BIRDING AND NATURE TOURS

We are not the cheapest, but are always the best value

We run customtours anywhere

Our trips arefocused but fun

We actively promote birding and conservation

What makes Tropical Birding different

SmallGroups

Andres, Cameron & Scott plus bats • Andres Vasquez Back cover: Polar Bear • Iain Campbell

Front cover: Rainbow Lorikeets • Iain CampbellFront cover Stick • Jose Illanes

E-mail us at info@tropicalbirding.comGive us a call on 1-800-348-5941 or 1-409-515-0514

We are not the cheapest, but are always the best value

We run customtours anywhere

Our trips arefocused but fun

We actively promote birding and conservation

What makes Tropical Birding different

SmallGroups

Alaska: Birding the Top of America (15 days, 20 with extensions)This breathtaking tour takes in some of the most hallowed places in all of North Ameri-can birding: Barrow and Nome. At the very the top of America, in Barrow, we can hunt down Arctic birds in their resplendent breed-ing finery, like truly red Red Phalaropes, el-egant Long-tailed Jaegers, and immaculate Steller’s and Spectacled Eiders. In Nome, shorebirds take center stage, with Bristle-thighed Curlew the loftiest prize of them all; many will be seen performing courtship dis-plays. Nome is also good for species better known from Asia, like the dapper Bluethroat. Finally, on the Kenai Peninsula, birds like Kittlitz’s Murrelet compete with spectacular 700-foot high ice walls for our attention. Two extensions are offered: Brooks Falls to get unforgettable views of giant Grizzly Bears plucking prize salmon from the cool Arctic waters, and the Pribilofs, where seabirds like puffins and auklets nest at close range, mak-ing for absurdly easy viewing.

Upper Texas Coast: Whirlwind Migration (9 days, 11 days with extension)If you want to get a large batch of North American birds in one quick hit, this area provides it every spring. Houston Audubon’s High Island sanctuaries are justly famous for their vast concentrations of spring migrants;

birds can literally drop out of the sky at any moment. This is the only tour where we have no idea where we will be from one day to the next, chasing birds as they come through. Most prized among them are the vividly colored warblers, and on some days nearly thirty species feed hungrily in the woods in bewildering numbers. We also go after ori-oles, cuckoos, thrushes, tanagers, vireos, buntings, grosbeaks, and more. Tropical Bird-ing guides are based here each spring, mean-ing we are always on top of the latest rarities. Sites like the famous Bolivar Flats teem with shorebirds, freshwater marshes host Yellow Rails and Purple Gallinules, and the rookery in Smith Oaks sanctuary is packed with egrets and spoonbills. We also visit the Pineywoods for Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman’s Sparrow, and southern warblers like Swain-son’s, Worm-eating, and Kentucky.

Colorado: Chasing Chickens from Prairie to Mountaintop (9 days) While Papua New Guinea has birds-of-para-dise and the neotropics have manakins, North America has the grouse and prairie-chickens, which perform incredible spring displays in the prairies and mountains of Colorado. Some very early mornings are required to put us in great positions to see frolicking Great-er and Lesser Prairie-Chickens, ballooning Greater Sage-Grouse, and pirouetting Sharp-

tailed Grouse. On top of that, the prairies host sharply-dressed Chestnut-collared Longspurs and Mountain Plovers, and the snow-draped mountains may produce up to three species of rosy-finch, Pine and Evening Grosbeaks, and with luck, even the exceedingly well-camouflaged White-tailed Ptarmigan.

Southeast Arizona: Hopping the Sky Islands (10 days)Arizona has a red-hot reputation among most people, but that is doubly true for birders! The state’s pristine deserts and forest-draped sky-island mountain ranges hold a share of birds found nowhere else in the US. We’ll visit locations as varied as the Chiricahua Mountains; with blushing Red-faced War-blers, the much-desired Elegant Trogon, and dapper Mexican Chickadee; the verdant ri-parian woodland of Patagonia for Gray Hawk, gorgeous Violet-capped Hummingbirds, and noisy Thick-billed Kingbirds; and the beau-tifully stark dry desert canyons will offer up stunners like Five-striped Sparrow, comical Montezuma Quail, and Varied Bunting. This tour hits the absolute best sites of Southeast Arizona, and is not a trip that you’ll soon forget!

Custom tours are also available to the Great Lakes, South and West Texas, California, Florida, and a variety of other North Ameri-can destinations.

North America

Tufted Puffin • Andrew Spencer

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Mexico: Oaxaca Legendary Birds & Temples (14 days, 20 days with extension)The peaceful state of Oaxaca brags a bird list of over 700 species, including regional en-demics like Rose-bellied Bunting, Dwarf Jay, Golden and Dwarf Vireos, Citreoline Trogon, and Ocellated Thrasher. This culturally fasci-nating tour passes through ancient ruins and rug markets where weaving demonstrations can also be seen. The cuisine is internation-ally famous with an exciting mix of moles, Oaxaca cheese, and spicy traditional local

dishes. We cover a range of habitats in-cluding dry thorn forest, lowland rain-

forest, cloud forest, sandy beaches, and even have a short pelagic for

Townsend’s Shearwater.

Costa Rica: The Introtour (11 days)A perfect first venture into the tropics, this tiny Central American country boasts out-standing diversity including most of the clas-sic Neotropical bird families. The tour cov-ers the central highlands as well as various elevations on both slopes of the mountains to maximize diversity. The glorious Resplend-ent Quetzal should be a highlight along with other favorites like the deep purple Snowcap, a host of other hummingbirds, “Technicolor” tanagers, handsome trogons, and otherworld-ly motmots. This country is a perennial fa-vorite among birders and nature lovers alike.

Comprehensive Costa Rica (21 days)A longer and faster-paced trip, designed for birders keen to score a huge number of re-gional specialties in a single tour. Like our Costa Rica Introtour it visits must-see sites like La Selva, Carara, and Savegre, for unmissable birds like Resplendent Quetzal, Scarlet and Great Green Macaws, and Snowcap. It also adds sites in the dry northwest and the far southeast, covering areas from one border to the other, to ensure we find many birds not usually featured on standard itineraries, such as Three-wattled Bellbird, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, White-crested Coquette, Tur-quoise and Yellow-billed Cotingas, Cab-anis’s Ground-Sparrow, and Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager. If you only intend to visit Costa

Rica just once, and crave a trip that leaves few birds behind, this is the perfect option. Expect in excess of 500 bird species, along with a good chance of mammals like sloths, monkeys, and agoutis.

Panama: The Introtour (9 days, 14 days with extension)This short tour spans two weekends to maxi-mize use of vacation time, and covers many of the most famous and easily accessible sites. We’ll bird the lush rainforests near the Panama Canal, including the famous Pipeline Road. With luck we’ll encounter antswarms and their attendant antbirds, which could include the dashing Ocellated among them. We’ll also spend time viewing flashy birds from the top of a canopy platform like bright-colored cotingas, gaudy tanagers, and im-pressive toucans, among many others. Later in the tour, we’ll head southwest to the hills and mountains of El Valle, enjoying some of the best fruit feeders in Central America. The forests here have heartstopping birds like Sunbittern, Rufous-crested Coquette, Purple-throated Mountain-Gem, Tody Motmot, and sometimes even Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, for which this is one of the best sites in the world. We have also included a visit to the best site in Central America for Sapayoa, a monotypic bird family. An extension is of-fered to Bocas del Toro, where you can stay on an idyllic tropical island, while visiting tropicbird colonies, searching for ghostly-white Snowy Cotingas, and listening to the snap-crackle-and-pop of displaying Golden-collared Manakins.

Tropical Birding also runs tours to Guatema-la, Honduras, and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, for birds and ancient temples. Cus-tom tours can also be arranged to Cuba.

Central America

Turquoise-browed Motmot • Sam Woods

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Ecuador: The Andes Introtour (8 days, 10 days with extension)Ecuador boasts 1600 bird species in a country the size of Colorado. The trip is perfect for first-timers to this country or to the South American tropics. Most of the region’s families are represented, and can be accessed based in Tandayapa Bird Lodge with its world famous hummingbird feeders. Although a short forest-based tour, more than 300 species can be expected, including superb Chocó endemics like Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Toucan Barbet, and Velvet-purple Coronet. For those who cannot leave Ecuador without Andean Condor, we offer a short High Andes extension for the best scenery of the entire tour.

Northwest Ecuador: In Search of Chocó Endemics (14 days)A longer, more intense tour of the Chocó region. We visit Tandayapa Bird Lodge for its vast numbers of hummingbirds, along with sites farther north where rare endemic species such as Scarlet-and-white and Golden-chested Tanagers can be found, along with the odd Sapayoa – a big draw for family chasers. This tour bursts with some of the most-wanted birds in the continent including Tanager Finch, Ocellat-ed Tapaculo, Giant Antpitta, and Black Solitaire. A range of elevations will be covered to ensure a com-prehensive exploration of the region.

Eastern Ecuador: High Andes to Vast Amazon (15 days)This tour focuses on the eastern side of the Andes, beginning in páramo above treeline, then winding its way all the way down to the Amazon, staying at comfortable lodges along the entire route. We will score an exciting mix of both highland species

like Andean Condor and Ecuadorian Hillstar, rare foothill specialties such as Napo Sabrewing and Coppery-chested Jacamar, and Amazonian birds like Spangled Cotinga, White-throated Toucan, and a host of antbirds. In the Amazon, we’ll visit a clay lick packed with parrots, ride in canoes down forest-ed creeks, and observe birds and monkeys from one of the most impressive canopy walkways on earth while based at the two best lodges in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Southern Ecuador:Highland Rarities and Tumbesian Endemics (17 days, 20 days with extension. An 11-day version is also available) While the great Chocó region of north Ecuador has the highest number of endemic birds of any of the country’s regions, the Tumbesian zone of the south-west does not lie far behind, boasting over 60 of its own. Many of these are relatively easy to find, like the stunning White-tailed Jay, handsome Red-masked Parakeet, and superb Elegant Crescentchest. This tour weaves through a wider range of habitats than any other Ecuador tour, from tropical cloud for-est, to the Amazonian foothills, to savanna-like de-ciduous woodland, and even mangroves. We chase a host of specialties such as Long-wattled Umbrella-bird, Black-crested Tit-Tyrant, Violet-throated Metal-tail, Rainbow Starfrontlet, Orange-throated Tanager, and the impressive Jocotoco Antpitta. All of the lodg-es are extremely comfortable, and many are located within reserves, directly benefiting conservation. An optional extension takes in coastal lagoons, deserts, and woodland, and even offers a good chance to see the rare Esmeraldas Woodstar.

Megadiverse Ecuador deserves several trips; taking Northwest, Eastern and Southern Ecuador tours could yield 1000 species!

South America I

Toucan Barbet • Nick Athanas

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South America IIBrazil: The Pantanal & Amazon (15 days)“Spectacular” does not even begin to de-scribe the iconic Hyacinth Macaw that tops many visitors’ list of favorites, yet the Panta-nal is perhaps even more famous for its im-pressive congregations of wildlife. Ponds and rivers are lined with herons, kingfishers, ibis-es, Jabirus, Sunbitterns, caimans, and plenty more, while the savanna and woodland have Greater Rhea, Red-legged Seriema, Toco Toucan, and legions of smaller birds. The tour is timed for the dry season, when birds are often concentrated in the few remaining wet areas. The low river levels also make it easier to spot Jaguars on the sandy banks, and we’ll devote two days to searching for this alluring beast. The tour includes a visit to the southern Amazon, where the birding is more challenging, although the rewards are perhaps even greater. Here, we’ll base our-selves in the famous Cristalino Jungle Lodge, which has its own private reserve, two can-opy towers, and a mind-boggling bird list of nearly 600 species. This tour can often be combined with the Atlantic Forest Introtour for a superb three week Brazil experience.

Brazil: The Atlantic Forest Introtour (8 days)Brazil is the South American endemics champion, and the majority of these en-demics are found in the Atlantic rainforest of the Southeast. During this short tour, we are based in just two excellent lodges. We’ll spend four nights at Guapi Assu Bird Lodge, located at the base of the scenic Serra dos Órgãos Mountains in a large nature reserve. Here we bird the forest trails for gems like Spot-billed Toucanet, Crescent-chested Puff-

bird, and Ferruginous Antbird, and the re-stored wetlands near the lodge for a bounty of waterbirds. We’ll make trips to the coast and drier woodland before heading up to Vale das Taquaras Lodge in a beautiful for-ested valley. These mountains have a whole new suite of great birds including hummers, tanagers, even more antbirds, and Bare-throated Bellbird.

Southeast Brazil: Atlantic Rainforest and Savanna (20 days, 25 days with extension)The wet rainforests along the southern coast of Brazil are a birder’s delight. Separated from the Amazonian rainforests by the dry interior habitats that dominate much of the country, the birds here evolved in relative isolation, resulting in loads of endemics. Numerous spectacular antbirds, cotingas, flycatchers, and tanagers are found nowhere else. Just a hundred miles inland, the rainfor-est is replaced by savanna and gallery forest with a very different set of birds and its own set of endemics. This tour combines the best sites in both regions for an unforgettable ex-perience. This is a fast-paced tour that targets as many endemics as possible; it is a longer and much more comprehensive version of the Brazil Introtour. An extension to southern Brazil is also available.

Brazil is an immense country, and there is plenty more to see here than we include in our set-departure tours. We can arrange cus-tom tours to places such as Northeast Brazil for Lear’s Macaw and Araripe Manakin, re-mote parts of Amazonian Brazil for rare cot-ingas, antbirds, and gnateaters, or a trip to an active Harpy Eagle nest during nesting years.

Green-headed Tanager • Nick Athanas

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Northern Colombia:Santa Marta Mountains & the Caribbean (9 days)With over 1800 species, it can be hard to know where to start birding in Colombia. This tour makes a great intro to this vast and megadiverse country for both beginners and hardcore birders alike. We start in the man-groves, desert, and rainforest near the coast targeting the likes of Sapphire-bellied Hum-mingbird, Vermilion Cardinal, and Lance-tailed Manakin, before heading up into the endemic-rich Santa Marta Mountains, home to the highest peaks on the continent away from the Andes. We’ll spend three nights at a mountain lodge with great feeders and a spec-tacular view. We should find the vast major-ity of the 22 endemic birds, including White-tailed Starfrontlet, Santa Marta Antpitta, and Santa Marta Mountain-Tanager.

Central Colombia:Andean Endemics Paradise (21 days)This tour visits one of South America’s en-demic treasure houses. Here, the great Ande-an mountain chain splits into three, creating a fascinating topography that has produced dozens of endemic birds. This fairly compre-hensive circuit hits most of the top spots in all three prongs of the Andes. Birds run the gamut from spectacular tanagers like Gold-

ringed and Multicolored, to newly described species like Chestnut-capped Piha, to more widespread yet highly desired birds such as Northern Screamer and Oilbird. This tour complements the Northern Colombia trip perfectly, and the two can even be taken to-gether for a month-long endemic hoedown.

Chile: Atacama to Tierra del Fuego (15 days, 20 days with extension)If scouring high Andean bogs for Diademed Sandpiper-Plovers, stalking huet-huets in lichen-draped forest, or sifting through vast flocks of seabirds in the Humboldt Current sounds like fun, check out this fascinating tour. While its birdlist may be smaller than that of its tropical neighbors, Chile’s habitat diversity, spectacular birds, and breathtaking scenery more than make up for that. Starting in Santiago, we head to the coast and take a pelagic, then strike out south, visiting a delightful series of parks and reserves featur-ing beautiful temperate forest and great birds like Magellanic Woodpecker, Slender-billed Parakeet, and Chestnut-throated Huet-huet. Finally, we fly south to Punta Arenas and visit Tierra del Fuego and the spectacular fjords of Torres del Paine, searching the plains for dot-terels and seedsnipes and checking out lakes packed with ducks and geese. An optional extension visits the deserts and scenically spectacular high Andes of the north.

South America IIINorthwest Argentina:From the Chaco to the Altiplano (15 days)In northwestern Argentina, the spectacu-lar Andes dominate, with peaks up to 6,400m/21,000ft towering over a countryside dotted with small, charming villages where the friendly inhabitants are still proud of their indigenous roots. Down in the valleys, vast sa-vannas are carpeted with tall cacti, and some of the canyons make you feel like you are in

the American Southwest. Some of Argentina’s best wines are produced in this region, and many people enjoy sampling the great, in-expensive vintages. Our route covers all the habitats in the region including the wet Yun-gas forest, montane scrub and Puna, dry Cha-co woodland, and Monte desert. We’ll enjoy a wide variety of memorable birds including Red-tailed Comet, Rufous-throated Dipper, Ornate Tinamou, Burrowing Parakeet, and a mind-boggling array of “ovenbirds” such as earthcreepers, canasteros, cacholotes, and tit-spinetails.

Buller’s Albatross • Keith Barnes

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South America IVPeru: Manu and Machu Picchu (18 days)Imagine an endless blanket of forest stretch-ing from high mountains all the way to the vast rivers of the Amazon; Manu is a tropi-cal wilderness unrivaled anywhere else in South America. If you’re only going to visit Peru once, this tour is the obvious choice, as it sports the highest diversity of birds. We start in the high Andes around the historic city of Cusco, and then descend through the forests of Manu staying in top-notch jungle lodges en route. Cock-of-the-rock Lodge offers great views of its namesake along with quetzals and insane tanager flocks; Amazonia Lodge has amazing hummers to go along with its often overwhelming blast of upper Amazo-nian species; the untouched forests around Manu Wildlife Centre are simply astonishing, and between the towers, lakes, rivers, and the macaw lick we will never lack for great birds, mammals, and many other cool things. The tour also visits the fabled ruins of Machu Picchu, for one of the world’s great cultural experiences.

Northern Peru: Across the Marañon Canyon (15 days)Marvelous Spatuletail tops a long list of unique and memorable endemics on this fas-cinating tour. We visit dry forests of the north-west, the spectacular Marañon Canyon, and the lush cloudforests of the east slope of the Andes. The infrastructure here has improved greatly in recent years, and we’ll stay in a se-ries of small, friendly lodges and hotels, many of them right in the forest. Chaparri Lodge has White-winged Guans and White-tailed

Wire-crested Thorntail • Nick Athanas

Jays on its doorstep, while the famous Owlet Lodge in Abra Patricia has great hummer feed-ers, an antpitta feeder, and even offers a real chance to see the enigmatic Long-whiskered Owlet. Farther downslope in the eastern foot-hills, we look for even more hummingbirds, scarce birds like Fiery-throated Fruiteater and Ash-throated Antwren, and even have a shot at Oilbird. The road across the Marañon Can-yon crosses a remarkable transect of habitats from desert on the bottom to lush páramo on the edges, with neat birds at every stop, like Buff-bridled and Gray-winged Inca-Finches, Yellow-faced Parrotlet, Coppery Metaltail, and Stripe-headed Antpitta.

Central Peru: Birds of the Incas (14 days)If you want something more hardcore that targets some of Peru’s rarest and least known birds, check out this exciting tour. We’ll bird amid stunning high Andean scenery for the likes of White-bellied Cinclodes, Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, Junin Grebe, Black-breast-ed Hillstar, Golden-backed Mountain-Tan-ager, and Rufous-browed Hemispingus. Re-mote valleys on the east slope hold a huge variety of endemics, such as Eye-ringed Thistletail, Fire-throated Metaltail, Marca-pata Spinetail, Chestnut and Bay Antpittas, and several species that have not yet been described to science. In the Cordillera Blan-ca, we soak in spectacular views of some of South America’s highest peaks while looking for White-cheeked Cotinga, Rufous-backed Inca-Finch, and other specialties. Accommo-dation is basic in a few places, and there are some long drives on rough roads to pursue some of the most inaccessible birds in Peru.

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Spain: The Introtour (7 days)Many people ask, “Where should my first birding trip in Europe be?” The easy answer is Spain. It is Europe’s most diverse country for birds, and offers an eclectic mix of su-perb species, not to mention rich history. The tour starts in Madrid and finishes in Seville, making cultural add-ons at either end very convenient. Highlights should include White-headed Duck and numerous other waterbirds in the vast wetlands of Doñana, displaying Great Bustards on the plains of Extremadura, and a host of raptors in Monfragüe National Park, where rarities like Spanish Imperial-Eagle hold sway alongside other species like Cinereous and Eurasian Griffon Vultures. The park also hosts the world’s largest owl, the im-mense Eurasian Eagle-Owl. This tour can be easily combined with Morocco for an exciting two-week Europe and North Africa bonanza.

Finland & Norway: Birding in the Land of the Midnight Sun (14 days)Late spring in Scandinavia means plenty of stunning soft light, and an amazing array of boreal birds. First we journey to central Fin-land seeking owls with our red-hot local guides: Ural, Eurasian Pygmy; Eurasian Eagle, Boreal, Northern Hawk, and Great Gray are all regular. Old World game birds will also be on our radar, and Black Grouse and the amazing Eurasian Capercaillie are both often encountered here. Shorebirds and waterbirds are also favorites, with Yellow-billed Loon, both species of Bean Goose, and incredible male Ruff in full breeding plumage likely to steal the show. Birding in the midst of stun-ning landscapes, including fjords and spits,

Europewill likely net us some great species such as Thick-billed Murre, Atlantic Puffin, Sibe-rian Jay, Gray-headed Chickadee, Crested Tit, Fieldfare, Redwing, Red-flanked Bluetail, Northern Wheatear, Parrot Crossbill and Rus-tic Bunting. Aside from the incredible birds the scenery is phenomenal, and the quaint towns and ancient culture of Scandinavia add a lot to this terrific tour to the top of Europe.

Poland: The Primeval Forest and Marshes of Eastern Europe (10 days)The Primeval forests of Białowieza are not only verdant and beautiful in springtime, but are loaded with birdsong. An astounding crop of nine woodpeckers is on offer, including Eu-rope’s largest, Black Woodpecker, as well as White-backed, Middle-spotted, and Eurasian Three-toed. A dedicated effort will be made for one of the forest’s more cagey denizens, Hazel Grouse, while surrounding farmlands boast some of the highest densities of Corn-crake in Europe. While at Białowieza we may also run into one of the resident herds of European Bison. The second half of the tour focuses on the internationally important wet-lands around Bierbza. The site is especially famous for breeding plumage Ruff, while other shorebirds should be in display mode like Great and Common Snipes, and Eurasian Woodcock. The marshes are also the domin-ion of Common Cranes, Aquatic and River Warblers, both Greater and Lesser Spotted Eagles, and Bearded Reedling, which occu-pies its own, monotypic, family. Just before the trip closes in Warsaw, we’ll try to add one final woodpecker, Syrian Woodpecker, in the Narew Valley.

European Bee-eater • Gaurav Mittal

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Morocco: North Africa in a Nutshell (8 days)This Southern Morocco tour covers three main eco-logical zones: Atlas Mountains, desert, and Atlantic Coast. It kicks off in the Atlas, where Crimson-winged Finch and Levaillant’s Woodpecker expect to star. In the stony deserts further south a different avifauna awaits, with larks front and center; some of the most prized species are likely to be Thick-billed and Tem-minck’s Larks. Colorful Moussier’s Redstarts, and a host of wheatears are always popular too, often in-cluding Mourning and Red-rumped. At night the im-pressive Pharaoh Eagle-Owl should take center stage. The final leg visits coastal areas near Agadir, where wetlands combine with dunes, scrub, and forest to provide the biggest day-lists. Our main target though, will be the rare Northern Bald Ibis. At the end of the tour, we’ll visit a Marrakesh market, which will give some insight into the wonderful culture of this absorb-ing North African nation. The tour starts and ends in Marrakesh, making optional cultural add-ons easy. For those who want for a longer trip, it can be linked with our Spain Introtour, for a two week combo of North Africa and Europe.

Ethiopia: Birding with Wolves (19 days) Don’t come to Ethiopia expecting Africa; come here expecting Ethiopia! This place is like nowhere else on the continent, and traveling here is almost like step-ping back in time. Birds and people live in a harmony seen almost nowhere else on Earth with birds jump-ing around completely unafraid, sometimes literally at your feet. This country features a large bird list, as the many resident species are supplemented by a host of Palearctic migrants. The mountains and savannas have

many endemic birds; arguably most desirable among them are Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco and Stresemann’s Bush-Crow. Birds are not the only draw though, as Ethiopia is home to some marquee mammals too, in-cluding photogenic troops of Gelada Baboons, and Ethiopian Wolf, surprisingly easy to see in the mon-tane grasslands. Most of Ethiopia is a vast green pla-teau, not the desert pictured on the news. This is not a luxury tour, but standards are constantly improving and the lodging is quite acceptable. Our guides here are the authors of Birding Ethiopia, a site guide to the country.

Ghana: Picathartes and Egyptian Plover (14 days, 17 with extension) Point blank, Ghana is the most welcoming country in the world, and a place where traditional African culture still thrives. It has recently exploded as a bird-ing destination, because you get to bird in steamy Af-rican rainforest while staying in comfortable lodges. One of the most amazing bird families on the planet, Picathartes, is most reliable and accessible here. We will also bird from the finest canopy walkway in all of Africa, where massive casqued hornbills, Rosy Bee-eaters, malimbes, apalises, eremomelas, and even canopy-dwelling kingfishers can be found. The sec-ond half of the tour visits the extensive savannas of the north, which support herds of exceptionally large elephants. Our main avian target in the north is the Egyptian Plover, a bird so weird that it is in its own family. The culture and food really liven up the trip, with every region having distinctive dress and amaz-ing cuisine.

Tropical Birding also offers custom tours to many oth-er African destinations, including Cameroon, Gabon, and São Tomé & Príncipe.

Africa I

Augur Buzzard • Ken Behrens

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Africa II

Northern Carmine Bee-eater and Kori Bustard • Ken Behrens

Kenya: The Coolest Trip in Africa (17 days, 23 days with extension)If you are only ever going to do one trip to Africa, then go to Kenya. It has the whole range of African habitats including rainfor-ests, alpine moorlands, and endless sweeping savannas. On the plains of the Masai Mara, you enter the Africa of your dreams, where massive herds of game are hunted by Lions, Cheetahs, and Leopards. Our tours here score the highest bird lists of any tour that we run. You can see nearly a third of Africa’s birds, including dozens of hornbills, turacos, and sunbirds, and all the classic mammals on this one trip. Add to this that you will be staying in fantastic lodges, and that this tour is physi-cally easy, and it is hard to resist taking your non-birding partner along with you. Most of the tour is at elevations of 3,000-10,000 ft., making it surprisingly cool for visitors expect-ing the blistering heat that much of Africa is known for.

Rwanda and Uganda: Shoebills and Albertine Rift Endemics (18 days) Any naturalist with an interest in Africa will want to see Mountain Gorilla and the bizarre, monotypic, bird family that is Shoebill; we search for both on this trip as we travel though the heart of the continent. Along with these two “epic” species, we fill in the gaps by visit-ing some of the most varied landscapes of any of our tours. Starting in Rwanda, we search for Albertine Rift endemics back-dropped by

beautiful mountain vistas before moving on to Uganda. Uganda is like the Ecuador of Af-rica, packing a huge amount of diversity into a small area: we’ll have a classic African sa-fari experience at Queen Elizabeth National Park, and enjoy East Africa’s best set of Congo Basin rainforest birds. This is a fast-paced tour in which the hotels are all moderate or better.Our guides are authors of a new wildlife site guide to Rwanda.

Tanzania: Birding Among the Beasts (13 days, 22 days with extension) Tanzania offers the highest quality “classic” African experience. We do a full safari, seeing hundreds of species of birds along the way, targeting all the northern Tanzanian endem-ics, including Yellow-collared Lovebird and Ashy Starling. People are often amazed how green, lush, and covered with flowers this re-gion is; much more verdant than the dry East African savanna of the stereotype. Simply watching the epic thunderstorms boom across the rainy season sky can be mesmerizing, and thousands of recently born wildebeest calves are also likely to capture the imagination. The lodges are small and personal, generally placed in the heart of the habitat, with birds and mammals on your doorstep, and the tour is not at all physically demanding. The exten-sion targets specialty bird species of the Tan-zanian coast, mountains, and dry thornveld. We can also offer custom itineraries to target a wider set of Eastern Arc Mountain endemics in eastern and southern Tanzania.

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Madagascar: The Eighth Continent (17 days, 26 with extensions) This huge island, often called the “eighth continent”, is unlike any other place on Earth. The culture, landscapes, and wildlife here are all totally unique. There are five endemic bird families including primitive mesites, stunning ground-rollers, and the beautiful asities. The mammals, from small tenrecs to child-sized lemurs, are surpris-ingly approachable and easy to see. The tour also offers an unimaginable bounty of bizarre chameleons, amphibians, and fantastic bugs.

This is not a physically demanding trip, and features good lodging and delicious food. Al-though this tour regularly gets more than 95% of the endemic birds on the island (with the extensions), it also offers an all-round natu-ral history experience that can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in wildlife. Our guides are also authors of a forthcoming field guide to the country’s birds. We now have an office in Madagascar, and are well situated to offer custom tours to a variety of destinations within this vast and varied island. If you want to see some of Madagascar’s rarest and most elusive species like Madagascar Serpent-Eagle, Red Owl, Madagascar Pochard, Saka-

lava Rail, and Golden-crowned Sifaka, we can help. We can also add the nearby Co-moros or Mascarenes for those with insatia-ble endemic fever.

South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger (17 days, 23 with extension) There is nowhere else on earth where you can see a wild penguin and a zebra on the same day! South Africa is a mega-diverse country, chock full of endemics, with peren-nial favorites such as Knysna Turaco, Ground Woodpecker, two rockjumpers, and two sug-arbirds. Our tour has a road-trip feel, as we venture across this vast, beautiful, and rugged country from Cape Town to Kruger. The land-scapes themselves are absorbing, and birds and mammals are everywhere. Kruger has more mammal species than any other park in Africa, and here we might encounter Lions, Elephants, Buffalo, and even African Wild Dog or Leopard. This is a well-developed country and offers an easy introduction to the continent with superb accommodation, fabu-lous food with a European flair, and world-class wines. The extension visits the Drakens-burg Mountains and the coast to provide a near-complete set of endemics.

Namibia and Botswana: The Living Desert to the Okavango (16 days) From the dunes of the Namib Desert to the lush wetlands of the Okavango Delta, Na-mibia is a place that will grip your soul. There is something enchanting about this place that is difficult to describe, but which any visitor will quickly understand. Namibia would be worth visiting even if it was devoid of birds, but that is far from the case. There is a horde of Namib desert and escarpment endemics, plus another set of Okavango specialties. The mammals are also world-class, particularly in the famed Etosha National Park, with its Elephants, Black Rhino, Lion, thousands of Southern Oryx, and many others. The lush woodlands and marshes of the Okavango come as quite a shock after the dry moun-tains and plains of the rest of the tour, and are absolutely loaded with birds like Pel’s Fishing-Owl, African Skimmer, and Southern Carmine Bee-eater. The lodges in this coun-try are not only very comfortable, but have a personal and unique flair that make each one memorable. The excellent food can be accompanied with world famous South Afri-can wines.

Africa III

Gemmed Chameleon• Iain Campbell

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China: Sichuan and the Tibetan Plateau of Qinghai (16 days, 22 days with extension) If you only ever do one tour to China, this is the one. A healthy batch of Chinese endem-ics, beautiful Himalayan landscapes, an in-sight into the Tibetan lifestyle, and some of the best food anywhere in the world await you. We search for up to ten species of pheasant and lots of laughingthrushes and parrotbills, amidst the towering snow-topped peaks of Balangshan and scenic wooded valley of Jiu-zhaigou, dotted with colorful lakes and dra-matic cascades. The mountainous birding of Sichuan can be challenging, so the easy bird-ing of Qinghai’s Tibetan plateau makes for a pleasant conclusion; a gamut of Tibetan spe-cialties are available, including six snowfinch

Asia Ispecies and Przevalski’s Rosefinch, a mono-typic family. Here scattered monasteries are home to whirling prayer wheels and chanting monks who still conduct sky-burials.

Southeast China: Hidden Treasures of the Song Kingdom (16 days, 23 days with extension)The tour focuses on China’s eastern provinces, where the star-studded cast of birds includes Spoon-billed Sandpiper on the Minjiang Estu-ary, and a gamut of gamebirds at Wuyishan, where the rare Elliot’s Pheasant and Rickett’s Hill-Partridge can be found, along with the more regularly encountered Koklass and Sil-ver pheasants. However, the magical gold-and-cream, polka-dotted Cabot’s Tragopan

will be our primary target. Wuyuan will be vis-ited for the scarce Scaly-sided Merganser and delectable Mandarin Duck. Within China’s largest freshwater wetland in Poyang Hu, the giant white Siberian Crane will be the master of ceremonies, along with White-naped and Hooded Cranes, and Swan Goose. Our final stop at Yangcheng should yield Red-crowned Crane and the bullish Reed Parrotbill. The tour closes under the intoxicating lights of Shang-hai, China’s most glimmering metropolis.

Taiwan: Formosan Endemics (14 days, 26 days with extensions) Taiwan is known as Formosa – “The Beauti-ful Island” – and is home to Tropical Birding’s Asian office. Modern infrastructure blends

seamlessly with some of the most stunning mountain landscapes and birds in Asia. Qual-ity endemics are on offer like the snowy-backed Swinhoe’s and regal Mikado pheas-ants. Among the 30 endemics are a host of laughingthrushes, babblers, and the adorable Flamecrest. Our tour is timed to catch the last of departing winter migrants like Black-faced Spoonbill and the first summer breeding mi-grants, taking maximum advantage of Taiwan’s position on the East Asian flyway. Extensions are offered to the Ryuku Islands of Japan, and the Micronesian island of Palau.

Japan: Birding on Ice (14 days, 15 days with extension) Japan holds several of the world’s must-see birds, which thrive amidst stunning snows-capes. Huge-billed Steller’s Sea-Eagles con-gregate on impressive ice floes, and large numbers of Red-crowned Cranes gather to dance in the snow for scenes of breathtaking beauty. A remarkable total of five cranes are likely, making this the best crane tour any-where, and there’s nothing like sipping hot sake while staking out Blakiston’s Fish-Owl at an icy floodlit waterhole. Add to this some great mixed-flock birding in coniferous for-ests, and gulls and waterbirds galore, to create a great mix of top birding experiences. Our pelagic extension offers a cruise on a comfort-able boat with a number of local specialties at sea, like Short-tailed and Laysan Albatrosses.

Tropical Birding also offers tours to Beidaihe in China for Asia’s answer to High Island. We can also run summer trips to Japan.

Taiwan Barbet • Keith Barnes

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Asia II

Northern India: Himalayas, Tigers, and the Taj Mahal (15 days, 25 days with extensions) India will blow your mind. It is an over-whelming sensory experience, a land of strik-ing contrasts with a fabulously rich, unique heritage, welcoming people, and delicious food. This huge country also offers an intoxi-cating mixture of awesome birds, sweeping mountain vistas, mist-cloaked herds of deer, and the entrancing Tiger. Our exploration begins in the Himalayas, where we seek bar-bets, laughingthrushes, whistling-thrushes, sibias, and pheasants in idyllic montane for-ests, with the striking backdrop of some of the highest Himalayan peaks. Next is Bharatpur, a globally famous wetland, filled with count-less individuals of hundreds of bird species, before soaking in the magnificent, symmet-rical, near-perfect Taj Mahal. For those who can’t leave India without seeing the world’s most charismatic large cat, we have a Tiger extension. Even more easy Asian birding is

available on another extension to Goa for Ceylon Frogmouth, Indian Pitta, and many subcontinental endemics. This tour should net you over 400 bird species, making it an unmissable Asian experience, and a great in-troduction to the birds of the continent.

Northeast India: Assam & Eaglenest (18 days, 22 days with extension) This tour visits the eastern Himalayas, the most bird-rich portion of this incredible mountain range. The area supports many rare and lo-cal birds of the region; it is the only home to Mishmi Wren-babbler, and also hosts Blyth’s Tragopan, Beautiful Nuthatch, Ward’s Trogon, and the immaculate Fire-tailed Myzornis. The scenery that forms the backdrop for these de-lectable birds is rugged, beautiful, and wild. Other notable and exciting families include laughingthrushes, tits, nuthatches, and sun-birds. This trip backs onto the Kaziranga NP extension for yet more birds, as well as One-horned Asian Rhinoceros; the extension can even be linked with our Bhutan tour to make a mind-blowing transect of the eastern Hima-layas.

Sri Lanka: Ceylon Sojourn (14 days) The island of Sri Lanka presents those who have never visited the Indian subcontinent with a wonderful introduction to the region, while also offering “India-philes” a host of new southern specialties and nearly 30 en-demics. Many local races are likely to be split in the future, further swelling this number of endemics. We’ll visit a range of parks and re-serves, from lowland tropical forests to high-

land cloudforests, and have a chance to find all of the possible Ceylon endemics, includ-ing the recently discovered Serendib Scops-Owl. On top of that we have the opportunity to encounter Leopard and wild Asian Ele-phant in Yala National Park.

Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon (21 days, 26 days with extensions) Bhutan’s traditional practices and beliefs re-main virtually uninfluenced by the West, mak-ing it not only a great birding destination, but also culturally fascinating. This timeless king-dom is wedged amidst the jagged contours of the Himalayas between India and Tibet, with endless tracts of virgin forest seething with massive flocks of beautiful Himalayan birds. We target many of the most sought-after spe-cies in the Himalayas, such as the enigmatic Ibisbill, Himalayan Monal, and outrageous Satyr Tragopan. Traveling this country has an idyllic feel to it, due to friendly people, a general lack of hassles, and pristine envi-ronments. An extension to Kazirhanga NP in India may also yield Bengal Florican or the stellar Blue-naped Pitta. The mammals share prominence, with this being the best place on earth to see the endangered One-horned Asian Rhino, Swamp Deer, and whooping-families of Hoolock Gibbon. A short cultural side-trip to the famed Tiger’s Nest Monastery and the holiest shrines in Bhutan rounds out a marvelous tour of this little-visited kingdom.

We also offer trips to Western India for a great combo of birds like Hypocolius, and rare mammals; and the Western Ghats of South-ern India for a bucket load of endemics.

Tiger’s Nest Monastery • Keith Barnes

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Thailand:Mystical Asia (17 days; 23 days with extension)Located at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, Thailand’s exceptionally high bird diversity makes it one of Asia’s most exciting destina-tions. Resident species mix with Palearctic and Himalayan migrants for an intoxicating mélange of avifaunas. Combine this with leg-endary Thai hospitality and some of the finest cuisine in the Orient, and it is no surprise that this is one of our most popular Asian desti-nations. We hit the south, center, and north, looking for handsome hornbills, spectacular broadbills, stunning pittas, and a host of oth-ers. For those with extra time, we have an extension to the lowland forests of the Thai Peninsula.

Cambodia: Birding the Khmer Kingdom (14 days)The wetlands and forests of Cambodia host some of the most sought-after birds in Asia. Tmatboey is the last refuge of the Giant Ibis, and also offers White-shouldered Ibis in the seasonally flooded forests. Open grasslands will be another key habitat, where we hope to see the displays of the rare Bengal Flori-can, while wetlands offer up two more global rarities in Milky Stork and Greater Adjutant. Other targets include the rare White-winged Duck, Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo, and

Asia IIIBar-bellied Pitta. Cambodia is still relatively unexplored, which has led to the discovery of two new species in recent times: Mekong Wagtail and Cambodian Tailorbird, both of which are likely to be seen. We also visit the temples of Angkor Wat, which can captivate even the most hardened birders.

Borneo: Broadbills and Bristleheads (13 days, 16 days with extension)This island is all about hornbills, pittas, and the best primate viewing in Asia. We explore the endemic hotspot of Mt. Kinabalu, plus Danum Valley with its six pitta species and Great Argus pheasant. An extension visits the hornbill-rich Kinabatangan River, where all eight Bornean species occur, along with an extraordinary abundance and diversity of primates. Along with the amazing birds, we have a chance of locating other wildlife such as Bornean Gibbon, Proboscis Monkey, Red Leaf-Monkey, Bornean Pygmy-Elephant, and the king of the Bornean jungle, Orang-utan. This tour can easily be combined with

Malaysia: The Peninsula (13 days), where the mainland offers a different set of pittas, broadbills, trogons, laughingthrushes, among huge numbers of other birds at three of Asia’s most popular and well-established birding destinations: Fraser’s Hill, Taman Negara, and Kuala Selangor.

Sulawesi and Halmahera: Birding the Edge of Wallace’s Line (14 days, 21 days with extension)This region, which straddles the transition zone between the great faunas of Asia and Australasia, boasts more than 100 birds that are found nowhere else, and many are ut-terly spectacular: think improbable Standard-wing Bird-of-Paradise, Ivory-breasted Pitta, Knobbed Hornbill, Maleo, Satanic Nightjar, and the mind-blowing Purple-bearded Bee-

eater. Added to the mix is a whole suite of en-demic mammals, as Sulawesi is famous for its amazing primates, notably the Black Crested-Macaque and the otherworldly Spectral Tar-sier, both of which are readily seen. This tour regularly yields more than 100 hundred lifers, even for the most well-traveled birder.

We also offer tours throughout SE Asia, in-cluding to Vietnam for Dalat specialties and the Philippines, which is irresistible for en-demic-hunters, as the islands come loaded with nearly 200, including Azure-breasted Pitta, the mighty Great Philippine Eagle, and dazzling Palawan Peacock-Pheasant. Elsewhere in Indonesia we offer Bali, Java and the Lesser Sundas.

Silver-eared Mesias • Iain Campbell

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Australasia Eastern Australia: From Top to Bottom (20 days) This tour will immerse you in a totally new continent. We encounter over 400 species, nearly half of the country’s birds. On top of that, the first-time visitor will encounter over twenty new families that are equal parts delightful and unfamiliar. Not to mention, there are bizarre mam-mals hopping about the countryside: cuddly wallabies, tree-climbing kangaroos, and even mammals that lay eggs… everything is strange in Australia! We bird tropical reefs, rainforests, savannas, temperate mountain ranges, and the Outback; in essence cleaning up on Eastern Australia’s unique ecosystems. Expect to be overwhelmed, but our guides will make it acces-sible, as they are authors of wildlife and bird books for Australia. This trip is not physically

demanding, but is a very fast-paced road trip, with meals often on the fly.

Australia’s Top End: Victoria River to Kakadu (9 days)

The “Top End” of Australia is the land of Crocodile Dundee; we scour waterholes in the Outback for a myriad of eruptive wandering savanna species, including

beautiful finches, gangly storks, huge flocks of Magpie Geese, and dancing cranes. Although not as diverse as Eastern Australia, it offers some excellent specialties like

Gouldian Finch, Rainbow Pitta, and Hooded Parrot. The landscape is stark but beauti-ful, and much of the indigenous aboriginal population and art still remains here. We

take an outstanding boat trip where crocs are everywhere, along with thousands of birds, with over 60 species regularly recorded including Little Kingfisher and Black Bittern. This tour links with Eastern Aus-tralia for those able to take a longer trip. Although a fast-paced

tour, we usually rest during the middle of the hot Outback days. There are many interesting non-bird aspects of this tour, which could

make it attractive to a non-birding partner too.

Papua New Guinea: Paradise Untamed(18 days, 22 days with extension)

Every birder in the world wants to see birds-of-paradise, and this is THE place to get them. We typically see 20-some species on this tour including Raggiana, King-

of-Saxony, Blue, and King Birds-of-Paradise. Several are seen at point-blank range on feeding tables; you will get ridiculous views (and photos) of Ribbon-tailed Astrapia

and Brown Sicklebill. In addition to the “BOP”s, there are many other strange and bizarre avian gems, from Flame Bowerbird and Goldenface, to Blue Jewel-Babbler and Golden

Cuckoo-Shrike. New Guinea is a truly wild island, still largely blanketed in dense rain forest, and harboring a dazzling array of endemic cultures where over 700 unique languages are spoken. Almost all of the hotels are of good standard and this country can be visited in relative comfort. The extension visits the very different island of New Britain, loaded with a healthy batch of endemics of its own, and is particularly rich in parrots, kingfishers and fruit-doves; they can all be accessed from our comfortable base in a high end dive resort.

Tropical Birding also offers custom tour to New Zealand, for some of the easiest pelagic bird-ing anywhere and unique families: kiwis, New Zealand wrens, and New Zealand wattlebirds. Australia’s Great Channel Country and Western Australia are also available for custom trips, as well as West Papua for more remote and rarely seen Birds-of-Paradise.Huli Wigman • Sam Woods

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Galapagos: Endemics Cruise (10 days)The Galapagos Islands are like nowhere else; much of the wildlife is only found there, and it is famously tame. It is normal to side-step nesting Blue-footed Boobies and weave through colonies of displaying frigatebirds as you explore the islands. Nearly anyone can enjoy this trip, including families seeking an intimate natural history experience, hard-core birders seeking the numerous endemics, and nature photographers wanting unrivaled close-ups. You don’t need an uber camera to get good photos on this short cruise, whether it’s the hilariously curious mockingbirds, truly ancient Giant Tortoises, carpets of colorful Marine Iguanas, or Red-footed Boobies bring-ing gifts to their partners.

Antarctica: Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula (20 days) This cruise enjoys the best birding and pho-tography in the region for the ultimate natural history experience. Starting in Tierra del Fue-go, we’ll head first to the Falklands for local-ized birds like Striated Caracara and Falkland Steamerduck, and awe inspiring colonies of Rockhopper Penguins nesting alongside Black-browed Albatrosses. On South Geor-gia, 250,000 nesting King Penguins blanket the beach at Salisbury Plain alongside gigantic “beachmaster” male elephant seals protecting their harems. On the “White Continent”, colo-nies of penguins pack the shores, while whales, seals, and elegant Snow Petrels roam offshore, and the icy scenery is simply astonishing. Cruis-ing between sites will provide phenomenal pe-lagic birding, with huge albatrosses and other southern specialties often following the ship.

CruisesSubantarctic Islands: The Ultimate Pelagic (17 days) For aficionados of seabirds, this may well be the apex of all cruises: almost all the al-batrosses are possible, with a mass of pen-guins too (including both Erect-crested and Royal). We will also search for species en-demic to these remote islands, such as Mac-quarie Island Shag, Auckland Island Teal, and Chatham Island Taiko. The combination of stunning scenery in these remote New Zea-land islands, some very localized seabirds, a batch of endemic landbirds, and the sheer number of pelagic species make this a popu-lar trip every year.

Atlantic Odyssey (32 days)This cruise takes in the best of Antarctica, before cutting a swathe through the most wildlife-rich reaches of the Atlantic Ocean including Deception Island, the amazing and remote South Orkney and South Geor-gia archipelagos, the seldom-visited Gough and Tristan groups, and the subtropical wa-ters of St. Helena and Ascension. We’ll find an impressive number of seabirds, with over 30 species of petrel and storm-petrel on offer, as well as cetaceans, and many rarely seen island endemics. Highlights should include the critically endangered Tristan Albatross, elegant Light-mantled and Sooty Albatrosses, and up to seven species of penguin, including the impressive King, cute Gentoo, polar Chin-strap and Adelie, and both forms of Rockhop-pers. Rare island endemics may include Inac-cessible Island Rail and St. Helena Plover.

Western Pacific Odyssey (15, 18, or 32 days depending on segments taken)This voyage cuts a swathe through the west-ern Pacific; starting in New Zealand and finishing in Japan, with an option of getting off in Papua New Guinea. It offers a unique chance to see some of the most localized Pterodroma petrels and other seabirds, while taking in some of the most captivating en-demics of the Pacific. New Zealand Storm-Petrel, Beck’s Petrel, Heinroth’s Sheawater, and Short-tailed Albatross could be undoubt-ed seabird highlights; while Kagu and Crow Honeyeater on New Caledonia, the strange endemics of Renell Island in the Solomons,

and the amazing Truk Monarch on Microne-sia are some landbird highlights.

Svalbard: Ice Bears and Ivory Gulls at 80° (8 days)The wilderness of Svalbard, teetering on the 80 degree parallel, is not to be underesti-mated. Only a handful of birds thrive at this latitude, but the immaculate Ivory Gulls, Red Phalaropes in breeding dress, King and Common Eiders, and hordes of alcids like Dovekie, Thick-billed Murre, and Black Guil-lemot mean there is always something to see around the ship. Walrus, Bearded Seal, and several cetaceans are also very possible, but

it is the the “King of the Arctic”, the Polar Bear, hunting seals on the pack-ice, that is this trip’s biggest draw. Our ice-strengthened ship and well-timed arrival give great opportunities for some unforgettable encounters with these incredible beasts.

Gentoo Penguin • Iain Campbell