Caribbean Birding Trail

Know the Caribbean, Bird by Bird

Connect With Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Twitter
Donate
  • About the CBT
    • Interpretive Guide Training
  • Countries
    • Countries A-I
      • Anguilla
        • Cove Pond
        • Dog Island
        • East End Pond
        • Forest Bay Pond
        • Katouche Canyon
        • Long Pond
        • Meads Bay Pond
        • Merrywing Pond System
        • Prickly Pear Cays
        • Road Salt Pond
        • Scrub Island
        • Sombrero
        • West End By-the-Sea Ponds
        • West End Pond
      • Antigua and Barbuda
        • Bethesda Dam
        • Christian Valley
        • Codrington Lagoon
        • McKinnon’s Salt Pond
        • Two Foot Bay National Park
      • Aruba
        • Spaans Lagoon
      • Bahamas
        • Abaco
        • Andros
        • Cat Island
        • Crooked Island and Acklins
        • Eleuthera
        • Exumas
        • Grand Bahama
        • Great Inagua
        • Long Island
        • Mayaguana
        • New Providence
        • San Salvador
      • Barbados
      • Bonaire
        • Dos Pos IBA
        • Gotomeer
      • British Virgin Islands
        • Josiahs Bay Salt Pond
        • Sandy Cay
      • Cuba
        • Guanahacabibes
        • Humboldt National Park
        • Mensura-Piloto National Park
        • Viñales
        • Zapata Swamp
      • Curaçao
        • Christoffel National Park
        • Salt Pans of Jan Thiel
      • Dominica
      • Dominican Republic
        • Central Mountain Range
          • Constanza and Valle Nuevo
          • Ebano Verde Reserve
          • Hatillo
          • Jarabacoa with Armando Bermúdez and José del Carmen Ramírez National Parks
          • La Joya de San Francisco
          • Loma Quita Espuela
          • Pico Diego de Ocampo, Santiago
        • Southeast
          • Bávaro
          • Cumayasa
          • Del Este National Park
            • Del Este National Park: Boca de Yuma
            • Del Este National Park: Guaraguao
            • Del Este National Park: Padre Nuestro Trail
            • Del Este National Park: Saona Island
          • Ecological Foundation Trail, Punta Cana
          • Limón Lagoon
          • Los Haitises National Park
            • Los Haitises National Park: Caño Hondo
            • Los Haitises National Park: Los Limones
          • Monte Plata
        • Southwest
          • Aguacate and Zapotén
          • Cabo Rojo and Pedernales
          • Cabral Lagoon
          • Cachote, Eastern Bahoruco
          • Jimaní
          • Lake Enriquillo
          • Loma Charco Azul
          • Oviedo Lagoon, Jaragua National Park
          • Puerto Alejandro and Tortuguero
          • Rabo de Gato and Puerto Escondido
          • Sierra de Bahoruco National Park
            • Los Arroyos, Sierra de Bahoruco National Park
        • North Coast
          • Cayos Siete Hermanos
          • El Choco National Park, Cabarete
          • El Limón, Samaná
          • Estero Hondo
          • Loma Guaconejo
          • Loma Isabel de Torres, Puerto Plata
          • Monte Cristi and Saladilla
          • Nalga de Maco National Park, Río Limpio
          • Samaná
        • Around Santo Domingo
          • Las Salinas de Baní
          • Mirador del Norte Park
          • National Botanical Garden
          • Ozama Wetlands
      • Grenada
        • Antoine Lake
        • Beausejour/Grenville Vale
        • Diamond Rock
        • Grand Etang National Park
        • Levera National Park
        • Mt. Hartman National Park
        • Telescope Pond
        • Woburn Bay MPA
      • Guadeloupe
        • Mountain Road
        • Pointe des Chateaux
    • Countries J-Z
      • Jamaica
        • Ahhh…Ras Natango Gallery and Garden
        • Barbecue Bottom Road
        • Black River Great Morass
        • Cockpit Country
        • Ecclesdown Road
        • Flagstaff
        • Green Hills Field Station
        • Hardwar Gap
        • Hope Gardens
        • Portland Bight Protected Area
        • Stewart Town
      • Martinique
        • Rocher du Diamant
      • Montserrat
      • Puerto Rico
        • Camuy Coastal Area
        • Culebra National Wildlife Refuge
        • Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge
      • Sint Eustatius
        • Pilot Hill
        • Quill/Boven National Park
        • Zeelandia Beach
      • St. Lucia
      • Sint Maarten
        • Great Salt Pond
        • Little Bay Pond
      • St. Martin
        • Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House
        • Étang Cimetière de Grand Case
        • Étang de la Barrière
        • Pic Paradis
      • St. Vincent and the Grenadines
        • Grenadines
          • Bird Sanctuary
          • Mustique Lagoon
          • Mustique Ponds Walk
        • Saint Vincent
          • Richmond Beach
      • Trinidad and Tobago
        • Tobago
          • Kilgwyn Swamp
          • Little Tobago
        • Trinidad
          • Asa Wright Nature Centre
          • Brasso Seco Paria Village
      • Turks and Caicos
        • Grand Turk
        • Middle Caicos
        • North Caicos
        • Providenciales
        • Salt Cay
        • South Caicos
  • Tours
  • Guides
  • Get Involved
  • Contact Us

You are here: Home / Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic supports a remarkably diverse avifauna of more than 300 species. In addition to 32 endemic bird species, the country hosts an impressive assemblage of permanent resident species, overwintering migrants, and other transient species that stop to rest and refuel enroute to more southerly wintering or northern breeding areas. The island of Hispaniola’s high level of endemism and its contribution to global biodiversity have earned it the highest ranking of biological importance in a worldwide assessment of bird protection priorities.

This diversity of bird species is, in part, a result of Hispaniola’s complex geologic history; the island is the most geographically diverse in the Caribbean. Ranging from Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in the Caribbean, to Lago Enriquillo which is more than 40 meters below sea level, key habitats include isolated cloud forests, extensive pine stands, classic dry forest, limestone karst regions, thorn woodlands of acacia and cactus, sand dunes, mudflats, and mangrove swamps.

Many of Hispaniola’s most distinctive birds are found only in the densely vegetated cloud forests where the rarest endemics include the White-fronted Quail-Dove (Geotrygon leucometopius), Hispaniolan Trogon (Priotelus roseigaster), La Selle Thrush (Turdus swalesi), Hispaniolan Highland-Tanager (Xenoligea montana) and both the Western Chat-Tanager (Calyptophilus tertius) and Eastern Chat-Tanager (Calyptophilus frugivorus). Here too is the rare and globally vulnerable Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli), an equally difficult species to find on either breeding or wintering grounds, but restricted almost entirely to Dominican forests in the winter months.

Other Dominican specialties can be found a bit lower in elevation in the beautiful pine forests. Endemics include the conspicuous Hispaniolan Pewee (Contopus hispaniolensis), as well as the Antillean Siskin (Carduelis dominicensis), Hispaniolan Palm Crow (Corvus palmarum), and the Hispaniolan Crossbill (Loxia megaplaga).

But many other, generally more common, island and regional endemics occur at lower elevations and in more anthropogenic habitats. These include the large number and variety of North American migrants, especially wood warblers, shorebirds and waterfowl.

And, of course, the birdwatcher in the Dominican Republic should look forward to getting to know a beautiful country with many outstanding natural features, a culture full of unique food, music and other artistic expressions, and a welcoming people eager to show off its historical and cultural heritage. Come birding in the Dominican Republic!

Special thanks to Steve Latta and Kate Wallace for the Dominican Republic text from their book Ruta Barrancoli: A Bird-Finding Guide to the Dominican Republic!

Birds of the Dominican Republic

Antillean Euphonia
Antillean Siskin
Antillean Siskin
Bicknell's Thrush
Black-crowned Palm Tanager
Broad-billed Tody
Eastern Chat-Tanager
Golden Swallow
Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo
Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo
Hispaniolan Parakeet in flight at nest by Dax Roman
Hispaniolan Parakeet
Hispaniolan Parakeets
Hispaniolan Parrot
Hispaniolan Trogon
Hispaniolan Woodpecker Female-Lopez Luciano
Hispaniolan Woodpecker
Hispaniolan Woodpecker
La Selle's Thrush
Narrow-billed Tody
Palmchat
Red-legged Thrush
Ridgway's Hawk
Ridgeway's Hawk

Dominican Republic Sites

Central Mountain Range
Constanza and Valle Nuevo
Ebano Verde Reserve
Hatillo
Jarabacoa with Armando Bermúdez and José del Carmen Ramírez National Parks
La Joya de San Francisco
Loma Quita Espuela
Pico Diego de Ocampo, Santiago
Southeast
Bávaro
Cumayasa
Del Este National Park
Del Este National Park: Boca de Yuma
Del Este National Park: Guaraguao
Del Este National Park: Padre Nuestro Trail
Del Este National Park: Saona Island
Ecological Foundation Trail, Punta Cana
Limón Lagoon
Los Haitises National Park
Los Haitises National Park: Caño Hondo
Los Haitises National Park: Los Limones
Monte Plata
Southwest
Aguacate and Zapotén
Cabo Rojo and Pedernales
Cabral Lagoon
Cachote, Eastern Bahoruco
Jimaní
Lake Enriquillo
Loma Charco Azul
Oviedo Lagoon, Jaragua National Park
Puerto Alejandro and Tortuguero
Rabo de Gato and Puerto Escondido
Sierra de Bahoruco National Park
Los Arroyos, Sierra de Bahoruco National Park
North Coast
Cayos Siete Hermanos
El Limón, Samaná
Estero Hondo
Loma Guaconejo
Loma Isabel de Torres, Puerto Plata
Monte Cristi and Saladilla
Nalga de Maco National Park, Río Limpio
Samaná
Around Santo Domingo
Las Salinas de Baní
Mirador del Norte Park
National Botanical Garden
Ozama Wetlands

Partners in the Dominican Republic

  • Grupo Acción Ecológica
  • La Sociedad Ornitológica de la Hispaniola (SOH)
  • National Aviary

With special thanks to our partners at the Ruta Barrancoli

Ruta Barrancoli logo


Dominican Republic Tour Operators

  • Explora Ecotour
  • Miguel A. Landestoy T., Independent Guide
  • Tody Tours
  • Wildside Nature Tours

Bird Checklists

Click here to download a pamphlet-sized year-round checklist for Dominican Republic.

Recommended Field Guides

Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti by Steven Latta, Christopher Rimmer, Allan Keith, James Wiley, Herbert A. Raffaele, Kent McFarland, and Eladio Fernandez

Aves de la República Dominicana y Haití by Steven Latta, Christopher Rimmer, Allan Keith, James Wiley, Herbert A. Raffaele, Kent McFarland, and Eladio Fernandez

Ruta Barrancolí: A Bird-finding Guide to the Dominican Republic by Steven C. Latta and Kate J. Wallace

Birds of the West Indies by Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith, and Janis Raffaele

Want to know how you can be involved?

Do you know of a place that should be part of the Caribbean Birding Trail? Are you the owner of a lodge or hotel and want to attract eco-tourists? Are you a guide interested in the birdwatching market? Then, get involved with our project!

Get Involved

The Latest from BirdsCaribbean.org

Twitter
Birds Caribbean
Birds Caribbean
@BirdsCaribbean

Waterbird Identification - Part II: Shorebirds! Today, 21 Jan, 4 PM EST. Part II will cover those challenging shorebirds. Learn tips & tricks to help you ID all the birds you see for the 2021 #CaribbeanWaterbirdCensus & beyond! Sign up here: bit.ly/Waterbird-ID-… @WetlandsInt pic.twitter.com/NE5C…

reply retweet favorite
5:41 pm · January 21, 2021
Twitter
Birds Caribbean
Birds Caribbean
@BirdsCaribbean

Join us for 2 fun webinars this week on Waterbird Identification! Part I - Herons, egrets, marsh birds & seabirds. Part II - Shorebirds and wetland-dependent species. Register here for Part I on Tues. Jan. 19, 4-5:30 PM: bit.ly/Waterbird-ID-… #waterbirdsCount #caribbeanbirds pic.twitter.com/Uilv…

reply retweet favorite
5:38 pm · January 21, 2021 ·
Retweeted by Birds Caribbean
Twitter
Birds Caribbean
Birds Caribbean
@BirdsCaribbean

Join us this afternoon! Let’s get these waterbirds sorted out! #CWC #CaribbeanWaterbirdCensus #waterbirdscount twitter.com/birdscar…

reply retweet favorite
5:00 pm · January 21, 2021
Twitter
@caymanbirding
@caymanbirding
@caymanbirding

Are you having trouble identifying those challenging shorebirds and wetland-dependent species? Join @BirdsCaribbean this afternoon for part 2 of their waterbird identification webinar series. To register, click the link below bit.ly/3qDQyDl #caribbeanwaterbirdcensus twitter.com/BirdsCar…

reply retweet favorite
4:58 pm · January 21, 2021 ·
Retweeted by Birds Caribbean
Twitter
AveZona
AveZona
@Ave_zona

Para aprender más de este censo sigue los avances de @BirdsCaribbean y los webinars online en su canal de #YouTube pic.twitter.com/0b52…

reply retweet favorite
4:57 pm · January 21, 2021 ·
Retweeted by Birds Caribbean

Our Site

  • Home
  • About the CBT
  • Countries
  • Tours
  • Guides
  • Get Involved
  • Contact

Search

Follow

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Sign up for our Mailing List

Copyright © 2011–2021 Caribbean Birding Trail. A project of BirdsCaribbean.