Jungle view from airplane BIRDS

The most diverse wildlife representatives one can observe on the territory of Arcoiris Jungle Lodge are birds. The tours for birds watching usually start at 6.00 am, because most of birds are active in daytime.

The number of tropical birds species in Ecuador is around 1600, which is almost 15% of all the birds species in the world. Their food is insects, fruit, seeds, nectar, etc. And there are several predator species, which eat meat. During a regular trip of 4 days at Arcoiris Jungle Lodge you will be able to see around 120 species out of the 550 existing in the area. However, for dedicated bird lover the number of bird species may reach 250 different species on a 5 days trip.

Birds are one of the most interesting ingredient in a colorful and reach cocktail of the Amazon rainforest wildlife.

Short birds list at Arcoiris Jungle Lodge:

• Bat Falcon
• Cocoi Heron
• Colibri
• Crane Hawk
• Great Potoo
• Least Bittern
• Limpkin
• Lined forest-Falcon
• Roufescent tiger-Heron
• Scarlet Macaws
• Slate-Colored Hawk
• Snail Kite
• Straited Heron
• Sungrebe
• Wattled Jacana
• Yellow and Blue Macaws

Tips for birds watching

• Right time for every birds is important - if this specific bird belongs to the night species, following your guide's instruction based on listening to the birds calls you will locate the birds.
• Try not to make too much noise - it scares off the birds and they hide better, which is not what you want.
• Have the best waterproof binoculars you can get. That is quite an expensive thing, so you can rent one.

Rainforest AMPHIBIANS

Ecuador is home to 460 species out of the 4700 living amphibians. Therefore, almost 10% of the world's population is concentrated in this small territory, representing one of the highest amphibian's diversities on earth.

Toads
Ecuador is home to 35 toad species out of the 400 known world wide. To permit more terrestrial life, this family has thick and dry skin. They tend to have short bodies with relatively short limbs and are often olive to dark brown colour. In our forest, many species are normally seen walking through the trails. However, they are really well camouflaged, so it is really important to be alert to any kind of movement.

Rainfrogs
Ecuador is home to nearly 200 out of the 900 species known worldwide. There are two families that can be easily recognized by shape, colours, and lifestyle. Leoptodactylus: All nocturnal and terrestrial, coloured tan to brown, bigger frogs. Eleutherodactylus: Mainly nocturnal and arboreal, have expanded discs on toes to provide a firm grip on leaves and branches, smaller frogs. Most rainfrogs secrete chemicals from glands in their skin creating poison with an offensive odor and toxicity discouraging predators.

Treefrogs
Ecuador is home to 100 out of the 700 species known worldwide. They are mostly small, colourful, with long legs and arms. They have become one of the biggest icons in Neotropical forests as consequence of their bright colours and impressive eyes. They are arboreal creatures and most live in low vegetation from 1 to 3 meters above the ground. The moistness of our tropical rainforest permits this frogs to go through terrestrial and arboreal world without the risk of drying out. Many Treefrogs are poisonous, so do not try to touch them. Generally speaking, the bright colours of frogs represent warning to predators.

Poison-Dart Frogs
Ecuador is home to 55 out of the 170 existing species worldwide. Lots of these frogs are just in our land and nowhere else in the world. They come from the family Dendrobatidee and are normally brightly coloured, tinny, and have large eyes. Many sleep at low vegetation, usually less than a meter above the ground. Their extremely lethal poison has been used since ancient times by natives in the area, for hunting monkeys with blowguns. The dart was covered in poison causing paralysis of the prey at impact.

OtherFrogs
The Amazon rainforest is so diverse that you might find additional groups as the Amazon bull frog, the glass frog, the narrow-mouthed frog and others that have not been included in this classification. Arcoiris Jungle Lodge territory has still a vast virgin and unexplored land, so many other species to be found.

Jungle view from airplane Reptiles

This group is among the most captivating animals in Ecuador. They are one of the main objectives that travelers pursue in their trip to the Amazon rainforest. However, with exception of black Caimans, you will have to look hard and be kind of lucky to see some species from this group. Black Caimans are some of the in-danger species in the Amazon basin, but luckily, in "challuacocha", we protect a large population and can be easily found at night time.

Today there are more than 7000 species of reptiles worldwide and Ecuador is home for almost 410 species. This sum is composed by 135 lizards, 235 snakes and the rest in crocodilians and turtles.

Some of their special characteristics include, skin covered with tough scales, permitting reptiles to have a terrestrial life; an efficient heart and blood system, achieving enough blood pressure for land living; and the faculty of being able to breed in land.

Family Profiles

There are three major groups that can be distinguished.

Turtles
With about 260 species worldwide, Ecuador is home of many of the most amazing species. They rarely encountered in the wild, but in our lagoon they are pretty easy to find. There are big chances of seeing the big headed Amazon River turtle or the South American yellow-footed tortoise while you're paddling in a dug out canoe through "challuacocha".

Crocodiles and relatives:
With about 22 species worldwide, they generally inspire respect and curiosity. These ancient animals are one of the main attractions at Arcoiris Jungle Lodge. Ecuador is home of 5 different species. In the Amazon Rainforest, exist an endangered specie called the "black Caiman". These creatures can get up to 6 meters and represent the largest Crocodile in America. In our lagoon, these reptiles can be seen almost every day, both during day and night. However, it is more likely to see them at night with low tide.

Lizards and snakes:
They are considered in the same group, as they have very similar skeletal traits indicating close relationship.

Geckos
Ecuadorian geckos are small, gray or brown lizards with large eyes. They have thin and soft skin and are the first in invading walls or ceilings. Ecuador is home for 15 species of these harmless lizards.