I flew to Quito, Ecuador in South America to participate in an Earthwatch expedition, "Ecuador Cloud Forest Birds". We were going to spend two weeks in a Cloud Forest on the Western slope of the Andes, catching birds in nets, measuring and banding them, and then releasing them. Through studies like this scientists can find out about what species inhabit a particular enviroment, as well as get an idea about the birds numbers and health. I was armed with The Birds of Ecuador Field Guide by Robert S. Ridgely and Paul J. Greenfield, a 740+ page doorstop of a book that really brought home the staggering number and variety of the birds of that country. Roughly the size of Colorado, Ecuador is home to approximately 15% of the world's bi
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