Birding in Panama

Panama hosts a great variety of diverse migratory and endemic birds due to its geographic location between North and South America and the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Home to 10% of the world’s known bird species, Panama is also one of the five migratory bird corridors in the world. Here, you will find three major birding zones:

Central Panama
This area can be described as one of the most accessible and rich birding areas in the world. All major spots are less than one hour from Panama City.

The Metropolitan Park
One of the biggest surprises in Panama City is the 232 hectares of tropical dry forest only 10 minutes from the heart of downtown. Well maintained trails, 250 bird species, iguanas, tortoises, sloths, anteaters and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute all make up part of this memorable city park. Walk its 5 trails in search of the yellow-green tyrannulet (Phylloscartes flavovirens), the lance-tailed manakin (Chiroxiphia lanceolata) and the rosy thrush-tanager (Rhodinocichla rosea).

The Soberanía National Park
This park is home to a wide variety of habitats, including rainforest, mangroves, and wetlands. It's a great place to spot toucans, motmots, and kingfishers.The trails of Soberania National Park are considered by expert birdwatchers to be some of the best in the world. The Pipeline trail within the park is a must-visit for any birdwatcher. It's known for its canopy tower, offering stunning views of the rainforest. Walk carefully to find the rufous-vented ground cuckoo (Neomorphus geoffroyi), the wing-banded antbird (Myrmornis torquata) or the yellow-green tyrannulet.

Western Panama
Western Panama has some of the most awesome Central American birds, The Resplendent Quetzal, Bare-necked-Umbrellabird and Three-wattled Bellbird just to mention some. Traveling to western Panama can be very easy due to the good road system to most of the destinations, although to reach some national parks a 4x4 is required.

Tierras Altas , Chiriqui Province
In these Chiriqui mountains, you’ll discover more than 500 species native to both the Caribbean and the Pacific. On a normal walk through the streets and forests of Tierras Altas, you can find up to 20 species. Some of the endemic birds that you can find throughout the year are the highly sought-after resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno), the fiery-throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis) and the tricarunculate bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatus).

Volcan Baru National Park
The best place to spot the quetzal is in the cloud forest of Baru Volcano National Park. You may also spot yellow-thighed finches, black and white-hawk-eagles, black-thighed grosbeaks, and black guans.

Bocas del Toro
Its territory is home to 778 species–a very high record and one of the many reasons why birding is so popular in the region. Such abundance is no coincidence. Two crucial areas are located in Bocas: the Caribbean Watershed of Central America, one of the most important areas in the world for birds of restricted range, and the altitude areas, where there is an abundance of high-altitude birds that occasionally migrate to the lowlands. This is the case of the Bare-necked Umbrellabird (Cephalopterus glabricollis) and the Three-wattled Bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatu), both globally endangered species.

La Amistad International Park
Located along the Panama and Costa Rica border, this park is the most remote nature preserve in Central America. The park is most accessible from Las Nubes, a small town that is four miles past Cerro Punta en Tierras Altas. The park is home to renowned biodiversity and animal species not found anywhere else. The tropical forest on the Central Mountain Range was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983 and hosts over 600 bird species – 50% of the bird species in Panamá – including the beloved quetzal, the three-wattled bellbird, and the rarely seen bare-necked umbrellabird.

Eastern Panama
The Eastern part of Panama contains unique avian species not found in the rest of Central America, some species are mostly related to South American birds. This area includes the Cerro Azul, Tocumen Marsh, San Blas region (Nusagandi) and wild Darien province.

The Darien
The Darien National Park is the largest national park in Central America (575,000 ha). It spans the famous “Darien Gap,” the only break in the Pan-American Highway from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Highly biodiverse, Darien is a stronghold for endangered species such as the Great Green Macaw, Jaguar and Baird’s Tapir. In Darien’s lowlands and highlands you can find Dusky-backed Jacamar, Black Oropendola, Sapayoa, Viridian Dacnis, Gray-and-gold and Green-naped Tanagers, Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker, Tacarcuna Wood-Quail, Beautiful Treerunner, Pirre Chlorospingus, Pirre Hummingbird and Black-crowned Antpitta. Furthermore, there are some iconic birds from South America that make their Central American range extensions into Darien. These include Black-capped Donacobius, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Golden-green Woodpecker, Red-billed Scythebill, Yellow-collared Chlorophonia, Slender-billed Kite, Saffron-headed Parrot and Large-billed Seed-Finch.