Wildlife watching is a massive attraction for hundreds of thousands of travellers from all around the world, and happens in a wide range of countries. The opportunity to see animals in the wild that one could never dream of seeing at home, is a massive temptation for many.
Most come in search of the ‘Big Five’ safari animals, but birdwatching is also a very popular common past time. More and more companies target the many people interested in this, and the desire grows daily to offer something more – a rarer sighting, more off the beaten track, smaller groups, animal tracking – and many more.
Do you have a passion for birds or birdwatching? Want to do something rewarding and help birds? You can find projects working with birds all around the world.
About Birds
Birds are bipedal vertebrate animals that have wings, feathers, and a beak with no teeth. They have a compact body shape in order to facilitate flying. Birds have one of the most complex respiratory systems of all animals. They also have powerful hearts in order to circulate the oxygen.
Birds use their feathers for flying, thermal insulation and courtship. There are around 10,000 species of birds in the world. Some bird species are popular as pets. Many people love to keep parrots as pets, for example.
Some birds sing, producing beautiful bird songs. These birds are called songbirds and they are able to produce various sound notes.
Specific Bird Varieties
- African Grey
- Barn Swallow
- Blue Jay
- Bluebird
- Cardinal
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chickadee
- Cockatiel
- Cockatoo
- Condor
- Dove
- Flamingo
- Goldfinch
- Hawk
- Hummingbird
- Macaw
- Oriole
- Owl
- Parrot
- Partridge
- Pelican
- Raven
- Robin
- Sparrow
- Wren
Behavior
Most birds can fly. Some birds can run very well, other birds can swim, while other birds can do both. Birds are social animals; they communicate by sounds or body language. Most birds are insectivores, but some birds are carnivores, some are herbivores, while other birds are omnivores or fructivores. Many birds are migratory; they migrate to a warmer territory for the winter. Also, some birds are more vocal than others.
Bird Volunteer Placements
You can find projects all around the world, popular destinations to apply include Costa Rica. Bring your binoculars and set your alarm early and you can join in our bird surveys which take place throughout the forests and along the coast of the Rio Piro. Many of Costa Rica’s beautiful birds can be found here, as well as several migratory species. Frequently sighted are trogons, antbirds, hummingbirds and tanagers, and if you are lucky maybe a Baird’s Trogon or Great Curassow.
Bird counts are a commonly used method of identifying avian species composition in an area and we aim to study the diversity of the bird community in primary and secondary forest as well as within the river course. Not only will you be identifying birds by sight, but you will start to learn to identify birds by the calls they make.