Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A male resplendent quetzal's tail feathers can reach up to 100 centimeters in length. getty While South American nations like Brazil and Colombia have earned worldwide acclaim for their high levels of avian diversity, North America is no slouch when it comes to top-tier birdwatching destinations either. Case in point: Panama, a verdant Central American country that offers a particularly diverse array of landscapes in spite of its small size.
During a visit, guests can marvel at all sorts of colorful passerines alongside dazzling hummingbirds and soaring raptors—and to discover all three in one fell swoop, it’s best to head to Chiriquí. Measuring in at just under 6,500 square kilometers, this sprawling province lies in the westernmost reaches of Panama, serving as a Pacific coast alternative to the neighboring tourism hub of Bocas del Toro. During a visit, guests can discover a wealth of waders along the mangrove-filled southern coast, but most birders tend to focus on the forested highlands found in the northern reaches of the country, with Mount Totumas Cloud Forest offering some of the finest birdwatching opportunities in all of the region.
After a lengthy drive along an unpaved mountain road, guests can arrive on property grounds and marvel at the on-site hummingbird feeders, with garden emeralds, violet sabrewings and purple-crowned fairies being just a few species that might make an appearance—but that’s bare.