society (SCAV) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization composed of nature-loving people interested in promoting the study, conservation and enjoyment of the extraordinary natural wealth of our country, especially its avifauna. In order to promote the interest of the community in the preservation of this natural heritage, SCAV works in three main areas: Education, Research and Ecotourism.

Abbreviations Key

• Estacion Biologica El Frio

  Facebook PageSatellite View
  The biological station and visitor facilities are located in the heart of El Frío ranch, about 90 miles west of San Fernando de Apure, in Apure state, Venezuela. Located on both sides of the San Fernando-Mantecal road, El Frío encompasses about 200,000 acres. The site is a functioning cattle ranch, which supports 45,000 head of cattle and 1,000 horses. Combining its cattle raising activity with research and ecotourism, Hato El Frío represents one of the best examples of the ecosystems of the flooded llanos. Beyond the ubiquitous spectacled caimans and capybaras, the ranch is home to large flocks of herons, ibises, and storks that congregate around watering holes. El Frío is actively involved in conservation issues, serving as a breeding station for rare Orinoco crocodiles.

• Los Llanos Grasslands

  InformationSatellite View
  More than 400 species of birds speckle the grasslands with white, crimson, yellow, blue, orange and black. Scarlet Ibis, chestnut-fronted Macaws, Jabiru Storks, black-collared Hawks, as well as the prehistoric-looking Hoatzin, call it their home. The Llanos also shelter a wide array of other animals such as giant anteaters, wild horses, armadillos, iguanas, tortoises, red howler and capuchin monkeys…

• NP Canaima

  InformationSatellite View
  It is located in Bolívar State, reaching the borders with Brazil and Guyana. Home to harpy Eagle, Dusky Parrot, Red-shouldered Macaw and many other birds.

• NP Cerro El Copey

  InformationSatellite View
  It iIs a protected area with the status of a national park located to the east of the Caribbean island of Margarita, in the highest mountainous region of Nueva EspartaState. It is surrounded by desert plains and this is why, despite its scarce 960 m elevation, it has green forests and montane grasslands that feed on the humidity provided by the trade winds.

• NP Cerro Saroche

  InformationSatellite View
  The park is located in the state of Lara, between Barquisimeto and Carora.

• NP Henri Pittier

  InformationSatellite View
  Its 107,800 hectares, located in the north of Aragua state, comprise most of the Araguan coast and mountainous area of Carabobo state. It also borders San Esteban National Park. Henri Pittier National Park is the largest among the national parks of the Venezuelan Coastal Range. There are more than 500 bird species and 22 endemic species.

• NP Tirgua

  InformationSatellite View
  It consists of deciduous and semi-deciduous forests, with many palm trees in the understory. Mammals include araguato capuchin monkeys, cunaguaros, lapas, and tapirs.

• NP Yacambú

  InformationSatellite View
  Yacambú National Park is in the state of Lara, on the southern slope of the Portuguesa Cordillera, which is part of the northern Andes range. The park was created in 1962 to protect the watershed of the Yacambú River, whose waters will feed the José María Ochoa Pilé reservoir once dam construction is complete…

• National Parks - by State

  WebsiteSatellite View
  a page for each

• WR Hato Pinero

  Facebook PageSatellite View
  Hato Piñero has for almost 50 years, been a unique example of agricultural development, through the use of the most advanced techniques and practices in agricultural and livestock husbandry, yet conserving nature in its natural state...

• ABTbirds

  Tour Operator
  whether you are an individual traveler or you like to join fellow birders, we can arrange a wide variety of birding tours to the famed Rancho Grande, the vast plains (Llanos), the Andes, the mountains of Paria, the Lake Maracaibo basin and the Tepuis. Over the years, we have found locations to look for the Roraiman Nightjar (our first record is back to 1984!), Scallop-breasted Antpitta, Recurve-billed Bushbird, Tepui Wren, Orinoco Softtail, Gray-headed Warbler, Great Antpitta and 3 yet undescribed birds among others

• Angel Eco-Tours

  Facebook Page
  The sound of hundreds of parrots awakening breaks the silence. You and your travel companions climb out of your beds to see the sunrise and experience the wonder that is Venezuela

• Arassari Trek [formerly Bum Bum Tours]

  Tour Operator
  All our trips are highly educational and designed to give fair paid work to people living in remote areas. Ecological conscience and conservation of the environment are our main concerns to help preserve Venezuela as beautiful as it is right now.

• Geodyssey

  Tour Operator
  You might choose to tour Venezuela staying in comfortable hotels and lodges with opportunities to explore each region. You might like to have an active holiday, going on an adventurous trek or a river journey deep in the more remote regions of Venezuela. You might be keen to see something of Venezuela`s huge diversity of birds and wildlife. Even if you prefer just to relax on a beautiful beach, Venezuela offers you a choice from lively beach-life to quiet Robinson Crusoe beaches fringed with palm trees. (There is also the tourist island of Margarita, which is best avoided if you would prefer to see the real Venezuela.)

• Natoura Adventure Tours

  Tour Operator
  Since its inception in 1986, NATOURA has remained a team of young and enthusiastic nature lovers, who specialize in organizing safe and exciting Eco & Adventure tours throughout our beautiful and diverse country

• 2016 [05 May] - Eustace Barnes

  PDF Report
  A spectacularly diverse biological haven; Venezuela is one of the most exciting destinations for birders although not one without its problems. Extending the tour to explore remote sites including the other-worldly summit of Mount Roraima makes for what is, the most adventurous and rewarding tour to this fascinating region.

• Hato el Cedral

  Accommodation
  Hato El Cedral is located in the low plains of Venezuela`s Apure, near the town of Mantecal, in the country`s vast interior grasslands known as the llanos. Its 53,000 hectares (106,000 acres) are both a working cattle ranch with more than 20,000 head of cattle and an important tourist center for the growing interest in ecological and adventure tourism. This camp provides its visitors with one of the most outstanding displays of animal wildlife in the western hemisphere. In addition to being a working ranch, El Cedral is also considered an ecological reserve, and hundreds of species of wild animals run free. The wildlife here are unaware of the danger associated with man`s presence, because hunting has been banned for many years. El Cedral is the only ranch where animals are friendly and abundant, which distinguishes it as the best on the Venezuelan plains!

• Orinoco Delta Lodge

  Accommodation
  Is a family run operation specialized in nature and adventure travel in The Orinoco Delta Region in Venezuela with offices in Tucupita and Playa el Agua in Margarita Island

• Ucaima Camp

  Accommodation
  This is the oldest of the camps in the area. Well known Rudy "Jungle Rudy" Truffino built his camp in Ucaima, a few minutes by jeep upriver from Canaima on the banks of the Carrao River in the 1950's. It is now operated by his daughters who provide warm, friendly service to the guests and are always available for chatting with guests about the beauty of the Lost World region. Encounters there included half a dozen resident black-capped parrots, a baby giant anteater, a tapir, a resident macaw, and a friendly boa constrictor

• Aves de Venezuela

  Website
  Aqui encontrar

• Birds of Venezuela

  Website App
  The aim of this work is to cover as many vocalizations of as many bird species as possible, occurring in Venezuela.

• Venezuela Yours

  Website
  Those large black birds, with long, sharp and extended wings, showing a whitish or intense red colored swollen throat, are the Frigate Birds, the

• Venezuelan Birds

  Website
  Venezuela! A birders paradise

• Siempre Verde Venezuela

  BLOG
  ...connecting people to nature