Colombia Once Again Ranks as World’s Number-One Destination for Birding

Colombia has once again been recognized as the world’s leading destination for birdwatching due to having 1,558 species recorded and 12,007 checklists submitted during the Global Big Day, an event organized by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology in the United States.

Photo: Hummingbird feeding in Bogotá’s Botanical Garden. (Credit: Jared Wade)

Colombia has now ranked first in the world every year since the inception of Global Big Day in 2015 with the exception of 2021.

Each year, Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, one of the world’s foremost institutions for birding and bird research, invites people from around the world to observe and record birds for a day. The goal is to gather important data on the distribution and abundance of birds on its eBird platform, which is crucial for conservation and scientific research.

By ranking first yet again, Colombia recorded more species than nearby biodiversity hotspots, such as Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, as well as global leaders like India.

Carmen Caballero, president of national investment promotion agency ProColombia, celebrated the honor.

“The outstanding performance of Colombia reflects our commitment to preserve natural wealth and consolidates our position as a world leader in birdwatching,” said Caballero. “We invite nature lovers to discover the magic of our landscapes and the extraordinary biodiversity of Colombia.”

The Colombian departments that stood out in the count were Antioquia, Meta, Valle del Cauca, Putumayo, and Cundinamarca, demonstrating the importance of biological diversity and conservation.

For this years’ event, ProColombia joined the US government’s USAID “Destination Nature” program to boost the bird count under the slogan “Gossip flies because birds have much to tell us,” a strategy that encouraged participation from both experts and enthusiasts during the event.

“It is excellent news to have once again ranked first in the number of bird species spotted during Global Big Day,” said Julián Guerrero, director of the USAID Destination Nature Program. “This not only shows that more people are joining these citizen science days supported by the program but also shows that Colombians are becoming aware of the importance of conserving our biodiversity and natural environments.”