Formerly British Honduras until gaining independence from Great Britain in
1981, Belize is known to travelers as an English-speaking vacation mecca
(also Spanish and Creole) of beaches, snorkeling and diving, rainforest
adventuring and ancient Mayan ruins on the Caribbean side of Central
America.
It is also a dream habitat for birds. Although Belize is Central America’s
second-smallest country (roughly the size of Massachusetts), half of its
land is covered with rainforests. More than a third of the land is under
environmental protection, and it is the region’s least-populated country.
No wonder it is home to more than 600 species of birds, from multiple kinds
of trogons, motmots and puffbirds to the endemic Yellow-headed Parrot and
the Jabiru stork, tallest bird in the Western Hemisphere. The species also
include large numbers of North American warblers and flycatchers that
overwinter in Belize.
Meet the birds of Belize and more through the eyes and photographs of
Belizean bird guides *Eduardo Ruano* and *Ruben Arevalo* in DFO’s first
evening program of 2026. *“Birding former British Honduras? You’d better
BELIZE It!”* is set for *Monday, January 26 at 7 p.m. MST* via Zoom.
Ruano and Arevalo are longtime guides at Lamanai Outpost Lodge, one of
several well-known destinations on the Belize birding tour circuit. Their
home base has checklisted more than 400 bird species, and the lodge is a
four-time winner of the H. Lee Jones Belize Bird-a-thon, an annual 24-hour
competition named for the ornithologist-author of the *Birds of
Belize* guidebook.
It is also headquarters of a long-term University of Florida study of
Morelet’s crocodile
Presentation topics range from the land and tree birds of Belize’s inland
rainforests and pine savannas to shorebirds and waders of the Caribbean
coastal region, where the Belize Barrier Reef of corals, mollusks and fish
is part of the 700-mile Great Mayan Reef, second longest in the world.
Nighttime boat safaris may reveal Yucatan nightjars and poorwills, and
tropical forest walks cross paths with Great Curassows, Ocellated Turkeys,
Red-lored Parrot and Collared Aracari, a kind of toucan.
[image: 06C - 2025-04 - Fall-Winter Program Previews_Ruben Arevalo_no
credit.jpg]
Ruben Arevalo
[image: 06B - 2025-04 - Fall-Winter Program Previews_Eduardo Ruano_no
credit.jpg]
Eduardo Ruano
* * *
David Suddjian
DFO Communications and Outreach
Littleton CO
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