Top 20 Most Common Bird in Bogota

Situated at high altitude, Bogota is rich in diverse ecosystems. This environment supports a variety of bird species, with a popular 20 making an iconic presence. These birds often showcase unique adaptation to survive, such as vibrant colors for camouflage or distinct mating calls. With behaviors ranging from solitary to highly sociable, their fascinating characteristics provide intriguing study for ornithologists.

Most Common Bird

Great Thrush

1. Great Thrush

Adults are 28 to 33 cm (11 to 13 in) in length and weigh 128 to 175 g (4.5 to 6.2 oz), making the species the largest thrush in South America. Among all thrushes worldwide, the Amami thrush and, in particular, the blue whistling thrush may match or exceed it in size. It can be easily identified by its yellowish-orange beak and legs and yellow ring around the eye. Slight sexual dimorphism is sometimes present, with males having more strongly coloured legs and eye rings. Tail feathers are long. The plumage is black-brown, darker on wings and tail and pale on the belly. Juveniles are predominantly greenish gray with a pale belly and some spots of buff colour on the head and wings. Subspecies show subtle differences in colouration, with T. f. ockendeni being the darkest one, followed by T. f. quindio and T .f. gigantodes. The palest subspecies are T. f. gigas, T. f. cacozelus and T. f. fuscater. Albinistic specimens are known to exist but very rare.
Rufous-collared Sparrow

2. Rufous-collared Sparrow

The rufous-collared Sparrow is a small songbird known for its pleasant vocalization and numerous "dialects." The songs peak at dawn and some individuals can sing continuously for half an hour. Found in a wide range of habitats and comfortable around humans, this ground-feeding bird is easily approachable. On the other hand, it's aggressive towards other birds that enter its territory. Individuals have their favorite perching spot where they appear repeatedly.
Eared Dove

3. Eared Dove

The most widely-spotted dove of South America, the small eared Dove thrives in high altitudes. You can find this dove in the scrubland of areas that are around 4500 meters above sea level. Their easy association with humans has made them acclimate more easily to urban environments and rising human population levels.
Sparkling Violetear

4. Sparkling Violetear

The sparkling violetear is the largest violetear at 13 to 15 cm (5–6 in) long. Male birds weigh 7.7 to 8.5 grams (0.27 to 0.3 oz) while females weigh from ounces 6.7 to 7.5 grams (0.24 to 0.26 oz). This hummingbird resembles the lesser violetear, but that species generally prefers more humid habitats, is obviously smaller and lacks the distinct purple-blue chest-spot and gorget of the sparkling violetear. According to one study, it has the smallest mean blood-air barrier thickness (0.183 µm) and the highest mass-specific respiratory surface area in birds (87 cm²/g).
House Wren

5. House Wren

Watch out for the small yet aggressive house Wrens; they are extremely territorial and think nothing of harassing other birds and their nestlings if they want to take their spot! They have been known to kill nestlings and even adult birds to get a nest hole they want. Once house Wrens lay eggs, the nest needs to stay below 100 degrees and above 65 degrees or the eggs will not survive—this could be the reason they are so particular about their nesting spots.
Black Vulture

6. Black Vulture

Although quite dapper in appearance, the black Vulture's name comes from the Latin vulturus meaning “tearer" and that is just what that hooked beak is for. These birds are highly social, with fierce family loyalty and will share food with relatives and with their young long after the babies have fledged. Because they lack a voice box, their calls are limited to grunts and hisses.
Brown-bellied Swallow

7. Brown-bellied Swallow

The brown-bellied swallow (Notiochelidon murina) is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, and pastureland.
Tropical Kingbird

8. Tropical Kingbird

An adult tropical kingbird is 22 cm (8.7 in) long, weighs 39 g (1.4 oz) and has a wingspan range of 38–41 cm. The head is pale gray, with a darker eye mask, an orange crown stripe, and a heavy gray bill. The back is grayish-green, and the wing and forked tail are brown. The throat is pale gray, becoming olive on the breast, with the rest of the underparts being yellow. The sexes are similar, but young birds have pale buff edges on the wing coverts. Tropical Kingbirds appear to be monogamous. In most parts of the species' range, they are permanent residents and remain together in pairs year-round.(Sibley 2014) The call is a high-pitched twittering trill, tree-e-e-e-e-e-e, with a more complex version sung by the male at dawn. Their breeding habitat is semi-open areas with trees and shrubs, including gardens and roadsides. Tropical kingbirds like to observe their surroundings from a prominent open perch, usually high in a tree, undertaking long flights to acrobatically catch insects in mid-air (hawking), sometimes hovering to pick food off vegetation (gleaning). They also eat some fruit from such diverse species as tamanqueiro (Alchornea glandulosa), the Annonaceae, Cymbopetalum mayanum and gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba); foraging for these even in disturbed habitat. As they keep mainly to the upper levels of trees, they find little profit in following mixed-species feeding flocks in the understory. These birds aggressively defend their territory against intruders, even much larger birds such as magnificent frigatebirds, toucans, caracaras or hawks. In a study in Parque Nacional de La Macarena of Colombia, parasitism by microfilariae and trypanosomas (presumably T. everetti) was infrequently recorded in tropical kingbirds. The male and female inspect potential sites together before selecting a site, typically a fork or crotch high in a tree (up to 66 feet high) but sometimes just a few feet above water.(Sibley 2014) The female builds a bulky, sloppy-looking, shallow nest of vines, rootlets, twigs, weeds, and grasses; it is unlined or lined with hair. Nests average about 5.2 inches across and 3 inches tall, with interior cup about 3 inches across and 1.6 inches deep. The female incubates the typical clutch of two to four eggs for approximately 16 days, and the nestlings fledge in another 18 or 19 days. The eggs are whitish or pale pink with variable amounts of dark blotching. The tropical kingbird is one of the most widespread and conspicuous inhabitants of open forest, forest edge, scrub and agricultural land from the southwestern United States south to Argentina (Jahn, Stouffer, & Chesser, 2013). As a result, the bird is considered as being of Least Concern and their population is increasing, according to the IUCN. According to Partners in Flight, global estimates of tropical kingbird breeding population is around 200 million. They rate the species as 4 out of 20 on the continental concern scale, indicating that this species is of low conservation concern.
Shiny Cowbird

9. Shiny Cowbird

The shiny Cowbird is named after its glossy feathers and close association with cattle. These birds are considered brood or nest parasites because they manipulate other species to incubate their eggs for them. This has caused some species' populations to suffer, especially in non-native regions where the shiny Cowbird has been introduced.
Southern Lapwing

10. Southern Lapwing

This lapwing is the only crested wader in South America. The upperparts are mainly brownish grey. The head is particularly striking; mainly grey with a black forehead and throat patch extending onto the black breast. The rest of the underparts are white, and the eye ring, legs and most of the bill are pink. It is equipped with red bony extensions under the wings (spurs), used to intimidate foes and fight birds of prey. The rump is white and the tail black.
Black Flowerpiercer

11. Black Flowerpiercer

13–14 cm with adults uniformly black (slightly glossy black with subtle blue gloss in males). They have brown eyes and a black bill with a grey base. Females are a duller black with no blue gloss and their wings and tail are brownish. Juvenile birds are also duller.
Rock Pigeon

12. Rock Pigeon

The rock Pigeon is a wild ancestor of all domestic and feral pigeons, inhabiting coasts, cliffs, and caves. Pairs nest in rock crevices, often mating for life. They are known for their ability to fly very long distances to return to their homes, navigating using the sun's position and the earth's magnetic fields. Thanks to this ability, pigeons were used as messengers, particularly during World Wars I and II.
White-throated Tyrannulet

13. White-throated Tyrannulet

The white-throated tyrannulet (Mecocerculus leucophrys) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
Bare-faced Ibis

14. Bare-faced Ibis

The Bare-faced ibis is either dark brown or a blackish color. It is called the bare-faced ibis because it does not have any feathers on its face. It has a long Decurved bill that's pinkish to reddish brown. The skin on its face is usually a reddish color and it also has long orangely colored beak with pink legs. The total length of the ibis ranges between 45 and 50 cm.
Yellow-backed Oriole

15. Yellow-backed Oriole

Yellow-backed orioles are a yellow-bodied, sexually monomorphic species. They average 21.5 cm (8.5 in) in length from beak to tail; making it a relatively medium-sized oriole species. Exposed skin and claws are bluish-black; in adults, the bill is black, with the base of the mandible becoming bluish-grey. Adult males display strongly contrasting yellow and black plumage. The wings, tail, shoulders, throat, and face are all black; by contrast, the back and underparts are an extremely bright yellow. Adult females closely resemble males, but yellow parts appear slightly greenish. Despite differences in plumage coloration between sexes, it is likely that this species is extremely difficult to sex in the field. Immature yellow-backed orioles resemble adult females in overall pattern, but are greener; additionally, the flight feathers, which are black in females, are dark brown. Immature yellow-backed orioles are easily distinguished from adult females by their olive eye-line. Similar species include the South American yellow oriole (Icterus nigrogularis).
Lesser Goldfinch

16. Lesser Goldfinch

A common visitor of birdhouses or anywhere with birdseed, the lesser Goldfinch is a small, notch-tailed bird that enjoys gardens and open wooded areas. Its size has made it commonly overlooked, but listen out for its charming, chiming song. Social birds, they are often seen in large groups of hundreds traveling together at a time.
Common Moorhen

17. Common Moorhen

The common Moorhen is often found in slow-moving or standing-water aquatic ecosystems with dense vegetation coverage where they can hide and forage for food. If vegetation is dense enough, their large feet even enable them to walk across the floating plants. These birds are opportunistic feeders and will eat any food that is currently available.
American Coot

18. American Coot

The american Coot is easily mistaken for a species of duck but does not have webbed feet and does not have a waddling gait. They can be found in and around ponds and lakes and frequently dive under the surface to feed on algae and other vegetation. These birds can live to be 22 years old!
Cattle Egret

19. Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets are short, thick-necked egrets. Their name refers to their preference to follow along with livestock as they forage in fields. Cattle Egrets were native only to Africa until the late 1800s when they somehow made their way throughout the Americas. They can often be found along airport runways waiting for planes to take off and blow insects out of the grass and weeds. They also follow behind farm equipment and do the same thing.
Rufous-browed Conebill

20. Rufous-browed Conebill

The rufous-browed conebill (Conirostrum rufum) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia and far western Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.
Cookie Management Tool
In addition to managing cookies through your browser or device, you can change your cookie settings below.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us to improve our application/website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_ga Google Analytics These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here. 1 Year
_pta PictureThis Analytics We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_ga
Source
Google Analytics
Purpose
These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_pta
Source
PictureThis Analytics
Purpose
We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.
Lifespan
1 Year
Marketing Cookies
Marketing cookies are used by advertising companies to serve ads that are relevant to your interests.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_fbp Facebook Pixel A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here. 1 Year
_adj Adjust This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_fbp
Source
Facebook Pixel
Purpose
A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_adj
Source
Adjust
Purpose
This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year
Download