Birdwatching in Peru

If you’ve never been a birdwatcher before, Peru might just turn you into an aficionado. Peru is often considered the top birdwatching destination in the world. What may be most amazing about Peru’s birdwatching is that there are new species of birds being continually discovered in Peru – meaning that you won’t just be a tourist, but an actual explorer! Maybe you’ll find a species that is not currently on record.

Even if you are spotting perennial favorites, Peru offers some of the most diverse birdwatching in the world – in terms of the size of birds, color, and different characteristics. Birdwatching sometimes gets the reputation of sitting around waiting for a bird to appear. In Peru, it’s close to being in a zoo, where you don’t have to wait very long for another type of bird to fly by, sometimes flocks at a time.

Currently on record are over 1800 species – including the record for the number of bird species in one place: 650 the jungles of Tambopata. If you think of the common American neighborhood, there may be 20 different species of bird, if that, so Peru offers a dazzling cornucopia of bird species. No binoculars are even required, though of course this can make the experience more enjoyable.

The best bird watching is within the jungles of Peru and there are specialized birdwatching tours available. Keep in mind that any tours through popular tourist attractions like Machu Picchu will also be full of different bird species, so even if a tour is not birdwatching-specific, it’s a good idea to have an identifying guide on hand to know just what type of animals you’re seeing.