Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west and Brazil to the east and south, French Guiana covers a total area of 84,000 km2 (32,000 square miles). It is home to approximately 316,000 people, half of whom live in its capital, Cayenne.
French Guiana is the second-largest region in France, being approximately one-seventh the size of Metropolitan France, and the largest outermost region within the European Union. It has a very low population density, with less than 4 inhabitants per square kilometre. Nearly 99% of French Guiana is covered by forests, much of it primeval rainforest. The Guiana Amazonian Park, the largest national park in the European Union covers 41% of its territory (33,900 km2).
The country consists of two main geographical regions: a coastal strip where the majority of the people live, and dense, near-inaccessible rainforest which gradually rises to the modest peaks of the Tumuc-Humac mountains along the Brazilian frontier. French Guiana’s highest peak is Bellevue de l’Inini in Maripasoula at just 2,792 feet.
Several small islands are found off the coast: the three Salvation’s Islands which include Devil’s Island, and the isolated Îles du Connétable bird sanctuary further along the coast towards Brazil. The Petit-Saut Dam, a hydroelectric dam in the north of French Guiana forms an artificial lake and provides hydroelectricity. There are many rivers in French Guiana, including the Waki River. The Amazonian forest, located in the most remote part of the department, is protected as the Guiana Amazonian Park, one of the ten national parks of France.
Devil’s Island – ©Christian F5UII CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
French Guiana has a predominantly equatorial climate. Located within six degrees of the Equator and rising only to modest elevations, French Guiana is hot and oppressively humid all year round. During most of the year, rainfall across the country is heavy due to the presence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and its powerful thunderstorm cells. In most parts of French Guiana, rainfall is always heavy especially from December to July – typically over 13 inches can be expected each month during this period throughout the department. Between August and November, the eastern half experiences a warm dry season with rainfall below 4 inches and average high temperatures above 30 °C occurring in September and October, causing eastern French Guiana to be classified as a tropical monsoon climate.
Birding French Guiana
The area of the Guyanese shield is covered by the largest wet tropical virgin forest not yet the victim of relentless deforestation. It is, by its nature, similar to that of Amazonia, which it is an extension of. It is home to many different ecosystems: tropical rainforests, coastal mangroves, savannahs, inselbergs and many types of wetlands. It lies within three eco-regions: Guianan Highlands moist forests, Guianan moist forests, and Guianan mangroves. It has a high level of biodiversity of both flora and fauna, due to the presence of old-growth forests, which are biodiversity hotspots. The rainforests of French Guiana provide shelter for many species during dry periods and terrestrial glaciation. These forests are protected by a national park (the Guiana Amazonian Park), seven additional nature reserves, and 17 protected sites. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the European Union (EU) have recommended special efforts to protect these areas.
Maroni River, Guiana Amazonian Park – ©Maurizio Alì CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
5,500 plant species have been recorded, including more than a thousand trees, along with 750 species of birds, 177 species of mammals, over 500 species of fish including 45% of which are endemic and 109 species of amphibians. French Guiana’s high biodiversity is similar to that of other regions with tropical rainforests, such as the Brazilian Amazon, Borneo and Sumatra. The various biotopes it contains are:
Forest, scrub and forest edges, rivers and ravines, marshes, mangroves and lagoons, savannas and pastures, cities and gardens and the coast.
Environmental threats include habitat fragmentation from roads, which remains very limited compared to other forests of South America; immediate and deferred impacts of EDF’s Petit-Saut Dam; gold mining; poor control of hunting and poaching, facilitated by the creation of many tracks; and the introduction of all-terrain vehicles. Logging remains moderate due to the lack of roads, difficult climate and difficult terrain. The beaches of the Amana Nature Reserve are an exceptional marine turtle nesting site; one of the largest worldwide for the leatherback turtle.
La Réserve Naturelle des Marais de Kaw – ©Jo Carletti CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
It can appear paradoxical to say that in Guyana it is often difficult to observe birds when it is known that not less than 750 species are present there! However, while the species are numerous, the numbers of individuals are less so. Certainly some, like the Harpie Eagle, are ‘naturally’ scarce because of their immense territory: nearly 10’000 hectares for each pair! Moreover, many species flock and move together. These movements are known as waves. Thus, it is possible to go hours in the forest without seeing anything, then suddenly be confronted with a bewildering array of species, which will make you try and turn your head in all the directions at once!
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Thierry Nogaro
https://www.gepog.org
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Number of bird species: 757
(As at January 2025)
Number of endemics: 1
Cayenne Nightjar Caprimulgus maculosus
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Avibase
PDF ChecklistThis checklist includes all bird species found in French Guiana , based on the best information available at this time. It is based on a wide variety of sources that I collated over many years. I am pleased to offer these checklists as a service to birdwatchers. If you find any error, please do not hesitate to report them. -
Wikipedia
Annotated ListThis is a list of the bird species recorded in French Guiana. The avifauna of French Guiana has 727 confirmed species, of which one is endemic. Two have been introduced by humans and 69 are rare or vagrants. An additional 17 species are hypothetical. There is also an additional vagrant species added from another source and is not included in the above counts. -
eBird
PDF ChecklistThis checklist is generated with data from eBird (ebird.org), a global database of bird sightings from birders like you. If you enjoy this checklist, please consider contributing your sightings to eBird. It is 100% free to take part, and your observations will help support birders, researchers, and conservationists worldwide.
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Birds of Northern South America
| Volume 1: Species Accounts An Identification Guide | by Robin Restall, Clemencia Rodner & Miguel Lentino | 2006 | Paperback | ISBN: 9780713672428 Buy this book from NHBS.com -
The Birds of French Guiana (Les Oiseaux de Guyane)
| by Tanguy Deville | 2018 | Hardback | 324 pages, 200 colour photos | French | ISBN: 9782366622041 Buy this book from NHBS.com
All Birds Guianas
Apple iOS |This app contains all species ever recorded in the Guianas, covering the countries Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana.
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Background Information for travellers
InformationSee the Lonely Planet website
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GEPOG
WebsiteBirds of French Guyana, 1000 pictures, sounds, travel -
Guyane Association Ornithologie
WebsiteAn organisation of people animated by the same passion (breeding and reproduction of exotic birds) in order to preserve endangered species and promote them by competitions; allow cultural exchange with bordering countries (Brazil, Surinam, Georgetown). -
Guyane Association Ornithologie - Lorti
Facebook PageLa G.A.O Section Lorti a pour but d'entretenir et développer des relations amicales entre ses différents membres,ayant la passion du Lorti -
Le Pou D'Agouti
WebsiteCreated in February 1990, the Pou d'Agouti is an association (law 1901) for the protection of the environment that works in close collaboration with the populations, Black and Amerindian black organizations of western French Guiana. -
SEPANGUY - Société d'Étude, de Protection et d'Aménagement de la Nature en GUYane
WebsiteSEPANGUY is a non-profit organization working for the protection of the environment in French Guiana. Created in 1964 by Father Barbotin under the name of Zoological Society, it is the oldest of its kind in the region.
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*List of protected areas of French Guiana
InformationSatellite ViewThere are several protected areas of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The largest protected area is the Guiana Amazonian Park which covers 20,300 square kilometres (7,800 sq mi). As of 2020, 52% of the land territory is protected, and contains one national park, one regional nature reserve, six national nature reserves, two wilderness areas, and 20 sites protected by Conservatoire du littoral. -
NNR La Trinité
InformationSatellite ViewIt protects 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of tropical rainforest in the communes of Mana and Saint-Élie. -
NP Guiana Amazonian Park
InformationSatellite ViewIt cannot be accessed from the sea-shore or by any other means other than by airplane or pirogue. The protected area covers some 20,300 square kilometres (7,840 sq mi) for the central area (where full protection is enforced) and 13,600 square kilometres (5,250 sq mi) for the secondary area. Thus, the overall protected area represents some 33,900 square kilometres (13,090 sq mi) of rain forest. -
NR Reserve Naturelle Ile du Grand-Connetable
WebsiteSatellite ViewLa protection réglementaire des milieux naturels de la réserve ne peut, à elle seule, garantir leur maintien à long terme. La présence, sur le terrain, d'une équipe de gestionnaires, et un suivi scientifique rigoureux, sont nécessaires pour mener à bien la mission première d'une réserve naturelle : la conservation de ce patrimoine naturel…. -
NR Tresor and Kaw Nature Reserve
WebsiteSatellite ViewSpread over nearly 2,500 hectares of the southwestern flank of the mountain of Kaw, the regional nature reserve (RNR) Trésor lays between a provincial road uphill and the Orapu River downhill.
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eBird
SightingseBirding This Month
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Jal Voyages
Local Tour Operator...created for more than 30 years and based in Cayenne, invites you to discover all the touristic sites of French Guiana: Kaw Marsh, Maroni, Approuague, Oyapock, Kourou River, Gabriel Creek, Islands of Salvation -
Manikup Birding Tours
Local Tour OperatorCustom birding trips in French Guiana, on request
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2023 [12 December] - Josh Beck
PDF ReportFrench Guiana isn’t too well known on the birding circuit but perhaps it deserves to be. With easy access to White-throated Pewee, Band-tailed Antshrike, Black-throated Antshrike, Red-billed Woodcreeper, Guianan Red-Cotinga, Dusky Purpletuft, Guianan Gnatcatcher, White-winged Potoo, a large chunk of the widespread Guianan Shield endemics, and genuine chances for the very rarely seen Sooty Barbthroat and Rusty Tinamou, it’s a pretty appealing place...
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Birding French Guiana
ArticleIn the third of our articles about birding the Guianas, a local expert guides us around French Guiana... -
Preliminary Checklist Of The Birds Of Central French Guiana
WebsiteThis list is a compilation of both published observations and species observed on expeditions led by Scott Mori. The names used in this list follow the taxonomy of Hoyo et al. (1999) and Ridgely and Tudor (1989, 1994).