Why Is Colombia the Number One Country on Earth for Birds?

As the only country that combines the Andes mountains, the Pacific and Caribbean coast, the Amazon rainforest, and the plains of Orinoquia, Colombia has a diverse range of habitats and ecosystems that make it ideal for a wide variety of birds. It is home to almost 2,000 species, of which over 85 are endemic, making it the most bird-diverse country on earth. On a two-week natural history production in Colombia, you could easily film hundreds of species.

Many Species are Yet to Be Discovered

The number of bird species in Colombia also keeps growing each year. New species are being discovered in remote regions on the borders of Venezuela, Panama, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. Little-known species that were thought to be extinct are even being rediscovered, holding out in isolated patches of forest or forgotten mountain ranges. As the country opens up to scientists and researchers, in-depth studies of poorly-understood birds are also producing 'splits' and creating new species in the process.

Owls May Be the Most Mysterious

Perhaps the most mysterious bird family of all is also well-represented in Colombia. There are 29 species of owl in the country, including a newly-described species endemic to the slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains. While many people believe owls are a purely nocturnal family, several Colombian species are diurnal and can be filmed during the day. Even the nocturnal species can be shot in daylight thanks to the local knowledge of experienced guides who know their favored roosting spots and the telltale signs of their presence. And you don't need to journey to remote regions to film owls in Colombia: many species prefer urban environments, and five species alone can be found in Bogota's sprawling capital city.

Our Colombian production company has filmed many different owl species in Colombia during our birding productions for clients like ProColombia, Awake Travel, USAID, and Discovery Channel. Below are our top ten.

Our Top 10 Owls You Can Film In Colombia

Tropical Screech-Owl

Colombia's most widespread owl species is found in every part of the country except for parts of the Pacific coast from the Chocó region south to Ecuador. Typically this species does not occur above 2,700m in altitude. In Colombia, the Tropical Screech-owl is commonly known as the Currucutú, a phonetic name based on its purring night-time call. This species is often found in towns and cities, and its call is commonly heard at dusk and dawn throughout the country. Although Tropical Screech-owls are nocturnal, they tend to return to regular roosting spots and can often be found in the daytime by local guides. They are also relatively common in the Bogota wetlands – our Colombian production company filmed a Tropical Screech-owl during the production of La Bitacora Silvestre de Bogota for Discovery Channel in the Cordoba Wetland.

Santa Marta Screech-Owl

The Santa Marta Screech-owl is one of the newest bird species in Colombia, formally described as recently as 2017. Specimens of this range-restricted endemic owl were first collected over one hundred years ago, in 1919. At the time, it was considered a distinct form of the Tropical Screech-owl, but extensive scientific research revealed this little-known owl to be an entirely new species. The Santa Marta Screech-owl is known only from 1,500-2,500 m.a.s.l. in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains in northern Colombia. It is considered 'Vulnerable' by IUCN, primarily due to habitat destruction in the Sierra Nevada. Most observations of this enigmatic owl come from the San Lorenzo Ridge and El Dorado Bird Reserve on the mountains' northern slopes, but this is principally due to limited access to the rest of the range. During the production of The Birders feature-length documentary, our Colombian production company obtained some of the best existing footage of a Santa Marta Screech-owl.

Crested Owl

The beautiful Crested Owl is one of Colombia's most distinctive owl species with its long, pale ear tufts. It is restricted to lowland rainforests below 1,000 m.a.s.l. and favors old-growth forest near water. In Colombia, the Crested Owl can be found in the Pacific coast's lowland jungles, the middle Magdalena Valley, and southern Amazonian regions. Crested Owls are strictly nocturnal and given their propensity to roost in dense undergrowth alongside heavily forested streams; they are poorly understood and little-known. Their song is a distinctive frog-like croak but is generally given when perched high in the canopy at night, making them hard to spot even when located by ear. Perhaps the best place to film this stunning owl is the lower Anchicaya Valley on the road from Cali to Buenaventura, where local guides know of their preferred roosting spots.

Spectacled Owl

The Spectacled Owl is one of the largest owl species in Colombia and is named for its distinctive white eye-rings. It occurs primarily in tropical rainforests below 1,500 m.a.s.l., although there are notable exceptions to this range. For example, a pair of Spectacled Owls are a common sight in the urban forest park of Los Alcazares in the high-altitude city of Manizales. Their call is a guttural knocking sound, and studies suggest than Spectacled Owls are most vocally active on calm, moonlit nights. Unlike many other owl species, they also seem to be generally unresponsive to 'playback' of their call, making them comparatively harder to locate at night. Good places to film the Spectacled Owl include Los Alcazares Park in Manizales, and Hato El Berlin in the Plains region of Casanare, where we shot a wildlife project with Awake Travel and USAID.

Great Horned Owl

The magnificent Great Horned Owl is the largest owl species in Colombia, measuring up to 55 cm. It is also the heaviest species of extant owl in Central and South America, with the marginally larger females measuring up to 3.5 lbs. There are two distinct subspecies present in Colombia: the nigrescens subspecies ranges up to 3,800 m.a.s.l. and is present in the eastern, central, and southern Colombian Andes, while the lighter colored nacurutu subspecies prefer the tropical lowlands of the Orinoquia region. This lowland subspecies is also the only Great Horned Owl subspecies with an amber iris, rather than yellow. The high-altitude Great Horned Owl is best seen in Los Nevados National Park near Manizales. However, it is generally elusive and hard to locate since it roosts in isolated rocky cracks and hidden valleys. The lowland subspecies is far easier to film, since it habitually roosts near ranch houses in the Eastern Plains, taking advantage of rats and domestic chickens for food. We filmed Great Horned Owls at Hato La Aurora and Altagracia Reserve in Casanare while shooting The Birders and tourism videos for Awake Travel.

Read More

10 Animals That You Can Only Film In Colombia
and
10 Birds That You Can Only Film in Colombia

Andean Pygmy-Owl

The tiny Andean Pygmy-owl measures just 15 cm and lives in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests between 2,000 and 3,500 m.a.s.l. This species is found in all three Colombian Andean cordilleras and the Perija Mountains on the northern border with Venezuela within its altitudinal range. In some parts of its range, below 2,000 m, it is replaced by the visually similar Cloud-forest Pygmy-owl, which IUCN lists as 'Vulnerable.' Of the six Pygmy-owl species found in Colombia, habitat, and altitude is the most reliable means of separating the species, along with subtle differences in calls. Andean Pygmy-owls commonly predate small birds and chicks and are often mobbed by smaller species like warblers and hummingbirds. If you are struggling to locate a calling pygmy-owl, it is often easier to follow these smaller species' aggressive attacks, which will often help find the owl. Our Colombia production company obtained excellent footage of this species in the Perija Mountains while filming The Birders, as well the Ferruginous Pygmy-owl in the coastal deserts of La Guajira.

Burrowing Owl

This small, long-legged owl is found throughout open habitats in the Eastern Plains, Guajira desert, and parts of the central Andean region. As its name suggests, the Burrowing Owl nests and roosts in burrows excavated by small mammals like armadillos. However, if there are no burrows available and the earth isn't too rocky or hard, they will sometimes excavate their own. Unlike most other owl species, these owls are most active during the day, although they hunt between dusk and dawn when their night vision offers more of an advantage. These diurnal habits make them probably the easiest owl species to film in Colombia, and their ground-dwelling nature makes eye-level footage much easier to obtain. We shot excellent footage of Burrowing Owls during the production of The Birders in Casanare and on assignment with Awake Travel in the same region.

Striped Owl

This medium-sized owl is relatively widespread in Colombia throughout the Andes, Caribbean coast, and East Andean foothill forests, where it is found below 2,600 m.a.s.l. Bogota is about the highest altitude location where the Striped Owl is commonly found. It is often encountered roosting in willow trees in the Bogota wetland reserves dotted throughout the city. It is a magnificent owl with long ear-tufts, a pale facial disk, and tawny and cinnamon markings. Typically, this species prefers open areas with scattered bushes and trees like savannahs and plantations, but it will also hunt from roadside perches like wires and phone masts, where its call can often locate it. Although extremely wide-ranging in Colombia, the Bogota wetlands are probably the best place to film the Striped Owl by day.

Short-Eared Owl

The Short-eared Owl has one of the widest distributions of any bird species on earth. It is found on all of the continents except for Antarctica and Australia and has ten recognized subspecies. The subspecies found in Colombia, Ecuador, and north-western Peru is named bogotensis after the Colombian capital city, where it is most easily observed in this country. As a species that favors open country where it can hunt its preferred prey of small mammals like voles, the Short-eared Owl is often seen in the fields of the Bogota savannah to the north and west of the city. There are even healthy populations in Bogota wetlands like Jaboque and La Florida. This species can be found up to 3,500 m.a.s.l., and has also been observed in Los Nevados National Park in Caldas department. Although it often hunts at night, the Short-eared Owl is equally diurnal and is, therefore, one of the easier owl species to film in Colombia.

Black-and-White Owl

This beautifully patterned owl is strongly barred on its breast and belly, with a sooty-black facial disk and white eyebrows and a bright yellow bill and feet. It has a scattered range in Colombia (the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Pacific lowlands of the Choco, the Magdalena, and Cauca river valleys and the eastern foothills of the Colombian Andes). It is usually found below 2,000 m.a.s.l., principally inhabiting gallery forests and rainforests. Although it is nowhere common, the Black-and-white Owl, like many owl species, is a creature of habit when it comes to roosting sites, and many individuals remain faithful to the same locations for years. This means that local guides can often be relied upon to locate this otherwise hard-to-observe owl. The most well-known roosting spot and the best place to film this species in Colombia is near the little village of Minca in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains.

Contact Us Now

Contact us now and we’ll guide you through your Colombian Film production (owls included!),
or
read more about our Colombian production company.