Doctor Bird's Eye View of Jamaica 2026
It was little surprise that the endlessly adorable and confiding Jamaican Tody was voted favorite of our Jamaica tour this year. There's just something irresistible about its size, shape, color, and behavior, not to mention that it's one of only five species of todies, a family endemic to the Greater Antilles. There were many other bird highlights among the complete list of 29 endemics that we saw. Notably, some of the scarcer and more difficult endemics were seen very well on just the second day of the tour: both Yellow-billed and Black-billed Amazon were perched, as was a Ring-tailed Pigeon – species that we might have seen only in flight – while Jamaican Blackbird and Blue Mountain Vireo are easily overlooked.
We had amazing luck with two Crested Quail-Doves, four different Jamaican Owls perched during the day, and got our fill of the amazing Red-billed Streamertail at several locations. Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo was yet another tour favorite among the endemics, but our short side trip to see some Masked Ducks was a long-awaited lifer for many. We also reveled in the many endemic plants, lizards, and invertebrates on this amazing island while taking in the stunning views at our lodging in San San and the east coast at Hector's River, sampling the delicious Jamaican food at local restaurants, and being treated to a stay at the wonderful Marshall's Pen. Add to all that a really great group of participants and the pleasure of meeting local guide Veda who found day-roosting owls and potoos like no other, and we had a simply perfect tour to Jamaica.
