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  • Where to watch BIRDS and

  • other wildlife in the world

    • Photograph of Grey-winged Trumpeter

    Grey-winged Trumpeter by David Beadle, a very difficult bird to get such a great image of.

  • Where to watch birds and wildlife in
    • SURINAME

    Best Birds and other wildlife in Suriname

    Birds

    Endemics 1
    Arrowhead Piculet.

    Near-endemics

    Suriname, Guyana and Venezuela 2
    Blue-cheeked Amazon and Guianan (Rufous-brown) Solitaire.

    Guianas 1
    Blood-coloured Woodpecker.

    Guianas, Venezuela and Colombia 1
    Lilac-tailed Parrotlet.

    Guianas, Venezuela and Brazil 36
    Guianan Puffbird, Tepui Toucanet, Guianan Toucanet, Green Aracari, Black-spotted Barbet, Caica Parrot, Painted Parakeet, Northern Red-shouldered Macaw, Brown-bellied Stipplethroat (Antwren), Spot-tailed Antwren, Todd’s Antwren, Black-throated Antshrike, Guianan Antwarbler (Warbling Antbird), Ferruginous-backed Antbird, Red-billed Woodcreeper, Chestnut-rumped Woodcreeper, Lineated (Guianan) Woodcreeper, McConnell’s Spinetail, Tiny Tyrant-manakin, Crimson-hooded Manakin, White-throated Manakin, Guianan Red Cotinga, White Bellbird, Dusky Purpletuft, Glossy-backed Becard, Olivaceous Schiffornis (Mourner), Smoky-fronted Tody-flycatcher, Painted Tody-flycatcher, Guianan Tyrannulet, Olive-crowned Greenlet, Tepui Vireo (not French Guiana), Cayenne Jay, Finsch’s Euphonia, Golden-sided Euphonia, Red-and-black Grosbeak and Blue-backed Tanager.

    Guianas and Brazil 6
    Northern Long-tailed Woodcreeper, Olive-green Tyrannulet, Boat-billed Tody-tyrant, Todd’s Sirystes, White-throated Pewee (not Guyana) and Guianan Gnatcatcher.

    Suriname and Brazil 2
    Sulphur-breasted Parakeet and Pelzeln’s Tody-tyrant.

    Suriname, Brazil and Bolivia 1
    Horned Sungem.

    Other Specialities
    Grey-winged Trumpeter, Black-faced and Grey-bellied Hawks, Rufous Crab-hawk, Black-bellied Cuckoo, Roiraman (Vermiculated) Screech-owl, Chapman’s Swift, Racket-tailed and Tufted Coquettes, Golden-spangled Piculet, Waved Woodpecker, Dusky and Red-fan Parrots, Sapphire-rumped Parrotlet, Rufous-crowned Elaenia, Smoky-fronted Tody-flycatcher, Black Manakin, Pale-bellied Mourner, Spectacled Thrush, Rose-breasted Chat, Bicoloured Conebill, Yellow-green Grosbeak and Wing-barred Seedeater. Also a chance of Harpy Eagle, Sunbittern, Rusty-breasted Nunlet, Southern Wing-banded Antbird, Spotted and Thrush-like Antpittas, Crimson Fruitcrow and Sharpbill, and an outside chance of Zigzag Heron (for example, out of Kabalebo Lodge in western Suriname).

    Others
    Magnificent Frigatebird, Scarlet Ibis (mostly Apr-Sep), Blue-and-yellow, Red-and-green and Scarlet Macaws, hummingbirds including Black-eared Fairy, Crimson Topaz and Ruby Topaz, jacamars including Bronzy, Great, Green-tailed and Paradise, Channel-billed and White-throated (Red-billed) Toucans, White-plumed Antbird, Pompadour and Spangled Cotingas, and Musician Wren, as well as Blue-throated Piping-guan, Snail Kite, Black-collared Hawk, Ornate Hawk-eagle, Lined and Slaty-backed Forest-falcons, Red-bellied Macaw, parrots, nightjars including Ladder-tailed, Great Potoo, trogons, Amazonian Motmot, all five South American Kingfishers, puffbirds, Black-necked Aracari, woodpeckers including Chestnut and Ringed, Point-tailed Palmcreeper, spinetails, woodcreepers, antbirds, antpittas, antshrikes, antwrens, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Screaming Piha, Golden-headed Manakin, becards, Slaty-capped Shrike-vireo, tanagers, Yellow Oriole and Yellow-hooded Blackbird.

    Mammals
    A chance of Collared Anteater, Pale-throated Three-toed Sloth, Red-handed Tamarin, Brown Capuchin, (Guianan) Red Howler, Red-backed Bearded Saki, Guianan Saki, Black Spider and Common Squirrel Monkeys, and Giant River Otter. In addition, Golden-handed Tamarin is possible out of Kabalebo Lodge in western Suriname.


    Best Sites for Birds and other wildlife in Suriname

    Best Times for Birds and other wildlife in Suriname

    The short dry season which usually lasts from mid-January to mid-March is the best time to visit for birds, since many of the resident species nest at this time and are at their most active. The long dry season normally lasts from mid-August to mid-November and the wet seasons are usually mid-March to mid-August and mid-December to mid-January.

    Recommended Bird Books etc. for Suriname

    Field Guide to the Birds of Suriname by A L Spaans et al. E J Brill, 2015.

    Birds of Venezuela by D Ascanio, G Rodriguez and R Restall. Helm, 2017.

    Field Guide to the Birds of Venezuela by S Hilty. Helm, 2002.

    Birds of South America: Non-Passerines by J R Roderiguez Mata et al. Harper Collins, 2006 hbk/Princeton University Press, 2006 pbk.

    Birds of South America: Passerines by R S Ridgely and G Tudor. University of Texas Press/Helm, 2009 (Updated paperback edition of books listed next with 400 more illustrations).

    The Birds of South America: Passerines by R S Ridgely and G Tudor. University of Texas Press, 1989 and 1994 (Two volumes).

    Birds of Northern South America by R Restall, C Rodner and M Lentino. Helm, 2006 (Two volumes).

    Mammals of South America by R D Lord. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.

    Suriname: Bradt Travel Guides by P Briggs. Bradt, 2015.


    Apps etc.


    All Birds Guianas by Bloomsbury/Sunbird Images.

    Where to watch birds in South America by N Wheatley. Helm, 1994.

    Don’t know which country/countries to visit in South America? Then it may be worth considering taking a look at this book, written by this website’s author. 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 on the continent, 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 Suriname

    Many trip reports, some for Suriname, 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 Suriname. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Suriname' below.

    Local bird and wildlife guides in Suriname

    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 Suriname

    Some Organized Tours for birds and other wildlife to Suriname

    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 Suriname in the next couple of years include the following. Many of these also offer custom tours.