Painting by Lou Jost.
Most birders are aware that bird diversity varies according to latitude.
The arctic region has few resident birds, the temperate zone has more, and the tropical belt has the most. Geographic good fortune has blessed Ecuador with a wide variety of faunal zones, including some of the richest on this planet, each with its characteristic birds. Ecuador's Amazonian faunal zone alone has more than 600 species of birds, and several other Ecuadorian zones are nearly as rich. The key to seeing lots of species in Ecuador is to visit as many different faunal zones as possible. These zones are largely the result of the uplift of the Andes mountains, which separate and isolate western Ecuador from the eastern part of the country.