Reddit reviews Birdwatching in Colombia

Hi, I've spent about 1.5 years in Colombia working on research projects and birding for fun (my Colombia bird list is 998 species). I made this video which should help get you hyped up for birding in Colombia! The Proaves McMullan bird guide is indeed your best option for actually carrying in the field, but honestly many of the illustrations are TERRIBLE. For example you are basically shit out of luck with some flycatchers with that book. Many of the funarids are pretty bad too. But its not too expensive and light so I'd go with that in the field. Another issue is Proaves is kind of a shady organization, but thats a whole other issue.

I prefer Restal's "Birds of Northern South America" over Hilty's "Birds of Colombia", But Hilty is pretty good too. The problem with Hilty is how big it is, how the maps are separate from the illustrations, the varying quality of the illustrations (the ones by guy tudor are great but some of the other illustrators aren't as good), how outdated it is, and how it doesn't have all of the species (doesn't include migratory species). For this reason I would recommend Restal (the second part, the illustrations). It's not perfect, and for example I'm not a big fan of many of the hummingbird illustrations, but mostly the illustrations are pretty good! The maps aren't perfect but they are at least next to the plates. So my usual strategy is to bring the Proaves guide in the field (and let it get trashed since its cheaper, I'm on my third copy) and keep Restal back at my camp, and Hilty too if possible.

I would also recommend buying this book. I honestly can't emphasize enough how much this book has helped me bird independently in Colombia. If you're using a bird tour guide service (expensive), then this probably isn't necessary, but if you're birding independently then this book is extremely helpful. Especially if you aren't too familiar with the many different habitats of Colombia, then this book will help you to understand what your options are for planning trips. For example, you mentioned you want to see Cock-of-the-Rock and Hoatzin, but these occur in vastly different habitats and you have to plan accordingly to see both in one trip.

I have loads of recommendations of where to bird in Colombia but I would need more info first, such as how much time you plan on staying there, if you're traveling solo, and if you have any idea what kind of habitats or birds you want to focus on. Unless you have at least 3 months, you're going to have to pick to focus on certain areas. Happy to help with recommendations though. I would recommend trying to avoid the Proaves lodges though unless money is no issue, as they are absurdly expensive (in colombian terms) and there are almost always much cheaper options available. It may be worth it once or twice though (i.e., el dorado lodge in the sierra nevada de santa marta, there isn't many options for staying up there at high enough elevations to get all the good endemics).