Flowering trees alive with  parrots, parakeets, hummingbirds, warblers, honeycreepers, tanagers, and orioles paint deep Mexico in colors you will never forget.  While tropical birds will accent the trip—approximately 700 species occur here—we will also visit a cloud forest, look for monkeys and iguanas, walk through an Indian marketplace, and explore the spectacular classic period ruins at Chinkultic, Yaxchilán, and Palenque.  The trip begins in the extreme southeast corner of Mexico at Tapachula with the only bird endemic exclusively to Chiapas.  Spectacular russet and white Giant Wrens occur right on the edge of Tapachula, along with such regional specialties as White-bellied Chachalaca, Pacific Screech-Owl, and Spot-breasted Oriole.  The Pacific coast of Chiapas supports a tropical bird community with Central American roots.  Examples include Orange-chinned Parakeet--virtually confined in Mexico to this region of Chiapas, Orange-fronted Parakeet, Lesser Ground-Cuckoo, Tody Motmot, and White-throated Magpie-Jay. Among the Mexican endemics we’re also likely to see here, are Green-fronted Hummingbird, Citreoline Trogon, Russet-crowned Motmot, and both Rose-bellied and Orange-breasted Buntings.  Next stop is Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the capital of Chiapas, and nearby El Sumidero National Park.  Here a majestic barranca, or canyon, slicing 3,000 vertical feet through a limestone plateau, provides habitat for Lesser Roadrunner, Green Parakeet, Belted Flycatcher, White-throated Magpie-Jay, Red-breasted Chat, and Blue Bunting.  Only an hour north, set in a cool mountain bowl at an elevation of 7300’, lies San Cristóbal.  Traditional Native American and Spanish culture are both apparent on San Cristóbal's narrow, cobbled streets, and at the 1547 Santo Domingo Church.  Some of the birds surrounding this colonial city are Mountain Trogon, Blue-and-white Mockingbird, Rufous-collared Robin, Pink-headed Warbler, and the dainty Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer.  The bromeliad-draped cloud forest at Montebello hosts Blue-throated Motmot, Emerald Toucanet, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, and Unicolored Jay.  Possible here, too, is Resplendent Quetzal, although this species is now extremely rare in the vicinity of these multicolored lakes.  Descending from Montebello, the newly paved highway skirts the turquoise rivers draining the 850,000-acre Montes Azules Biosphere, the largest true rain forest reserve remaining in Mexico.  Las Guacamayas Lodge, Spanish for the Scarlet Macaws that nest here, is positioned on the banks of the mighty Río Lacantún.  Here it is possible to watch Scarlet Macaws, Red-lored Parrots, Violaceous Trogons, Keel-billed Toucans, Montezuma Oropendolas, and a parade of tropical raptors without ever leaving the balcony of the restaurant.  Birds inhabiting the nearby forest include King Vulture, Swallow-tailed Kite, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird (only confirmed in Mexico in the mid-1980s), Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Rufous-breasted Spinetail, White-collared Manakin, and many other tropical specialties.  Laughing and Bat Falcons are typically common along the drive to the Río Usumacinta, and other roadside birds may include such genuine Mexican rarities as Scaled Pigeon and White-collared Puffbird.  Among the hundreds of colorful birds that share the rain forest plazas at Yaxchilán are such exotics as Blue Ground-Dove, White-whiskered Puffbird, Chestnut Woodpecker, Dot-winged Antwren, Cinnamon Becard, Lovely Cotinga, Green Honeycreeper, Black-throated Shrike-Tanager, and Yellow-tailed Oriole.  While quite rare, Harpy Eagles have occasionally nested in the vicinity of Yaxchilán.  The most famous archaeological site in Chiapas, however, is Palenque, long renowned among birders for its avian treasures.  Birds here include majestic Black Hawk-Eagles and White Hawks wheeling over the pyramids. Also present are four species of the trogon family, Collared Araçari, Red-capped Manakin, Thrush-like Mourner, as well as brilliant Golden-hooded and Crimson-collared Tanagers.  To conclude our tour we’ll visit the nearby Usumacinta Marshes.  Stately Jabirus preside over these wetlands, but other charismatic species include Black-collared Hawks, Aplomado Falcons, Pinnated Bitterns, and Double-striped Thick-knees.  Our final night is in Villahermosa, where the trip ends with morning transfers to the international airport.

Photo: Giant Wrens, endemic to the state of Chiapas, Mexico
Photo by Rick Taylor

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