Birds of Western Ecuador

Nick Athanas is cofounder of the tour company Tropical Birding. He leads bird tours throughout the Neotropics and has photographed more than 2,500 bird species. Paul J. Greenfield is a longtime resident of Ecuador, where he leads bird tours and is active in bird conservation. He is the coauthor and illustrator of The Birds of Ecuador. Iain Campbell is cofounder of Tropical Birding. Pablo Cervantes Daza, Andrew Spencer, and Sam Woods are tour guides with Tropical Birding.

"An excellent new photographic field guide... The most comprehensive and authoritative field guide to the birds of the region."--Birding Ecuador blog "What is incredible is that even the rarest and most difficult birds are depicted with high-resolution photos... This book is much more than a compilation of high quality photographs--it is a true field guide. This is not surprising since the two authors are both leading experts on Ecuador's birds, and Nick Athanas is a leading bird guide for Tropical Birding."--Frank Lambert, Birder's Library

• INTRODUCTION 7 Region Covered 9 Range Maps 9 Format of the Species Accounts 11 Taxonomy 11 Conservation 12 Habitats 13 Elevational Zones 19 Bird Topography 20 SPECIES ACCOUNTS 23 Tinamous 24 Guans, Chachalacas, Curassows, and Screamer 26 New-World Quails, Whistling-Ducks 30 Ducks 30 Grebes 36 Storks 36 Albatrosses 38 Petrels and Shearwaters 38 Storm-petrels 38 Tropicbirds 40 Flamingos 40 Ibises and Spoonbills 40 Herons, Bitterns, and Egrets 42 Frigatebirds 48 Pelicans 48 Boobies 50 Anhinga 54 Cormorants 54 Vultures 56 Osprey 58 Kites, Hawks, and Eagles 58 Falcons and Caracaras 82 Rails, Gallinules, and Coots 90 Limpkin 96 Stilts 96 Oystercatchers 96 Sunbittern 96 Thick-knees 96 Jacanas 98 Lapwings and Plovers 98 Seedsnipes 102 Snipes, Sandpipers, and Related Shorebirds 102 Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers 114 Pigeons and Doves 124 Parakeets, Parrots, and Macaws 132 Cuckoos and Anis 140 Owls 144 Nighthawks and Nightjars 152 Potoos 156 Oilbird 156 Swifts 158 Hummingbirds 162 Quetzals and Trogons 196 Kingfishers 202 Motmots 204 Jacamars 204 Puffbirds 204 New World Barbets 208 Toucan Barbet 208 Aracaris and Toucans 210 Woodpeckers 214 Ovenbirds (Furnariids) and Woodcreepers 222 Antbirds 242 Antthrushes 254 Antpittas 256 Tapaculos 260 Crescentchest 260 Tyrant Flycatchers 264 Tityras and Becards 302 Sapayoa 306 Cotingas and Fruiteaters 308 Pihas 314 Mourners 314 Manakins 316 Schiffornis 318 Peppershrikes and Vireos 320 Greenlets, Gnatcatchers, and Gnatwrens 322 Mockingbirds 324 Jays 324 Dippers 324 Martins and Swallows 326 Wrens 332 Solitaires and Thrushes 338 Euphonias and Chlorophonias 344 Siskins 348 Goldfinches and Pipits 350 New World Warblers 350 Oropendolas, Orioles, and Blackbirds 360 Bush-tanagers (Chlorospinguses) 366 Piranga Tanagers 368 Tanagers 370 Bananaquit 386 Dacnises 390 Honeycreepers 392 Hemispinguses 394 Tit-like Dacnis 394 Conebills 396 Flowerpiercers 396 Sparrows 400 Chestnut Munia 400 Brush-finches 402 Tanager Finch 406 Plushcap 406 Sierra-finches 408 Slaty Finch 408 Sicalis Finches 410 Crimson-breasted Finch 410 Grassquits 412 Warbling-finches 412 Seed-finches and Seedeaters 414 Grosbeaks 420 Saltators 422 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 424 APPENDIX I: SPECIES NOT INCLUDED 425 APPENDIX II: PHOTOGRAPHER CREDITS 428 GLOSSARY 431 SPECIES INDEX (ENGLISH AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES) 434