MIRAFLORES & LIST 
ECUADOR

PICHINCHA (Compass)

Lat:00o00´S/00o00´W ha topography msl 
Protected/registered status 
Best Time for visit (20th-22nd February, 2006)

 

Birding Site Guide

This is an excellent birding area less than 2 hours by bus from Quito. Buses leave from the Flor de Valle terminal in Quito and cost about $1.50. I stayed at a friends place in the tiny village of Miraflores (1,900m) 30 minutes before Mindo at about km 65 but there are many places to stay in Mindo. In fact this town seems to have grown up on birding. There is nowhere to stay in Miraflores as yet but the Arcos family are building accomodation. They have also built a 'Canopy tour', a slide through the trees. There is great birding on the property with many interesting species of tanager, hummingbird and antpitta. Giant and Moustached Antpitta were both heard nearby as was Toucan Barbet. Walking around the town of Mindo and the several km stretch of from the main road down into town can also be productive. Hitching along the roads is fairly easy. I saw 125 species including 36 lifers 


Species seen 

  • Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
  • Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
  • Plain-breasted Hawk Accipiter ventralis Photographed Recorded
  • Roadside Hawk Buteo magnirostris Recorded
  • American Kestrel Falco sparverius
  • Crested Guan Penelope purpurascens Possibly heard
  • Dark-backed Wood-Quail Odontophorus melanonotus Endemic Vulnerable Heard only Recorded
  • White-throated Crake Laterallus albigularis Heard only Recorded
  • Rock Pigeon Columba livia Introduced species
  • Band-tailed Pigeon Patagioenas fasciata
  • Plumbeous Pigeon Patagioenas plumbea Recorded
  • Ruddy Pigeon Patagioenas subvinacea
  • White-throated Quail-Dove Geotrygon frenata Heard only
  • Barred Parakeet Bolborhynchus lineola Heard only
  • Red-billed Parrot Pionus sordidus
  • Squirrel Cuckoo Piaya cayana
  • Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris Recorded
  • Mottled Owl Ciccaba virgata Heard only Recorded
  • Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis Possibly seen
  • Band-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus longirostris
  • White-collared Swift Streptoprocne zonaris
  • Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift Panyptila cayennensis
  • Green Violet-ear Colibri thalassinus Photographed
  • Sparkling Violet-ear Colibri coruscans
  • Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Amazilia tzacatl
  • Andean Emerald Agyrtria franciae
  • Speckled Hummingbird Adelomyia melanogenys Photographed
  • Fawn-breasted Brilliant Heliodoxa rubinoides
  • Brown Inca Coeligena wilsoni
  • Gorgeted Sunangel Heliangelus strophianus
  • Booted Racket-tail Ocreatus underwoodii Recorded
  • Violet-tailed Sylph Aglaiocercus coelestis
  • Wedge-billed Hummingbird Augastes geoffroyi
  • Purple-throated Woodstar Calliphlox mitchellii Photographed
  • White-bellied Woodstar Chaetocercus mulsant
  • Masked Trogon Trogon personatus
  • Golden-headed Quetzal Pharomachrus auriceps Heard only
  • Rufous Motmot Baryphthengus martii Heard only
  • Toucan Barbet Semnornis ramphastinus Near-threatened Heard only
  • Crimson-rumped Toucanet Aulacorhynchus haematopygus Photographed
  • Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan Andigena laminirostris Near-threatened
  • Smoky-brown Woodpecker Veniliornis fumigatus
  • Crimson-mantled Woodpecker Piculus rivolii Photographed
  • Powerful Woodpecker Campephilus pollens
  • (Pacific Hornero) Furnarius leucopus
  • Rufous Spinetail Synallaxis unirufa
  • Azara's Spinetail Synallaxis azarae Heard only
  • Slaty Spinetail Synallaxis brachyura Recorded
  • Red-faced Spinetail Cranioleuca erythrops
  • Rusty-winged Barbtail Premnornis guttuligera Possibly seen
  • Spotted Barbtail Premnoplex brunnescens
  • Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner Anabacerthia variegaticeps
  • Lineated Foliage-gleaner Syndactyla subalaris Recorded
  • Tyrannine Woodcreeper Dendrocincla tyrannina
  • Strong-billed Woodcreeper Xiphocolaptes promeropirhynchus Photographed
  • Spotted Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus erythropygius
  • Montane Woodcreeper Lepidocolaptes lacrymiger
  • Uniform Antshrike Thamnophilus unicolor Recorded
  • Pacific Antwren Myrmotherula pacifica
  • Long-tailed Antbird Drymophila caudata Recorded
  • Immaculate Antbird Myrmeciza immaculata
  • Rufous-breasted Antthrush Formicarius rufipectus Heard only
  • Giant Antpitta Grallaria gigantea Endangered Heard only
  • Moustached Antpitta Grallaria alleni Endangered Heard only
  • Nariño Tapaculo Scytalopus vicinior Heard only
  • Spillman's Tapaculo Scytalopus spillmanni Heard only
  • Green-and-black Fruiteater Pipreola riefferii Photographed
  • Scaled Fruiteater Ampelioides tschudii
  • Streak-necked Flycatcher Mionectes striaticollis
  • White-tailed Tyrannulet Mecocerculus poecilocercus
  • Ornate Flycatcher Myiotriccus ornatus
  • Flavescent Flycatcher Myiophobus flavicans Possibly seen
  • Smoke-colored Pewee Contopus fumigatus
  • Golden-crowned Flycatcher Myiodynastes chrysocephalus Photographed Recorded
  • Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
  • Barred Becard Pachyramphus versicolor
  • One-colored Becard Pachyramphus homochrous
  • Turquoise Jay Cyanolyca turcosa Recorded
  • Blue-and-white Swallow Notiochelidon cyanoleuca Photographed Recorded
  • Southern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx ruficollis Photographed
  • Sharpe's Wren Cinnycerthia olivascens Heard only
  • House Wren Troglodytes aedon Recorded
  • Gray-breasted Wood-Wren Henicorhina leucophrys
  • Andean Solitaire Myadestes ralloides Heard only
  • Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus
  • Great Thrush Turdus fuscater Recorded
  • Glossy-black Thrush Turdus serranus Possibly seen
  • Ecuadorian Thrush Turdus maculirostris
  • Tropical Gnatcatcher Polioptila plumbea
  • Brown-capped Vireo Vireo leucophrys Recorded
  • Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus
  • Blackburnian Warbler Dendroica fusca
  • Slate-throated Redstart Myioborus miniatus
  • Russet-crowned Warbler Basileuterus coronatus
  • Three-striped Warbler Basileuterus tristriatus
  • Bananaquit Coereba flaveola
  • Dusky Bush-Tanager Chlorospingus semifuscus Recorded
  • White-lined Tanager Tachyphonus rufus
  • White-winged Tanager Piranga leucoptera
  • Flame-rumped Tanager Ramphocelus flammigerus
  • Blue-gray Tanager Thraupis episcopus
  • Palm Tanager Thraupis palmarum
  • Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager Anisognathus somptuosus Photographed
  • Fawn-breasted Tanager Pipraeidea melanonota
  • Golden-rumped Euphonia Euphonia cyanocephala
  • Orange-bellied Euphonia Euphonia xanthogaster
  • Golden Tanager Tangara arthus Photographed Recorded
  • Silver-throated Tanager Tangara icterocephala
  • Flame-faced Tanager Tangara parzudakii Photographed
  • Golden-naped Tanager Tangara ruficervix
  • Beryl-spangled Tanager Tangara nigroviridis Photographed
  • Blue-and-black Tanager Tangara vassorii
  • Black-capped Tanager Tangara heinei
  • Blue-black Grassquit Volatinia jacarina
  • Variable Seedeater Sporophila corvina
  • Yellow-bellied Seedeater Sporophila nigricollis
  • Blue Seedeater Amaurospiza concolor Possibly seen
  • Yellow-faced Grassquit Tiaris olivacea
  • White-sided Flowerpiercer Diglossa albilatera
  • Tricolored Brush-Finch Atlapetes tricolor
  • Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch Buarremon brunneinucha
  • Rufous-collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis
  • Black-winged Saltator Saltator atripennis
  • Scrub Blackbird Dives warszewiczi
  • Yellow-bellied Siskin Carduelis xanthogastra


Other Fauna 
A total of -- species of mammals. 

There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles. 

Flora 

Author: Charles Hesse

 

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