Republic of Chile

• John Robinson

  | jhrobinson@terra.cl

• Number of bird species: 542

  (As at November 2018)

  National Bird - Andean Condor Vultur gryphus

• Number of endemics: 14 [4 Non-passerines; 10 Passerines + 2 'Breeding Endemics']

  Non-passerines: Chilean Tinamou Nothoprocta perdicaria Slender-billed Parakeet Enicognathus leptorhynchus Juan Fernandez Firecrown Sephanoides fernandensis (Critically Endangered) Chilean Woodstar Eulidia yarrellii

  Passerines: Crag Chilia Chilia melanura Seaside Cinclodes Cinclodes nigrofumosus Masafuera Rayadito Aphrastura masafuerae Dusky-tailed Canastero Asthenes humicola Chesnut-throated Huet-huet Pteroptochos castaneus Moustached Turca Pteroptochos megapodius White-throated Tapaculo Scelorchilus albicollis Dusky Tapaculo Scytalopus fuscus Juan Fernandez Tit-Tyrant Anairetes fernandezianus Chilean Mockingbird Mimus thenca

  Breeding Endemics: Juan Fernandez Petrel Pterodroma externa Stejneger's Petrel Pterodroma longirostris

• Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Chile

  | (Lista Comentada de las Aves de Chile) | by Manuel Marín | Lynx Edicions | 2004 | 141 pages, Tabs | ISBN: 9788487334597 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds of Chile

  | (Including the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia) | by Alvaro Jaramillo Illustrated by Peter Burke & David Beadle | Christopher Helm | 2003 | Paperback | 240 pages, 98 colour plates, colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9780713646887 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds of Chile

  | By Daniel E Martínez Piña & Gonzalo E González Cifuentes | Helm | 2021 | Hardback | 224 pages, 88 plates with colour illustrations, colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9781472987426 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds of Chile - A Photo Guide

  | By Steve NG Howell & Fabrice Schmitt | Princeton University Press | 2018 | Paperback | 240 pages, colour photos, 3 colour maps | ISBN: 9780691167398 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• The Essential Guide to Birding in Chile

  | By Mark Pearman | Worldwide Publishing | 1995 | Paperback | 96 pages, b/w illustrations, b/w maps | ISBN: 9780952441113 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Comité Nacional Pro Defensa de la Flora y Fauna (CODEFF)

  Website
  The BirdLife partner for Chile. The mission of the organisation is to be a non-government, national and community driven organisation that conserves the environment and promotes sustainable development. Ernesto Reyes 035, Providencia Santiago, CLadministra@codeff.cl

Abbreviations Key

• Chile's IBAs

  WebpageSatellite View
  177 IBAs with 109 globally threatened species...

• IBA Bahía Lomas

  InformationSatellite View
  The wetlands of the bay are important sites for the red knot, the Hudsonian godwit and other shorebirds. The wetlands are a Ramsar site of international importance and an Important Bird Area.

• NNR Los Flamencos

  InformationSatellite View
  The southern viscacha, vicuña and Darwin's rhea, are classified as endangered species. Others, such as Andean goose, horned coot, Andean gull, puna tinamou and the three flamingo species inhabiting in Chile (Andean flamingo, Chilean flamingo, and James's flamingo) are considered vulnerable.

• NNR Reserva Nacional Laguna Torca

  WebpageSatellite View
  The Reserve is divided into three very differemt areas. The first area is the main Lagoon area, where 120 species of birds, have been spotted,according to Head Ranger Don Luis…

• NNR Reserva Nacional Magallanes

  InformationSatellite View
  Reserva Nacional Magallanes is a national reserve of southern Chile's Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region.

• NP Lauca

  InformationSatellite View
  There are over 140 bird species, making it one of the best national parks for birding in Chile. Those include puna ibis, Andean goose, giant coot, puna tinamou, silvery grebe, crested duck, puna teal, Andean condor and Chilean flamingo.

• NP Parque Nacional Puyehue

  InformationSatellite View
  The spectacular Puyehue National Park is dominated by the maximum diversity of Nothofagus species, under which a dense undergrowth of Chusquea bamboo conceals a multitude of exciting but secretive tapaculos. One of the most spectacular is the huge Black-throated Huet-huet, 26 centimeters of black and chestnut plumes, which has a scolding, onomatopoeic call and a bird which positively vibrates as it broadcasts its deeply resonant song. In the Park you can see the Ochre-flanked Tapaculo, which is another monotypic genus and endemic to the Nothofagus forest. You can find some outstanding species including a number of specialty such as Bicoloured Hawk, Chilean Pigeon, Austral Pygmy-Owl, Green-backed Firecrown, the much sought-after Magellanic Woodpecker (South America's largest woodpecker), the tiny restless Des Murs's Wiretail and the poorly-known Patagonian Tyrant. Higher up, at the crater of the Volcan Raihuen, you can search for Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant and the striking Yellow-bridled Finch.

• NP Torres del Paine

  InformationSatellite View
  The park contains breeding populations of 15 bird of prey species and two others are likely reproducing here. Among them are Andean condor, black-chested buzzard-eagle, rufous-tailed hawk, cinereous harrier, chimango caracara, magellanic horned owl, austral pygmy-owl, to name but a few. Other birds occurring in the park include the Chilean flamingo, Darwin's rhea, coscoroba swan, black-necked swan, Magellanic woodpecker, Magellan goose, and black-faced ibis.

• NR Reserva Natural Urbana Humedal Tres Puentes

  Observatory WebsiteSatellite View
  El Humedal Tres Puentes es una pequeña superficie de 50 hectareas que concentra una gran variedad de especies características de la región de Magallanes, especies como el canquen colorado han hecho de su superficie un lugar predilecto año tras año…

• NR Reserva Rio Clarillo

  WebpageSatellite View
  Rio Clarillo reserve is near Pirque, south of the main part of Santiago… …you can see several Chilean endemics including the Dusky Tapaculo and White-throated Tapaculo as well as Chilean Tinamou and the common Chilean Mockingbird. The site to look for the two tapaculos is the trail that loops around the back of the park office, you may be able to find the local naturalist Carlos Sarmiento Sequel who may give you hand with locating birds…

• NS Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary (Rio Cruces)

  InformationSatellite View
  This sanctuary is an aquatic reserve with approximately 4.877 hectares at the end of the 'Rio Cruces' (Crosses River), in the province of Valdivia….

• ObsChile

  News, views and sightings
  Welcome to ObsChile, the forum sponsored by the ROC (Bird and Wildlife Observer Network of Chile), which aims to disseminate and exchange information about records and sightings of birds and other fauna groups present in Chile.

• Albatross Birding & Nature Tours

  Facebook Page
  People ask us why they should choose Chile for their next birds and nature experience...We say because it´s very beautiful, has great birds and is safe and easy to travel in. Chile is one of the most beautiful countries in the world with a physical geography that is surprisingly difficult to describe. A blend of New Zealand´s south Island, California and the world´s driest desert. Some 6,500 kilometers of coastline but never be more than 200 kilometres wide! As for the birds then get ready to find the penguins, albatrosses, pelicans, firecrowns, rayaditos, huet-huets, tapaculos, wiretails, earthcreepers, miners, shrike-tyrants and other unusual sounding species.

• Birds Chile

  Tour Operator
  Our mission is to contribute to the regeneration of natural heritage and to the preservation of cultural identity through Sustainable Tourism Experiences.

• Chile Birding

  Tour Operator
  Our company Chile Birding Chile Limitada is a special interest tourism company, with a work team with more than 10 years of experience in the field, especially linked to bird watching and tourist consultancies. We stand out for our professionalism and rigor, with collaborators from different areas, according to each need.

• Kolibri Expeditions

  Tour Operator
  Kolibri Expeditions offer a variety of programs in the Neotropics, but we usually do not have fixed departures. The trips below will be organised on request. The itineraries must therefore be seen as a draft before individual considerations. Whenever there is a trip scheduled this will show on this page. Come back to it and check once in a while for changes.

• Manu Expeditions

  Tour Operator
  Manu Expeditions is a professional company based in Peru with 25 years experience, offering bespoke birding trips to Chile, specialing in catering for serious bird watchers and photographers…

• Patagonia WildWatching

  Tour Operator
  My name is Cristofer De la Rivera, I’m Chilean and I live with my wife and our two children in Punta Arenas, Chile; the capital of Chilean Patagonia situated on the shore of the Strait of Magellan. I’m a Veterinarian by education and have worked as a Professional Guide and Tour Leader for over 7 years in Patagonia and Chile, running trips focused on Nature, Birdwatching, Kayak and Whalewatching in the Strait of Magellan and Puma sighting in Torres del Paine.

• Pucón Birding

  Tour Operator
  PuconBirding is a birdwatching and photography business since 2006. We custom design an experience for travelers in discovering the entry to Patagonia and the Andes mountains, with its lakes, rivers and volcanoes in Pucón-Chile.

• Rockjumper Birding Tours

  Tour Operator
  Our comprehensive tour of this fantastic and scenically stunning country takes us from the Humboldt Current along the rocky coastline right up to the high Paramo of the Andes. Birding targets include the striking Diademed Sandpiper-plover, Chilean Tinamou, Chestnut-throated and Black-throated Huet-huets, Chilean Woodstar and Slender-billed Parakeet.

• 2015 [02 February] - Marcelo Padua & John Coons - Chile & Argentina

  Report
  we had a picnic lunch watching Chilean Flamingos, Coscoroba Swans, Andean Gulls and many others. Then there was the lunch we had at my friends' house, where we enjoyed the wonderful Chilean hospitality and some of the best backyard birding one could hope for, with great looks at Spot-flanked Gallinule and Black-headed Ducks while sipping Pisco Sours; or the explosion of life when reached Viña Del Mar, where the abundance of birds with thousands of Franklin's Gulls, Inca Terns, Peruvian Pelicans, and several other species was a refreshing treat after several days of birding in the Argentine desert.

• 2015 [02 February] - Stephen Blaber - Southern Chile

  Report
  ...Eventually discovered a ‘path’ going into old growth forest and the tape again came up trumps giving us short views of another target – Black-throated Huet-Huet. The call of this species also attracted Chucao Tapaculo, which we had seen further north on a previous trip at Altos de Lircay. These birds were so attracted by the Huet-Huet call that they were virtually crawling and jumping over our feet. Magellanic Tapaculos also joined in.

• 2015 [03 March] - Fernando Díaz

  PDF Report
  During our stay we did two boat trips to the Motus. These three islets are around one kilometer from the main Island and have a mixed colony of Seabirds.

• 2015 [07 July] - Paola Soublete

  PDF Report
  Here we had amazing sightings of many scrubland birds such as Tufted Tittyrants, Plain-mantled Tit-spinetails, Rufous-tailed Plantcutters, Austral Thrushes, Fireeyed Diucons, the delicate and elegant Patagonian Tyrant among many others.

• 2015 [11 November] - Fernando Diaz

  PDF Report
  We found 2 other endemics, the splendidly lively Moustached Turca and then the tiny but very vocal Dusky Tapaculo and finally the Chilean Mockingbird.

• 2015 [12 December] - Adam Walleyn

  PDF Report
  ...The tour began with the pre-trip extension to thefar north of the country. The group convened atthe Santiago airport and embarked on the lengthyflight north to Arica, just south of the Peruvianborder. We headed straight to the coast andwere soon admiring such typical HumboldtCurrent species as Peruvian Pelican, PeruvianBooby, Red-legged and Guanay Cormorant,Gray and Belcher’s Gull and the incredible IncaTern....

• 2015 [12 December] - Ian Reid - Santiago

  PDF Report
  One bird stood out and was my key target: Diademed Sandpiper-plover is gorgeous looking, near-threatened and restricted to bogs and steppes of the high Andes, so birds do not come much more desirable than this. With breeding sites within a couple of hours of Santiago I was hopeful of adding to my growing and impressive list of rare waders from conference trips that included Mountain Plover, Ibisbill, Crab Plover, Nordmann’s Greenshank, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Wrybill and Black Stilt...

• 2015 [12 December] - Rodrigo Silva

  PDF Report
  Like everyone visiting El Yeso Valley their main target was to find the marvelous Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, but their wish-list also included Torrent Duck, Upland and Andean Goose, Andean Condor, Grey-breasted Seedsnipe, Mountain Parakeet, White-sided Hillstar, Creamy-rumped Miner, Crag Chilia, Dusky-tailed Canastero, Moustached Turca, Ground-Tyrants (as many species as possible!) and Yellow-rumped Siskin.

• 2016 [04 April] - Eduardo Navarro

  PDF Report
  We left the hotel at 7:00 a.m. and drove to our first birding stop where we rapidly found some good species including Moustached Turca and Dusky-tailed Canastero, both Chilean endemic.

• 2016 [05 May] - Alek Terauds

  PDF Report
  Keith and Alek attended a meeting in Santiago and after this had finished rewarded themselves with a day of good birding with Albatross birding and Nature Tours.

• 2016 [07 July] - Eduardo Navarro - Valparaíso Pelagic

  PDF Report
  ...As the light strengthened , we found the first Peruvian Diving Petrel-(Pelecanoides garnoti), Sooty Shearwaters (Ardenna grisea), Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) and a pair of Southern Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus)...

• 2016 [08 August] - Fernando Díaz - La Campana National Park

  PDF Report
  ...Our main goal was the elusive White-throated Tapaculo. We heard several of them but none were cooperative enough to allow us to see them. We walked for another few hundred meters and there on a slope we could see one of them running down the cleared areas and into the bushes. We then saw and heard this restless bird several times more. Also in the area was another endemic the, Dusky-tailed Canastero...

• 2016 [09 September] - Rodrigo Silva - Santiago: Mountains & Coast

  PDF Report
  ...we found one of the targets of the day, the Andean Condor, and some other good birds; Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, Darkfaced Ground-Tyrant, Gray-flanked Cinclodes and Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant...

• 2016 [12 December] - Eduardo Navarro - Central Chile

  PDF Report
  ...We had a good collection of high elevation birds that included: Rufous-banded miner, Scaly-throated Earthcreeper, White-browed and Ochre-naped Ground-tyrant....

• 2016 [12 December] - John van der Woude - Central-south Chile

  Report
  ...In the overwhelming forest of El Pionero trail above Aguas Calientes in Puyehue national park, the park along the road from Osorno to Argentina. Black-throated Huet-huet, Magellanic and Chucao Tapaculo all seen along thi trail just above and below -40.73820, -72.311693. On our trip, we heard the loud chucao call in many places but the bird is very shy....

• 2017 [01 January] - Geoff Upton - Chile, Easter Island & Argentina

  PDF Report
  ...new species including rosy-billed pochards, silver, speckled and ringed teal, coscoroba swans, great and white-tufted grebes, whistling and white-necked herons, rufescent tiger-heron, white-winged and red-fronted coots and a southern screamer...

• 2017 [02 February] - Fernando Medrano - Chile to Patagonia

  PDF Report
  We have seen 156 species, of which these are highlights: Stripe-backed Bittern, Diameded Sandpiper Plover, Chestnut-throated Huet-huet, Chucao tapaculo, Whitethroated tapaculo, Magellanic Plover, Ruddy-headed Goose, Dolphin Gull, Aplomado Falcon, Lesser Rhea and Hooded Grebe.

• 2017 [02 February] - Marcelo Padua & John Coons - Chile & Argentina

  Report
  Our tour produced some great avian treats, such as Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, Many-colored Chaco-Finch, White-fronted Woodpecker, and some nice Argentine endemics such as Sandy Gallito, Band-tailed Earthcreeper, and Steinbach’s Canastero.

• 2017 [09 September] - Paola Soublette

  PDF Report
  There are 829 species of terrestrial vertebrates in Chile. Despite high diversity ofecosystems, richness of bird species is low compared to other countries of South America.There are 480 described species of birds, 11 of them are endemic (2,3 %). The number ofnative mammal species is 160 of which 13 are endemic (8%). Among reptiles the rate ofendemism is high, 50% of the 126 native species are endemic. Finally the group with thehighest rate of endemism is the amphibians with 63 described native species, 72% ofwhich are endemic.

• 2017 [10 October] - Paola Soublette

  PDF Report
  This report summarizesJennifer Kotler’s and Daniel Light’s birding trip in Chile. Theycame to Santiago for work. After learning they would have a free day, they decidedto book an excursion to observe and photograph many species of native birds. Maintarget species was the beautiful Tufted-tit Tyrant, therefore, we designed a privatetrip for them where it was very likely to spot it.

• 2017 [11 November] - Eduardo Navarro

  PDF Report
  This trip report covers 5 days in the north of Chile. From the calm waters to the Ocean Pacific,through the fertile valleys to the high Andean plateau with high volcanoes and lagoons full ofcoots and flamingos.

• 2017 [11 November] - Mark Pearman

  PDF Report
  Once again, Ultimate Chile produced all of the mainland Chilean endemics, all eight tapaculos, some the size of a puffin, and an astonishing wader spectacle of 33 species...

• 2017 [11 November] - Willy Perez & Megan Edwards Crewe

  Report
  What adventures we had in Chile! From the barren starkness of Isla Grande in the south to the vast, silent stretches of the Atacama desert in the north, from spectacular peaks of Torres del Paine to the leafy Nothofagus forests of south-central Chile, from the rich, cold waters of the Humboldt current off Valparaiso to the high, stony Yeso valley and the bofedales and saline lakes of Lauca, we travelled the length and breadth of the country -- venturing to within a handful of kilometers of Argentina, Bolivia and Peru -- in search of its special birds. We had exceptionally fine weather throughout, with little wind and only a single night of rain (long after we were asleep); even our partially cloudy days were few and far between.

• 2017 [12 December] - Henk Hendriks

  PDF Report
  During this trip we covered the whole country from the far north to the far south in pursuit of all possible endemics, near-endemics and specialities of this country.

• 2018 [08 August] - Eduardo Navarro

  PDF Report
  This report covers two day trips in the Central area of Chile. A coastal day looking for a good collection of ducks and sea birds and a second day observing endemic species I a more dramatic landscape.

• 2018 [12 December] - Rodrigo Silva

  PDF Report
  We started our trip in Santiago, where Rodrigo picked Nick up, who after travelling through Patagonia, arrived to the Central zone...

• 2019 [01 January] - Stephen & Sandra Brauning - Chile & Falklands

  PDF Report
  Comparing Chile to other places we have traveled, birded and lived in Latin America, our overall impression is that it is a prosperous, orderly and safe country, easy to travel and bird.

• 2019 [02 February] - Ricardo Matus

  PDF Report
  The tour took place in central and Southern Chile birding in all possible sites according to the schedule designed and specially looking for target birds...

• 2022 [01 January] - Rob Jansen - Chile & Argentina

  PDF Report
  After arranging our car in Santiago, we drove south. Therefore we start this trip report south of where we ended our Southern Chile Trip report, from Chaitén further south towards what is best known as Patagonia.

• 2023 [02 February] - Brian Minshull

  PDF Report
  ...However, we scored quickly at the first real stop with Crag Chilia (and an Andean Akodont…), but thereafter, once in good habitat upstream of the Embalse El Yeso we really laboured for our key target, Diameded Sandpiper-Plover, and other goodies...

• Hacienda Laguna Torca

  Facebook Page
  There are two comfy Lodges available, Cascada and Laguna. Both very different from the norm…

• Aves de Chile

  Website
  The purpose of the website is to show visitors the diversity and characteristics of the birdlife that is possible to find in the country.

• Flora & Fauna: Chile's Wildlife Guide

  Webpage
  Wildlife observation consists on observing the natural flora and fauna of an area with recreational, educational or research aims. In Chile, it is a very common and highly valued activity, given its biodiversity.…

• Antonio Maureira - Aves de Concepcion Chile

  BLOG
  Last updated May 2016

• Francisco Zenteno - Aves que Viven en Chile

  BLOG
  This blog is only intended to provide a small grain of sand for those who one day, even without knowing why, stopped for a moment, paused and perceived that they traveled accompanied by endless melodies and forms full of life, and They were interested in knowing and discovering the Birds that Live in Chile.

• Heraldo Norambuena - Fotografia de Avifauna

  BLOG
  Last updated 2010 - I am a student of Biology in Natural Resources Management, from the Catholic University of Temuco. In 2007 I began to observe and photograph birds in the Araucanía, and in 2008 I began to study the assemblages of diurnal and nocturnal raptors of the natural monument Cerro Ñielol, a fragment of temperate forest in southern Chile.

• Roberto Cañete - Aves de la Araucania

  BLOG
  Roberto Cañete gives a cordial welcome to all who visit this blog, which aims to deliver a small sample of birdlife in the region of La Araucanía, from Nahuelbuta to Mehuín.

• Photographer - Manuel Jara - Fotografía de fauna chilena

  Gallery
  Manuel Jara - Soy estudiante de Biología en Gestión de Recursos Naturales, me gusta el estudio de la fauna en general, en especial de los reptiles. Te invito a conocer mi blog…