These 6 Birds Will Blow Your Mind - Oddities of the Cloud Forest

For anyone interested in birds, the cloud forests of the Ecuadorian Andes are a destination that you absolutely need to visit. The amount of avian diversity here is staggering, as well over 500 unique species call this place home, and many of them have stories so bizarre that they will totally blow your mind - from birds that eat their relatives to a species that has figured out how to talk to its predators. Today, we are going to share 6 of the craziest bird stories to come out of this region to show you exactly why the cloud forest is so worth protecting, and disprove any notion that these animals are boring!
Our trip to Ecuador was made possible in large part by the generosity, knowledge, and expertise of Emilio ‪@AnimalEncountersEP‬, he is one of this country's most passionate and driven educators and if you are not already following his work, you should be. This man gets stuff done, and he has a level of connection to this land that is truly incredible. Also, without Jack and Gage ‪@JacksWorldofWildlife‬, Spencer ‪@MyWildBackyard‬, and Rex at / mistersceloporus , our time in the cloud forest would have been far less successful, not to mention a whole lot less fun and enriching. All of these guys are amazing wildlife educators and some of the most talented educators we know, so go give their work some love!
Music:
Song: Bensound - Instinct
( • BenSound - Instinct )
Per artist's request:
Music I Use: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music
License code: DC8LDVRTH9SULHRV
Song: Fredji - Flying High
( • Fredji - Flying High (... )
Per artist's request:
/ fredjimusic
/ fredjimusic
Song: Kevin MacLeod - Accralate
( • Accralate )
Song: Kevin MacLeod - Envision
( • Envision )
Song: Kevin MacLeod - Chee Zee Jungle Primal Drive
( • Chee Zee Jungle - Prim... )
Song: Kevin MacLeod - Crypto
( • Kevin MacLeod [Officia... )
Song: Kevin MacLeod - Twisting
( • Twisting )
Song: Kevin MacLeod - Artifact
( • Artifact )
Song: Del - Tropical Love
( • Del - Tropical Love (O... )
Welcome to The Wildlife Brothers channel! We are Harrison and Evan Black, passionate zoology enthusiasts and conservationists, and it is our ambition to educate and inspire people to conserve our world's wildlife! It has always been our dream to get people excited about wildlife, from the local animals in your backyard to the endangered species in dire need of our help.
By bringing our passion, knowledge, and skills onto a global platform we hope to introduce you to the wildlife we love, and start a conversation that will help make a difference in protecting the natural world. The time to act is now, so join us as we explore our world's ecosystems and encounter the incredible species that call them home! We're glad to have you with us, so let's get going!

[@JacksWorldofWildlife]

Wow!!! The shots in this one were 🔥🔥🔥 toucans, motmots and barbets!!! I’m jealous! Great stuff boys!

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Thank you so much man! We had so many great bird filming opportunities on this trip, it made this episode a fun one to put together.

[@JeSuisSatchel]

Love the wildlife brothers and birds ❤

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

The feeling is mutual. Thank you so much for the support as always Satchel!

[@mokhtari1976]

Beautiful birds

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

I agree, these are probably some of the prettiest birds we’ve ever filmed. Thanks for watching!

[@Yuracirlce]

This channel is awesome

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Thank you so much! We really appreciate it, growth is slow right now but support like yours keeps us going!

[@andyoke50]

Thanks again Evan and Harrison. Always look forward to your next adventure...

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Thank you very much for watching, we greatly appreciate your support!

[@smetlogik]

I thought my backyard feeder setup was pretty cool until this video. WoW! That cyanopterus was a looker. Crazy how many tanagers are there. That Plate-billed, just wow. Crazy about the elevation, too. Didn't know that about the toucan's diet, very interesting. Ending with Motmot, what a day! You guys just crushed this one.

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Our backyard can’t really compare to the cloud forest, I couldn’t imagine how cool it would be to wake up to that assemblage every day. The tanagers are a lot of fun, they keep you busy when other species are slow. I love the plate-bills, and the fact that they can conquer mountain habitats like that is one of my favorite things about them. And motmots are a personal favorite too, the way they can communicate with stuff trying to eat them is amazing to me. Thank you so much for the support as always!

[@chetchurchill9524]

Ditto Rob!

[@barbarajomullen79]

This was REALLY interesting and fun to watch! 👍

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Thank you so much, we’re really glad you enjoyed! More videos in this style coming soon!

[@coloneldust4286]

Keep up the good work you guys! It’s super sweet seeing what you’ve discovered!

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Thank you so much, we’re glad you enjoyed!

[@coloneldust4286]

@@TheWildlifeBrothers this is Michael O, I was your classmate in Ohio Birds in case you didn’t recognize the username

[@chetchurchill9524]

Amen!

[@juliekurtzrd]

Hi Even & Harrison I’m Ben !those are really cool birds!!!Where is that and the colors are AMAZING 🎉and beautiful see you guys soon 🔜

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Thank you so much for watching Ben! This was filmed in northwestern Ecuador, very close to a town called Mindo. We’ll see you soon!

[@joykurtz7355]

Those colors are amazing- what gorgeous birds. I wish we could have heard more of their “voices”! Do they sing out a lot? Or are they quiet unless looking for other birds with whom to mate? Wonderful video! Thank you!!!

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Thank you Grandma! All of these birds do make noise, but except for the tanagers at the beginning, most of their songs are actually not very melodious. Toucans have more of a croak or a bark-sounding call, and trogons are somewhat similar. They actually didn’t call very much while we were filming them, or else we would try to fit more of them in. Thanks for watching!

[@MIKEJUGGALO17]

Great video guys! My wife and I are going to Costa Rica for our honeymoon. Can’t wait to see all of the wildlife!

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Thank you so much! Costa Rica is absolutely incredible, one of our favorite places in the world to explore. If you see anything while you’re there that you want to learn more about, we may have a video on it from our series we shot a few years ago. You’re going to have a great time! Thanks for watching.

[@adventureswithsquatchy1400]

Those mountain Toucans are stunning!! Absolutely beautiful birds! Ecuador looks gorgeous! Fantastic footage and videos guys!

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

They’re amazing right? One of the most unique looking toucans out there, and really interesting to watch. Thank you so much for your support!

[@chetchurchill9524]

Evan and Harrison, It would be hard to overstate the importance of your work with respect to ecology, geographic variation , natural history and taxonomy of forest dwellers . . . particularly our fine, feathered friends. 🐦

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Thank you so much! There aren’t all that many advocates for some of these animals, so we’re happy to do what we can. Thanks for watching!

[@Ecotasia]

You got mountain toucans, i need to get to the andes, this must have been one amazing trip

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

It was the trip of a lifetime, but only the first of many I’m sure. You will love the cloud forest when you go, I’ve never had an easier time finding amazing birds than the time we spent in Mindo. Thanks for watching!

[@TheWildReportOfficial]

It's wild that a not-toucan evolved into a toucan before true-toucans evolved into toucans and then the true-toucans decided to begin consuming the not-toucans that came before them. It's toucomplicated!

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

The relationship between toucans and barbets totally blew my mind when we were researching this episode, they’re truly fascinating birds. Thanks for watching, Ben, as always we greatly appreciate your support!

[@ThePollaton]

Is there a reason why birds are such bright colours. More so than most other animal species. Is it purely for mating purposes? 🤷‍♀️

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Much of the bright colors that birds have evolved is used for mating, yes. Sexual selection (the evolution mechanism) is a powerful driver of diversity in birds! Thank you so much for watching!

[@chisaquaticvibe6524]

Colors of the rainbow. Right?

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Indeed! It felt like every color on the spectrum was accounted for, they’re really impressive animals. Thanks for watching!