The Painted Bunting is a colorful blue and green bird with an reddish orange belly. He's perched on a tree branch while eating seeds.
Enjoy this post? Save and share!

Bill and I have been lucky enough to travel around the world, visiting 6 different continents and 17 countries so far. As experienced bird-watchers and travel photographers, we always try to find the most beautiful and colorful birds in every place we visit.

You may be wondering, “What types of birds in Panama can I expect to see?” or “Where are the best places to find birds in Panama?” Panama draws thousands of bird-lovers every year because its long coastlines and highland areas are home to over 1,000 different species of birds.

Of course, we did not see all 1,000 species – not even close. But we saw a good number of them, and we can’t wait to go back someday to find more birds in Panama. For us, the best birding places were around Boquete in the highlands, and right in Panama City.

Ready to See the Best Birds in Panama?

The Table of Contents below will let you quickly find the birds you’re looking for, or you can just scroll through all the photos to enjoy them.

All photos on this post were taken by either Kari or Bill (except where noted), and cannot be shared or captured without permission. See our Privacy Policy for complete details.

Affiliate disclaimer telling readers that if they click on any of the red links on my website, I may receive a small bit of compensation at no additional cost to them.
Blue checkmark in a blue box - indicating completion of a task or a Bucket List item.

PLAN YOUR TRIP WITH OUR
FAVORITE TOOLS

– Best Lodging site: Booking.com
– Book Day Tours here: Viator.com
– Rent Cars here: RentalCars.com

The Most Vibrantly Colored Birds in Panama

Many of the birds in Panama are certainly colorful, but in my opinion, these five are truly the best and most brilliantly colored birds we saw during our four weeks in Panama.

Resplendent Quetzal

This vibrant bird is near the top of many birders’ Bucket List. The Resplendent Quetzal is very elusive and can be really hard to find. We saw it once in Costa Rica (with our guide’s help) but it was pouring rain that day so I didn’t get very great photos.

So during our time in Boquete, I hired a guide named Raul to take us to a private farm, high up in the mountains to find the Quetzal. There were about a dozen of them in that area and they were swooping all about. They stayed pretty high up in the trees, but I managed to get a few good shots.

The Resplendent Quetzal is one of the most sought after birds in Panama. He sits high in the trees with his dark head, bright yellow bill, red chest and bright turquoise green feathers and wings
The male quetzal sits high up in the trees showing us his dark head, his bright red chest and the white underside of his tail feathers. His long blue tail moves in the strong winds.

Fiery-billed Aracari

The Fiery-billed Aracari is one of the most colorful birds in Panama, and is part of the Toucan family. We found this one at Birding Paradise, a small private reserve about an hour from Boquete, Panama. He was a good 1/4 mile away so my shot isn’t great. But I can see all his colors and his bright yellow eye!

The Fiery-billed Aracari is a bright colored toucan, featuring bright yellow and red feathers, a red and yellow bill, and a yellow-rimmed eye.

Lesson’s Motmot

This gorgeous blue and green bird is one of my favorites! The Lesson’s Motmot’s most striking features are its bright turquoise crown, black mask, red eyes, and its long tail with tear-drop-shaped rackets on the ends. I usually spot the bright turquoise coloring in the vegetation before I see the rest of the bird.

We found the Lesson’s Motmot at Birding Paradise outside of Boquete, and in the yard of our Airbnb in Boquete.

The Lesson's Motmot has a bright turquoise crown and a black eye mask around his bright red eye as he crouches on a thick tree branch
The backside of the Lesson's motmot shows us the rich royal blue coloring and the teardrop-shaped rackets on the ends.
The olive-green bellied motmot sits on a thick tree branch with his long tail hanging beneath him.
This motmot carries some nest making material in his mouth.

The Blue-headed Parrot

A colorful green parrot with a blue head perches at the top of a skinny tree-branch.

Crimson-fronted Parakeet

A green parakeet perches on a wooden tree branch, showing us his tail feathers and his bright crimson red patch on the front of his head.
A green parakeet with a red spot on his crown, crouches on a tree branch with green palm trees in the background.

Tanager Birds in Panama

There are dozens of different types of Tanager birds in Panama, which also includes the species of Honeycreepers, Dacnis, Grassquits and Seedeaters. These smaller birds are usually vibrantly colored and they are most definitely very photogenic!

Flame-colored Tanager

The bright orange Flame-colored Tanager is unmistakable, and he loves having his picture taken. We found these beautiful birds at the Finca Lerida Coffee Plantation near Boquete, Panama. They were hanging right around the cafe, hoping to pick up some crumbs or food scraps. 😉

The flame-colored Tanager shows off his bright orange head and body with this black and white wings.
This flame-colored tanager is more red-colored than orange as he perches on tree branch.
The orange tanager sits on a tree branch, look at the surrounding area.
This bird sits on a fence showing us more of his black and white wings.

Golden-hooded Tanager

The small Golden-hooded Tanager is also called the 7-colored bird because it has so many different colors. I love how beautifully iridescent the backside is in the sunlight.

The golden-hooded tanager eats berries while showing us his vibrant purple and blue feathers.
The backside of the Tanager has bright turquoise and purple feathers, with hints of bright green along the edges. Sooo beautiful!

Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

This small black and bright blue Tanager has a bright red eye, although it’s difficult to see in these photos. He kept flitting around high in the trees, making him difficult to photograph. And I’ve never been able to catch a glimpse of his scarlet thigh!

The Dacnis shows off his bright blue feathers in the shady tree.
The mostly black scarlet-thighed dacnis has a turquoise blue collar around his neck and back of his head.

Scarlet-rumped Tanager

The Scarlet-rumped Tanager often doesn’t look very impressive. When perched in bushes or trees, he is mostly black, with just a small touch of red on his rump and his silvery-white bill. But when he takes off to fly or he turns around to show you his brilliantly colored rear-end plumage, you can’t help but catch your breath!

The mostly black Scarlet-rumped Tanager sits on a tree branch, with just a hint of his red rump showing.

Ad for Facebook Group Achieve Your Bucket List. Community of travelers helping each other achieve travel dreams.

Red-legged Honeycreeper

This brilliantly colored small tanager is always an exciting surprise to find! The breeding male features a bright turquoise cap and bright red legs.

The bright red-legged Honeycreeper crouches in a tree.

White-shouldered Tanager

A dark colored tanager with a silvery bill and small-white stripes on his shoulder, sits amongst the leaves of a bush.

Blue-Gray Tanager

The Blue-Gray Tanager is probably not one of the more brilliantly colored birds of Panama, but in my opinion, I think it’s one of the most photogenic birds, in a calm, understated way.

A blue and pale gray bird sits on a thick tree branch.

Yellow-faced Grassquit

This very small bird is striking with his yellow and black facial markings.

This small bird shows off the bright yellow parts of his face, above and below his gray bill.
The Yellow-faced Grassquit sits daintily on a tree branch.

The Blue-black Grassquit

We were lucky to find this male showing off his breeding plumage which in the sunlight, was very iridescent. So pretty!

The black, purple and royal blue feathers glow in the sunlight.
The Blue-black Grassquit bird looks off to the right as he perches on a tree-branch.

Morelet’s Seedeater

This black and white small bird is the Morelet’s Seedeater. I think he’s a breeding male.

Small black and white bird walks on the pavement in the city, passing by some weeds which are it's favorite food.

Hummingbirds in Panama

We found Hummingbirds everywhere we went in Panama! Especially if there were bushes with purple flowers, they were sure to be hanging around that bush.

Colorful and beautiful, they are a challenge to photograph, so it’s magical when you get a great shot shot. And these miniature birds with incredibly fast wings are everywhere.

Important to note – Merlin is my go-to app for identifying birds (more on that below). But with hummingbirds, I’m a little less confident. It often comes back with the same answer for birds that look quite different to me. I used Merlin to identify the birds here, but know that my confidence is not 100%.

The iridescent scaly-breasted hummingbird sits on a branch while showing us his colorful feathers.
Scaly-breasted hummingbird

This hummingbird perches on a bright red bird feeder.
Scaly-breasted hummingbird
The Rufous-tailed Hummingbird perches at a red bird feeder where it uses its very long bill to drink sugar water.
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
The green and red Rufous-tailed Hummingbird perches on a small tree branch.
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Two humming birds sit on either side of a red and yellow birdfeeder.
Scaly-breasted and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds.
This green and purple hummingbird perches on a thick tree branch in the sunshine.
Lesser Violetear
This small green and white hummingbird flaps his wings rapidly in the green bushes.
Purple-crowned Fairy
This green and brown hummingbird with a bright white belly and a long sharp bill sits on a thin tree branch.
Snowy-bellied Hummingbird
This green and blue hummingbird has a prominent and distinctive white patch on the back of his neck as he approaches the red and yellow birdfeeder.
White-necked Jacobin

Birds of Prey and Other Large Birds in Panama

A dark gray falcon with a prominent white collar, yellow eye ring and feet, and a orange lower belly, sits on a cable overlooking the lush green scenery.
Bat Falcon
A brown hawk rests on a branch with his feathers spread around him.
Broad-winged Hawk
A brown and buff colored hawk prepares to take flight from a tree branch.
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk soars through the blue sky on his way to his next meal.
Red-tailed Hawk
A gray-lined Hawk looks behind him for a squirrel or other rodent to hunt.
Gray-lined Hawk – Immature
A group of Turkey vultures spread their wings wide while perched high up in the trees.
Turkey Vultures
A reddish-brown bird with a light green bill and eye ring perches in amongst the green leaves of the trees.
Squirrel Cuckoo
a large brown bird with a gray head and a sharp curved silver beak sits amongst the green leaves and wooden branches of a tree.
Gray-headed Chachalaca
The royal blue and black bird sits up high in the tree leaves, looking around for his mate.
Great-tailed Grackle
A black crow-like bird with an enormous yellow beak, a blue eye ring, and rusty orange underparts, perches on a branch with a banana skin attached to it.
Crested Oropendola

We also saw the Roadside Hawk and the Yellow-headed Caracara birds in Panama, but I didn’t manage to get great photos to share for those species.

Flycatcher Birds in Panama

There are 92 different species of Flycatcher birds in Panama and we’ve only seen a few so far. The Kingbirds, the Elaenias and the Tyrannulets fall into this category as well. They aren’t ALL white, brown and gray with yellow bellies, but the ones that I’ve seen so far definitely have those characteristics. We also saw the Ochre-bellied Flycatcher and the Torrent Tyrannulet, but I didn’t get great photos of them.

The bright yellow belly of the Great Kiskadee glows in the sunlight while it sits in a tree.
Great Kiskadee Flycatcher
The black-masked Great Kiskadee sits quietly on a tree branch.
Great Kiskadee Flycatcher
The yellow-bellied Elaenia has a spiked gray crest on top of his head and brown and white wing feathers. It is one of the more elusive birds in Panama.
Yellow-bellied Elaenia
Another species of flycatcher with a soft yellow belly, gray and white face and brown wing feathers. They all look so similar to each other!
Panama Flycatcher
A gray, white, brown and yellow Tropical Kingbird perches in a tree with his feathers all ruffled due to the wind.
Tropical Kingbird
A smooth feathered Tropical Kingbird perches on electrical wires.
Tropical Kingbird

Sparrow and Warbler Birds in Panama

Some of the smallest birds in Panama are the Warblers, the Sparrows and the Buntings. They keep moving frequently on the ground or in the trees, making them tricky to photograph sometimes. Here’s a small sampling of the ones we found:

A beautiful bird with a rich blue head, a lime green back and red underparts sits on a tree branch, eating seeds.
Painted Bunting
This very streaky young bird is a blend of black, white, gray and reddish brown streaks and spots.
Juvenile Rufous-collared Sparrow
This ground sparrow has distinct gray and black striping on this head, including a prominent black eye mask.
Black-striped Sparrow
The neon-bright orange bill stands out on this striking black, white, gray and olive colored Sparrow.
Orange-billed Sparrow
This drab olive and buff colored bird walks along the ground.
Buff-rumped Warbler
The Chestnut-capped Warbler has a bright red head, with a distinct white eyebrow running through it and olive back feathers.
Chestnut-capped Warbler
The Chestnut-sided Warbler hides his beautifully colored body behind a bunch of tree branches.
Chestnut-sided Warbler
The distinctive black and white warbler looks like a zebra in bird form!
Black-and-white Warbler
The Bay-breasted Warbler prepares to take flight, high up in the green leaves of a tree in Panama City.
Bay-breasted Warbler
The yellowish-green Tennessee Warbler perches on a thin tree branch.
Tennessee Warbler
This chunky, but small, bird features a royal blue back and a neon bright yellow belly.
Slate-throated Redstart
This gray and brown bird stands proudly upright and vertical at the top of a tree branch.
Gray-breasted Martin
A colorful bird with a blue head, green back and orange belly sits on a tree branch
Painted Bunting
The bright-orange nape of this small sparrow stands out as he tries to find some food scraps on a plate left behind by a restaurant diner.
Rufous-collared Sparrow

I also found lots of House Sparrows and a lone female Indigo Bunting, but didn’t have great photos to share for those species.

Woodpeckers in Panama

We found four different types of Woodpeckers while looking for birds in Panama. Near Boquete, we found the Acorn Woodpecker, the Red-crowned Woodpecker and the Golden-Olive Woodpecker. Near Panama City, we were delighted to find the large and very photogenic Lineated Woodpecker.

The long, pointed beak of the Golden Olive Woodpecker is visible as he perches on top of a tree stump.
Golden-Olive Woodpecker
The Golden-Olive Woodpecker has yellow-green feathers, thin white barring on his chest and bright red streaks on his head.
Golden-Olive Woodpecker
A small plump woodpecker with a red crown, yellow face and a sharp black beak sits on top of a wooden stump.
Acorn Woodpecker
a medium sized woodpecker nestles amongst the leave, showing his red crown, red belly and golden yellow chest.
Red-crowned Woodpecker
The large red-headed Lineated Woodpecker climbs up the tree with his
Lineated Woodpecker
This woodpecker mostly closely resembles the cartoon character, Woody Woodpecker with his bright red and black crest on top of his head.
Lineated Woodpecker
Brown and yellow barring is visible on this woodpecker's underside as he climbs the tree.
Lineated Woodpecker
The woodpecker is looking right at us as if to say "why are you taking my picture so many times, Kari?"
Lineated Woodpecker

Shore Birds in Panama

With over 1700 miles of coastline in Panama along both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, there is plenty of opportunity to find birds along the shores. I also found the Brown Pelican in several places, but since we have tons of those in Florida, I didn’t take any photos.

A large imposing bird soars through the blue sky. He is mostly black with a wide wingspan, except for his white head and belly.
Magnificent Frigatebird
A long-necked heron walks through the water, hunting for fish. His pink legs, the bright blue top of his bill and the white plume on the back of his head indicate that he is in breeding plumage
Tri-colored Heron – in full breeding plumage!
Two Whimbrel birds perch on the rocks with their long-curved pink bills.
Whimbrels
The dark Neotropic Cormorant sits perched on the rocks with his yellow bill that has a definite hook on the end of it.
Neotropic Cormorant
The chunky gray, white and black birds huddle near each other on the rocks. They are called the Semipalmated Plover.
Semipalmated Plovers
Several Laughing Gull birds arrive on the beach with their wings extended as they come in for a landing.
Laughing Gulls
The Magnificent Frigatebird is one of the most beautiful birds in Panama as it soars over the waterways, looking for fish to hunt.
Magnificent Frigatebird
The plump, long-billed Whimbrel walks along the beach at the end of the Pacific Ocean, looking for something good to eat.
Whimbrel

Other Birds in Panama

Here are all the other birds we saw in Panama that didn’t neatly fit into another category.

A male Baltimore Oriole, a black and white bird with a brilliant orange chest and yellow tail feathers, perches on a small twig
Male Baltimore Oriole
The Female Baltimore Oriole, a brown and gray bird, sits prettily on a thick tree-branch.
Female Baltimore Oriole
The royal blue and yellow Thick-billed Euphonia perches on a tree branch.
Thick-billed Euphonia
The colorful Spot-crowned Euphonia has a rusty red spot on this crown
Spot-crowned Euphonia
The neon green and yellow Golden-browed Chlorophonia rests high up in the trees, very well camouflaged by the green leaves.
Golden-browed Chlorophonia
The Streak-headed Woodcreeper hangs upside down on the underside of a branch, showing off his brown and white streaked throat and chest.
Streak-headed Woodcreeper
The Ruddy Ground Dove has a reddish brown body with a gray head and pink lets
Ruddy Ground Dove
A mostly light gray dover with dark gray wings hops up a fallen tree log.
White-tipped Dove
A tiny Ochraceous Wren pokes its head out of a hole in the tree to gather more nest-building materials.
Ochraceous Wren
The gray and yellow and white Yellow-throated Vireo clings to a thick tree branch.
Yellow-throated Vireo
The Buff-throated Saltator poses on the edge of a table, displaying the pinkish buff spot on his throat.
Buff-throated Saltator
The olive colored Streaked Saltator perches in a tree, showing us his streaky underparts.
Streaked Saltator
A fat white and black Rose-Breasted Grosbeak sits on a tree branch with just a bare glimpse of his rosy-red chest showing.
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
The reddish brown Clay-colored Thrush sits on top of a rock.
Clay-colored Thrush

Where We Found Birds in Panama

We spent a whole glorious week in the Boquete area, up in the Chiriqui highlands near the Volcano Baru. This area is well-known for bird-watching and it did not disappoint. Even the little house we stayed at in Alto-Boquete had so many birds in the backyard, that I spent many happy hours out there, taking pictures with my camera.

Two other places we went birding in Boquete were the Finca Lerida Coffee Plantation (which we stupidly did without hiring a guide – don’t be like us – hire one!) and Birding Paradise. On another day in Boquete, we birded with guide Raul and he took us to several places around town, but I don’t know the names of them except for the Wilson Bridge.

Panama City had a surprising number of birding opportunities! We spent a morning at the Metropolitan Nature Park, and along the water front in Casco Viejo. Even at the Panama Canal, the birds were soaring into the air.

There is also excellent birding near Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean side and at El Valle de Anton in the mountains, but we never found a guide available while we were there.

Ad for Facebook Group Achieve Your Bucket List. Community of travelers helping each other achieve travel dreams.

Hiring a Guide

You will 100% always find more birds if you hire a birding expert to take you around. In Panama, we hired guides on two different occasions and it was worth every penny. We also birded on our own several times – we saw a lot, but for sure not as many as we would have seen had we hired a guide.

So where do you find a guide? Trip Advisor or Viator is the first place I check. Read the reviews carefully. If you book a bird-watching tour directly with a destination such as a coffee plantation or nature reserve, they will provide the guide for you.

Or you can join a Facebook group such as Birding Panama. There people post pictures they’ve taken in different parts of the country. You can ask for guide recommendations in selected areas and then message them on WhatsApp to see if they are available. If they are already booked for your dates, they will likely recommend another guide for you.

Birding Guides In Boquete

Raul Velasquez – WhatsApp: +507 6247-4455
Misael at Birding Paradise – WhatsApp: +507 6693-4236
Jason Lara – WhatsApp: +507 6718-6279

The Merlin App

Millions of Bird-lovers around the world rely on the Merlin app to help them identify the birds that they find in the wild. I like that it has several different methods to identify birds. My favorite is to upload a photo that I took with my camera. Or you can record the sounds you hear while birding. If neither of those work, you can answer 5 questions about the bird and it will give a range of results.

Merlin is pretty fantastic at identifying birds, but always trust your gut if it doesn’t seem like you got the right result. If I doubt it, I switch to the Step-by-Step method where I answer the 5 questions. Or I post it in the Facebook group and ask for help.

Download the Merlin app onto your cell phone before you leave on your trip. Then remember to download the Panama bird pack so you are all set to go!

My Favorite Bird Photography Camera

The camera I use for all my bird photography is the Canon SX70. I love it because of it’s powerful zoom (no separate lenses needed), it has a viewfinder window, and it’s compact enough to fit into my hand easily. It’s truly a point-and-shoot camera that really packs a big punch!

I wrote a blog post about why I love shooting with this camera so much. It’s a safari focused article, but the reasons are the same for shooting birds as shooting elephants and lions!

More Info on Panama

Here are some more posts about Panama, including some that I’m still working on. If you’d like to receive emails when I’ve posted new content to the site, please complete the short form with the Cheetah image above.

More on Bird and Wildlife Watching Around the World

Ad for Facebook Group Achieve Your Bucket List. Community of travelers helping each other achieve travel dreams.

Enjoy this post? Save and share!