Ecuador Ramsar wetland
Machalilla National Park
336 bird species recorded; the most in December.
Ecuador planeta magico · CC BY-SA 4.0
This month here
221 species in January.208 species in February.208 species in March.198 species in April.210 species in May.206 species in June.187 species in July.206 species in August.195 species in September.217 species in October.226 species in November.277 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
NT
NT
NT
NTNT
NTNT
NT- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
336 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 336Speciesrecorded more than once
- 98Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 10ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 38,624Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 103 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 30Raptors
- 7Owls
- 21Waders
- 27Gulls & seabirds
- 4Ducks & geese
- 18Herons, ibises & grebes
- 1Flamingos
- 155Songbirds
- 73Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 336 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors30 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Hook-billed KiteChondrohierax uncinatus
- Laughing FalconHerpetotheres cachinnans
- Zone-tailed HawkButeo albonotatus
- Crane HawkGeranospiza caerulescens
- Harris's HawkParabuteo unicinctus
- Grey-backed hawkLeucopternis occidentalis
- Grey-lined HawkButeo nitidus
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Crested CaracaraCaracara plancus
- Savanna HawkButeogallus meridionalis
- Short-tailed HawkButeo brachyurus
- Collared Forest FalconMicrastur semitorquatus
- Swallow-tailed KiteElanoides forficatus
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Bat FalconFalco rufigularis
- Pearl KiteGampsonyx swainsonii
- Plumbeous KiteIctinia plumbea
- Roadside HawkRupornis magnirostris
- Great Black HawkButeogallus urubitinga
- King VultureSarcoramphus papa
- Buteo polyosomaButeo polyosoma
- Snail KiteRostrhamus sociabilis
- Ornate Hawk-EagleSpizaetus ornatusNT
- Falco sparveriusFalco sparverius
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Common Black HawkButeogallus anthracinus
- White-tailed KiteElanus leucurus
- Leucopternis plumbeusLeucopternis plumbeus
Owls7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Pacific Pygmy OwlGlaucidium peruanum
- Burrowing OwlAthene cunicularia
- Peruvian Screech-owlMegascops roboratus
- Spectacled OwlPulsatrix perspicillata
- American Barn OwlTyto furcata
- Striped OwlPseudoscops clamator
- Black-and-white OwlStrix nigrolineata
Waders21 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Black-necked StiltHimantopus mexicanus
- Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatus
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- WilletTringa semipalmata
- Solitary SandpiperTringa solitaria
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutillaNT
- American OystercatcherHaematopus palliatus
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- Semipalmated SandpiperCalidris pusillaNT
- Wilson's PhalaropePhalaropus tricolor
- Wandering (Alaskan) TattlerTringa incana
- Western SandpiperCalidris mauri
- Wattled JacanaJacana jacana
- Lesser yellowlegsTringa flavipesVU
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferusNT
- Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseusVU
- Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdii
- Red-necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatus
Gulls & seabirds27 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Magnificent FrigatebirdFregata magnificens
- Blue-footed BoobySula nebouxii
- Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla
- Royal TernThalasseus maximus
- Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcan
- Elegant TernThalasseus elegansNT
- Peruvian BoobySula variegata
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- Inca TernLarosterna incaNT
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Grey-headed GullChroicocephalus cirrocephalus
- Sooty shearwaterPuffinus griseus
- Southern Black-backed GullLarus dominicanus
- Grey GullLeucophaeus modestus
- Nazca boobySula granti
- Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
- Wedge-rumped Storm-petrelOceanodroma tethys
- Phaethon aethereusPhaethon aethereus
- Red-footed BoobySula sula
- Sabine's GullXema sabini
- South American TernSterna hirundinacea
- Belcher's GullLarus belcheri
- Swallow-tailed GullCreagrus furcatus
- Black PetrelProcellaria parkinsoniVU
- Arctic TernSterna paradisaea
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Waved AlbatrossPhoebastria irrorataCR
Ducks & geese4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Blue-winged TealSpatula discors
- White-cheeked PintailAnas bahamensis
- Masked DuckNomonyx dominicus
- Black-bellied Whistling DuckDendrocygna autumnalis
Herons, ibises & grebes18 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Brown PelicanPelecanus occidentalis
- Yellow-crowned Night-HeronNyctanassa violacea
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Phalacrocorax brasilianusPhalacrocorax brasilianus
- Peruvian PelicanPelecanus thagusNT
- Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
- Cocoi HeronArdea cocoi
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- Guanay CormorantLeucocarbo bougainvilliorumNT
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Striated HeronButorides striata
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- Tricolored HeronEgretta tricolor
- Roseate SpoonbillPlatalea ajaja
- Least GrebeTachybaptus dominicus
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podiceps
Flamingos1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Chilean flamingoPhoenicopterus chilensisNT
Songbirds155 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Blue-gray TanagerThraupis episcopus
- Southern House WrenTroglodytes musculus
- Tropical GnatcatcherPolioptila plumbea
- Tropical KingbirdTyrannus melancholicus
- Dives warczewicziDives warczewiczi
- Gray-breasted MartinProgne chalybea
- Southern Beardless-tyrannuletCamptostoma obsoletum
- Saffron FinchSicalis flaveola
- Collared AntshrikeThamnophilus bernardi
- Streaked saltatorSaltator striatipectus
- Furnarius leucopusFurnarius leucopus
- Thick-billed EuphoniaEuphonia laniirostris
- Superciliated WrenCantorchilus superciliaris
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Scarlet FlycatcherPyrocephalus rubinus
- Long-tailed MockingbirdMimus longicaudatus
- Euscarthmus fulvicepsEuscarthmus fulviceps
- Variable SeedeaterSporophila corvina
- Red-eyed VireoVireo olivaceus
- Baird's FlycatcherMyiodynastes bairdii
- Elegant CrescentchestMelanopareia elegans
- Parrot-billed SeedeaterSporophila peruviana
- Golden GrosbeakPheucticus chrysogaster
- Fasciated WrenCampylorhynchus fasciatus
- Crimson-breasted FinchRhodospingus cruentus
- Tumbes PeweeContopus punensis
- Necklaced SpinetailSynallaxis stictothorax
- Speckle-breasted WrenPheugopedius sclateri
- Tropical ParulaSetophaga pitiayumi
- Streak-headed WoodcreeperLepidocolaptes souleyetii
- Blue-and-white SwallowNotiochelidon cyanoleuca
- Yellow-rumped CaciqueCacicus cela
- Yellow-bellied ElaeniaElaenia flavogaster
- Ecuadorian ThrushTurdus maculirostris
- Snowy-throated KingbirdTyrannus niveigularis
- Yellow-tailed OrioleIcterus mesomelas
- Blue-black GrassquitVolatinia jacarina
- Pacific ElaeniaMyiopagis subplacens
- Southern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx ruficollis
- Common Tody-flycatcherTodirostrum cinereum
- Grey-and-gold WarblerMyiothlypis fraseri
- Saffron SiskinSpinus siemiradzkii
- Boat-billed FlycatcherMegarynchus pitangua
- Shiny CowbirdMolothrus bonariensis
- Plumbeous-backed ThrushTurdus reevei
- BananaquitCoereba flaveola
- Rufous-browed PeppershrikeCyclarhis gujanensis
- Black-capped SparrowArremon abeillei
- Plain AntvireoDysithamnus mentalis
- Sooty-crowned FlycatcherMyiarchus phaeocephalus
- Chestnut-throated SeedeaterSporophila telasco
- Social FlycatcherMyiozetetes similis
- Great AntshrikeTaraba major
- East Amazonian Fire-eyePyriglena leuconota
- Olivaceous WoodcreeperSittasomus griseicapillus
- Slaty SpinetailSynallaxis brachyura
- Thraupis palmarumThraupis palmarum
- Sooty-headed TyrannuletPhyllomyias griseiceps
- Lesser GreenletHylophilus decurtatus
- Scale-crested Pygmy-TyrantLophotriccus pileatus
- Streaked FlycatcherMyiodynastes maculatus
- White-edged OrioleIcterus graceannae
- Red-billed ScythebillCampylorhamphus trochilirostris
- Buff-throated SaltatorSaltator maximus
- Bran-colored FlycatcherMyiophobus fasciatus
- Black-lored YellowthroatGeothlypis auricularis
- Streaked XenopsXenops rutilans
- Piratic FlycatcherLegatus leucophaius
- Plain-brown WoodcreeperDendrocincla fuliginosa
- Flame-rumped TanagerRamphocelus flammigerus
- Mouse-coloured TyrannuletPhaeomyias murina
- Peruvian MeadowlarkSturnella bellicosa
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- Short-tailed Field-tyrantMuscigralla brevicauda
- Masked Water TyrantFluvicola nengeta
- Black-striped SparrowArremonops conirostris
- One-coloured BecardPachyramphus homochrous
- Whiskered MyiobiusMyiobius barbatus
- Dusky-capped FlycatcherMyiarchus tuberculifer
- Red TanagerPiranga flava
- Collared Warbling-finchPoospiza hispaniolensis
- Yellow-bellied SeedeaterSporophila nigricollis
- Yellow-olive FlatbillTolmomyias sulphurescens
- Grey-breasted FlycatcherLathrotriccus griseipectus
- Black-faced DacnisDacnis lineata
- Brown-chested MartinProgne tapera
- Orange-billed SparrowArremon aurantiirostris
- Yellow-billed CaciqueAmblycercus holosericeus
- Henna-hooded Foliage-gleanerHylocryptus erythrocephalus
- Rusty-margined FlycatcherMyiozetetes cayanensis
- Blackish-headed SpinetailSynallaxis tithysVU
- Orange-bellied EuphoniaEuphonia xanthogaster
- Scrub AntpittaGrallaria watkinsiNT
- White-lined TanagerTachyphonus rufus
- Greenish ElaeniaMyiopagis viridicata
- White-bearded ManakinManacus manacus
- Giant CowbirdMolothrus oryzivorus
- Guira TanagerHemithraupis guira
- Loriotus luctuosusLoriotus luctuosus
- Mangrove WarblerSetophaga petechia
- Dull-colored GrassquitAsemospiza obscura
- Yellow TyrannuletCapsiempis flaveola
- Olive-crowned YellowthroatGeothlypis semiflava
- Western Slaty-antshrikeThamnophilus atrinucha
- Orange-crowned EuphoniaEuphonia saturata
- Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatus
- Green HoneycreeperChlorophanes spiza
- Ochraceous AttilaAttila torridusNT
- Quiscalus mexicanusQuiscalus mexicanus
- Stilpnia cyanicollisStilpnia cyanicollis
- Gray-and-white TyrannuletPseudelaenia leucospodia
- Black-and-white SeedeaterSporophila luctuosa
- Grey-breasted Wood-WrenHenicorhina leucophrys
- Slaty-capped FlycatcherLeptopogon superciliaris
- Buff-throated Foliage-gleanerAutomolus ochrolaemus
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- Ochre-bellied FlycatcherMionectes oleagineus
- Thick-billed Seed FinchSporophila funerea
- Amazonian Royal FlycatcherOnychorhynchus coronatus
- Red-faced SpinetailCranioleuca erythrops
- Slaty AntwrenMyrmotherula schisticolor
- Blue-black GrosbeakCyanocompsa cyanoides
- Slaty BecardPachyramphus spodiurusVU
- Black-and-white TanagerConothraupis speculigera
- Black-winged SaltatorSaltator atripennis
- Black-tailed MyiobiusMyiobius atricaudus
- Rufous-winged TyrannuletMecocerculus calopterus
- Ramphocaenus melanurusRamphocaenus melanurus
- Bay-headed TanagerTangara gyrola
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- White-tailed JayCyanocorax mystacalis
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- Brown-capped TyrannuletOrnithion brunneicapillus
- Masked TityraTityra semifasciata
- Black-crowned TityraTityra inquisitor
- Slate-throated RedstartMyioborus miniatus
- Spotted WoodcreeperXiphorhynchus erythropygius
- Bay WrenCantorchilus nigricapillus
- Black-headed Tody-FlycatcherTodirostrum nigriceps
- Ornate FlycatcherMyiotriccus ornatus
- Wedge-billed WoodcreeperGlyphorynchus spirurus
- Dusky-faced TanagerMitrospingus cassinii
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Spotted Nightingale-ThrushCatharus dryas
- Sulphur-throated FinchSicalis taczanowskii
- Southern Nightingale-WrenMicrocerculus marginatus
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Fork-tailed FlycatcherTyrannus savana
- Western Wood-PeweeContopus sordidulus
- Smoke-colored PeweeContopus fumigatus
- Subtropical CaciqueCacicus uropygialis
- Blackburnian WarblerSetophaga fusca
- Whiskered WrenPheugopedius mystacalis
- Buff-rumped WarblerMyiothlypis fulvicauda
- Yellow-bellied SiskinSpinus xanthogastrus
Other birds73 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Eared DoveZenaida auriculata
- Amazilia HummingbirdAmazilis amazilia
- Croaking Ground-DoveColumbina cruziana
- Pacific ParrotletForpus coelestis
- White-tipped DoveLeptotila verreauxi
- West Peruvian DoveZenaida meloda
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Groove-billed AniCrotophaga sulcirostris
- Rufous-headed ChachalacaOrtalis erythropteraVU
- Ecuadorian Ground-DoveColumbina buckleyi
- Pale-browed TinamouCrypturellus transfasciatusNT
- Esmeraldas woodstarChaetocercus berlepschiVU
- Red-masked ParakeetAratinga erythrogenys
- Pale-vented PigeonPatagioenas cayennensis
- Golden-olive WoodpeckerColaptes rubiginosus
- Blue Ground DoveClaravis pretiosa
- Ecuadorian PiculetPicumnus sclateri
- Whooping MotmotMomotus subrufescens
- Rufous-tailed HummingbirdAmazilia tzacatl
- Bronze-winged ParrotPionus chalcopterus
- Short-tailed WoodstarMyrmia micrura
- Pallid DoveLeptotila pallida
- Smooth-billed AniCrotophaga ani
- Ochre-bellied DoveLeptotila ochraceiventrisVU
- Scrub NightjarNyctidromus anthonyi
- Striped CuckooTapera naevia
- Long-billed StarthroatHeliomaster longirostris
- Long-billed HermitPhaethornis longirostris
- Scarlet-backed WoodpeckerVeniliornis callonotus
- Ecuadorian TrogonTrogon mesurus
- Blue-headed ParrotPionus menstruus
- Lesser NighthawkChordeiles acutipennis
- Black-throated MangoAnthracothorax nigricollis
- Gray-rumped SwiftChaetura cinereiventris
- Gray-capped CuckooCoccyzus lansbergi
- Green KingfisherChloroceryle americana
- Chlorestes julieChlorestes julie
- Little TinamouCrypturellus soui
- Lesser Swallow-tailed SwiftPanyptila cayennensis
- Ringed KingfisherMegaceryle torquata
- Gartered TrogonTrogon caligatus
- Guayaquil WoodpeckerCampephilus gayaquilensis
- Yellow-throated ToucanRamphastos ambiguus
- Black-cheeked WoodpeckerMelanerpes pucherani
- Collared AraçariPteroglossus torquatus
- LimpkinAramus guarauna
- PauraqueNyctidromus albicollis
- Ruddy PigeonPatagioenas subvinacea
- Crowned WoodnymphThalurania colombica
- Olivaceous PiculetPicumnus olivaceus
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Common Squirrel-cuckooPiaya cayana
- Short-tailed SwiftChaetura brachyura
- White-collared SwiftStreptoprocne zonaris
- White-whiskered PuffbirdMalacoptila panamensis
- Scaled PigeonPatagioenas speciosa
- Choco ToucanRamphastos brevis
- Dark-billed CuckooCoccyzus melacoryphus
- Lineated WoodpeckerDryocopus lineatus
- Greater AniCrotophaga major
- Speckled HummingbirdAdelomyia melanogenys
- White-necked JacobinFlorisuga mellivora
- Collared TrogonTrogon collaris
- Little woodstarChaetocercus bombusNT
- Broad-billed MotmotElectron platyrhynchum
- Purple-crowned FairyHeliothryx barroti
- Rufous-necked Wood-RailAramides axillaris
- Stripe-throated HermitPhaethornis striigularis
- Green-fronted BrilliantHeliodoxa jacula
- Red-rumped WoodpeckerVeniliornis kirkii
- Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica
- Crimson-rumped ToucanetAulacorhynchus haematopygus
- Polyerata amabilisPolyerata amabilis
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in December.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan29°/21°91 mm
- Feb29°/22°161 mm
- Mar29°/22°155 mm
- Apr29°/21°80 mm
- May29°/21°26 mm
- Jun29°/20°7 mm
- Jul29°/19°2 mm
- Aug29°/18°1 mm
- Sep29°/18°1 mm
- Oct29°/19°3 mm
- Nov29°/19°3 mm
- Dec29°/20°17 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Machalilla National Park.
National park
Machalilla National Park is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Ecuador.
336 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 38,624 open records.
The most recorded are the Magnificent Frigatebird, the Black Vulture and the Brown Pelican.
52 species come for the summer, 46 for the winter and 0 only pass through.
10 are threatened worldwide, including Rufous-headed Chachalaca, Esmeraldas woodstar and Ochre-bellied Dove.
The most species are recorded in December.
Get there and watch
- Nativa Whalecampsite · 2.5 km · 2 within 10 km
- Hostal Mantarayaplace to stay · 1.0 km · 54 within 10 km
- Puerto Lópeznearest town · 2.3 km in a straight line
- Eloy Alfaro International Airport (MEC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 71 km in a straight lineCar hire at GYE airport (Guayaquil)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 3viewpoints within 5 kmMirador
- 6car parks within 3 km
- 53restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 2campsites within 10 kmNativa Whale, Hosteria Islamar
- 54places to stay within 10 kmHostal Mantaraya, Punta Piedrero, Monte Libano and 51 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Machalilla National Park.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas7 mountains within 25 kmCerro El Chuchón · 5.2 kmCerro La Gotera · 7.0 kmCerro La Esperanza · 8.0 kmCerro La Laguna · 12 kmCerro La Naranjita · 13 kmCerro Las Cañitas · 13 kmCerro La Naranja · 15 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Machalilla National Park
Ecuador
- 89Birdyas Score
- 336Species
- 98Migrants
- 10Threatened
Gulf of Guayaquil-Tumbes mangroves
Ecuador · 163 km
- 66Birdyas Score
- 206Species
- 63Migrants
- 4Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q1076030) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 38,624 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
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dark skies
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Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
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