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    • Photograph of Turquoise-browed Momot

    The fabulous Turquoise-browed Motmot, by Steve Garvie, one of seven species of motmot present in Honduras!

  • Where to watch birds and wildlife in
    • HONDURAS

    Best Birds and other wildlife in Honduras

    Birds

    Endemics 1
    Honduran Emerald.

    Near-endemics

    Honduras, Mexico and Belize 1
    Yucatan Nightjar.

    Honduras, Mexico, Belize and Guatemala 3
    Mayan (Black-faced) Antthrush, Green-backed Sparrow and Black-throated Shrike-tanager.

    Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala 6
    Guatemalan (Northern) Pygmy-owl, Fulvous Owl, Blue-throated Motmot, Black-capped Swallow, Bar-winged Oriole and Golden-browed Warbler.

    Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador 6
    Wine-throated Hummingbird, Black-throated Jay, Unicoloured Jay, Brown-backed Solitaire, Rufous-collared Thrush and Prevost’s (White-faced) Ground-sparrow.

    Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua 3
    Gould’s (Spotted) Nightingale-thrush, Blue-crowned Chlorophonia and Crescent-chested Warbler.

    Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua 1
    Red-throated Parakeet.

    Honduras and Nicaragua 1
    Green-breasted Mountain-gem.

    Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica 1
    White-eared Ground-sparrow.

    Other Central American Endemics 6
    Ocellated Quail (in the Danli El Paraiso area), Bushy-crested Jay, Rufous-browed Wren, White-browed (Carolina) Wren, Blue-and-white Mockingbird and Black Thrush.

    Other specialities
    Keel-billed Motmot. Also a chance of Resplendent Quetzal.

    Others
    Plain Chachalaca, Magnificent Frigatebird, Brown Pelican, Anhinga, Boat-billed Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-heron, Bare-throated Tiger-heron, Snail Kite, several hawks including White, Limpkin, Ruddy Crake, Northern Jacana and other shorebirds, Royal Tern, Red-lored and White-fronted Parrots, Squirrel Cuckoo, Lesser Roadrunner, Vermiculated Screech-owl, Mottled Owl, Great Potoo, Violet Sabrewing, Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird, Black-headed, Collared, Mountain, Slaty-tailed and Violaceous Trogons, Amazon and Green Kingfishers, Blue-crowned, Broad-billed, Rufous, Tody and Turquoise-browed Motmots, White-necked Puffbird, Emerald Toucanet, Collared Aracari, Keel-billed Toucan, Chestnut-coloured and Pale-billed Woodpeckers, Rufous-breasted Spinetail, woodcreepers, Great Antshrike, Dusky Antbird, Scaled Antpitta, tyrant flycatchers, Grey-headed Piprites, Black-crowned and Masked Tityras, Lovely Cotinga, Red-capped and White-collared Manakins, White-throated Magpie-jay, Long-billed Gnatwren, Slate-coloured Solitaire, Olive Warbler, wintering warblers, Slate-throated Redstart, tanagers including Crimson-collared, Green and Red-legged Honeycreepers, Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer, orioles, Chestnut-headed and Montezuma Oropendolas, and euphonias. Also a chance of King Vulture, Yellow-eared Toucanet, Black-crested Coquette, Sungrebe, Buffy-crowned Wood-partridge, Tawny-faced Quail, White-faced Quail-dove and Green Shrike-vireo.

    Mammals
    A chance of Mantled Howler and White-faced Capuchin Monkeys, White-nosed Coati and Central American Agouti.

    Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish
    Excellent scuba-diving and snorkeling with Whale Sharks (all year but mostly Feb-May), Eagle Rays and numerous coral reef fish, and, on land, Basilisk Lizards.

    Best Sites for Birds and other wildlife in Honduras

    Best Times for Birds and other wildlife in Honduras

    Whale Sharks are seen throughout the year around the Bay Islands but they are usually more numerous and easier to see between February and May, which, fortunately, overlaps with February-March which is usually the best time to look for birds. This period falls at the start of the dry season along the Caribbean coast which usually lasts from February to June. The main rains usually last from August to December although it can rain at any time of the year in the central highlands. The hurricane season usually lasts from June to November and has been very destructive in Honduras.

    Recommended Bird Books etc. for Honduras

    Guide to the Birds of Honduras by R J Gallardo et al. Privately published, 2015.

    Birds of Central America by A C Vallely and D Dyer. PUP, 2018.

    Peterson Field Guide to the Birds of Northern Central America by J Fagan and O Komar. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016.

    A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America by S Howell and S Webb. OUP, 1995.

    National Audubon Society Field Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes by C L Smith. Alfred A Knopf, 1997.

    A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico by F A Reid. OUP, 2009 (Second Edition).

    A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America by J Glassberg. Sunstreak Books, 2007.

    Where to watch birds in Central America & the Caribbean by N Wheatley and D Brewer. Helm, 2001.

    Don’t know which country/countries/regions to visit in Central America? Then it may be worth considering taking a look at this book, written by this website’s author and David Brewer. It is many years old of course but it still provides a starting point, an overview and a guiding light to the best birds and the best places to look for them in the region, and could save hours of searching for similar information on the internet. However, it is important to check more up-to-date sources for sites which have been opened up, sites and species which have been discovered, lodges that have been built etc. since the book was published.

    Birding and Wildlife Trip Reports for Honduras

    Many trip reports, some for Honduras, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Honduras. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Honduras' below.

    Local bird and wildlife guides in Honduras

    The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.

    Accommodation for birders in Honduras

    Some Organized Tours for birds and other wildlife to Honduras

    There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.

    While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.

    Tour companies who are running organized tours to Honduras in the next couple of years include the following. Many of these also offer custom tours.