The fauna of Colombia is characterized by a high biodiversity, with the highest rate of species by area unit worldwide.
Colombia has the largest number of mondasendemic species (species that are not found naturally anywhere else) worldwide. About 10% of the species in the world live in Colombia. Some determinant factors In the distribution range of the species are the weather conditions, temperature, humidity and sunlight availability.
Endemics can easily become endangered or extinct due to their restricted habitat and vulnerability to the actions of man, including the introduction of new organisms.
According to the Colombian Ministry of Environment, the following ecoregions have the highest percentage of endemic species:
Cocora valley (Quindío)
Serranía de la Macarena (Meta Department)
Gorgona, Colombia (island in the Pacific Ocean)
Amacayacu National Park (Amazonas Department)
Over 1800 species of birds have been described in Colombia, (more than the number of existent bird species in North America and Europe combined). Some of the bird species in Colombia are:
American redstart
Groove-billed ani
Spotted antbird
White-plumed antbird
Antioquia bristle-tyrant
Northern slaty-antshrike
Blackish-grey antshrike
Black-faced antthrush
White-flanked antwren
Checker-throated antwren
Apical flycatcher
Apolinar's wren
Argus bare-eye
Cinnamon attila
Band-tailed barbthroat
Pale-tailed barbthroat
Baudó oropendola
Beautiful woodpecker
Bearded bellbird
Black-and-gold tanager
Black-chested buzzard-eagle
Black-mandibled toucan
Blackish tapaculo
Bogotá rail
Empress brilliant
Fawn-breasted brilliant
Brown-banded antpitta
Buff-breasted mountain-tanager
Red-rumped cacique
Scarlet-rumped cacique
Red-capped cardinal
Gray catbird
Little chachalaca
Rufous-vented chachalaca
Chestnut-bellied flower-piercer
Chestnut-capped piha
Chestnut-mandibled toucan
Choco toucan
Chocó vireo
Clapper rail
Andean cock-of-the-rock
Guianan cock-of-the-rock
Collared trogon
Festive coquette
Spangled coquette
Buff-tailed coronet
Velvet-purple coronet
Pompadour cotinga
Bronzed cowbird
Crested ant-tanager
Cundinamarca antpitta
Great curassow
Dickcissel
Black-capped donacobius
Common ground dove
Grey-fronted dove
Mourning dove
White-tipped dove
Dusky-headed brush-finch
American harpy eagle
Crested eagle
Forest elaenia
Yellow-crowned elaenia
Andean emerald
Blue-tailed emerald
Glittering-throated emerald
Versicoloured emerald
Euler's flycatcher
Orange-bellied euphonia
Purple-crowned fairy
Laughing falcon
Flame-winged parakeet
Acadian flycatcher
Fuscous flycatcher
Great crested flycatcher
Ruddy-tailed flycatcher
Sulphur-bellied flycatcher
Orange-breasted fruiteater
Black-faced hawk
Common black hawk
Bronzy hermit
Great-billed hermit
Green hermit
Grey-chinned hermit
Long-billed hermit
Reddish hermit
Rufous-breasted hermit
Sooty-capped hermit
Stripe-throated hermit
Tawny-bellied hermit
White-whiskered hermit
Zigzag heron
Purple honeycreeper
Giant hummingbird
Green-bellied hummingbird
Indigo-capped hummingbird
Ruby-topaz hummingbird
Rufous-tailed hummingbird
Snowy-breasted hummingbird
Speckled hummingbird
Steely-vented hummingbird
Violet-bellied hummingbird
Buff-necked ibis
Brown inca
Collared inca
Bronzy jacamar
Green-tailed jacamar
Pale-headed jacamar
Paradise jacamar
Rufous-tailed jacamar
Yellow-billed jacamar
White-necked jacobin
Green jay
American pygmy kingfisher
Great kiskadee
Long-wattled umbrellabird
Blue-backed manakin
Lance-tailed manakin
Wire-tailed manakin
Green-breasted mango
Tyrian metaltail
Tropical mockingbird
Amazonian motmot
Andean motmot
Whooping motmot
Rufous motmot
Mountain grackle
Moustached brush-finch
Multicoloured tanager
Niceforo's wren
Lesser nighthawk
Northern helmeted curassow
Brown nunlet
Rusty-breasted nunlet
Oilbird
Baltimore oriole
Orchard oriole
South American yellow oriole
Pale-legged warbler
Parker's antbird
Mealy amazon
Yellow-eared parrot
Green-rumped parrotlet
Western wood pewee
Black phoebe
Band-tailed pigeon
Ruddy pigeon
Short-billed pigeon
Collared puffbird
Russet-throated puffbird
White-necked puffbird
Colorful puffleg
Gorgeted puffleg
Golden-headed quetzal
White-tipped quetzal
Booted racket-tail
Red-bellied grackle
Royal flycatcher
Rufous-breasted wren
Rufous-fronted parakeet
Rufous-tailed antthrush
Rusty-headed spinetail
Santa Marta antpitta
Santa Marta brush-finch
Santa Marta bush-tyrant
Santa Marta mountain-tanager
Santa Marta parakeet
Santa Marta tapaculo
Santa Marta warbler
Santa Marta wren
Blue-chinned sapphire
Scarlet macaw
Black-necked screamer
Horned screamer
Variable seedeater
Buff-tailed sicklebill
White-tipped sicklebill
Silvery-throated spinetail
Red siskin
Yellow-bellied siskin
Sooty ant-tanager
Sooty-capped puffbird
Orange-billed sparrow
Blue-tufted starthroat
Long-billed starthroat
Black storm-petrel
Least storm-petrel
Streak-capped spinetail
Gorgeted sunangel
Orange-throated sunangel
Tree swallow
Swallow-wing
Short-tailed swift
Sick's swift
Violet-tailed sylph
Blue-gray tanager
Fulvous-crested tanager
Olive tanager
Paradise tanager
Scarlet tanager
Turquoise tanager
White-shouldered tanager
Green thorntail
Wire-crested thorntail
Spectacled thrush
Wood thrush
Barred tinamou
Berlepsch's tinamou
Black tinamou
Brown tinamou
Choco tinamou
Cinereous tinamou
Colombian tinamou
Great tinamou
Grey tinamou
Grey-legged tinamou
Highland tinamou
Little tinamou
Magdalena tinamou
Red-legged tinamou
Rusty tinamou
Tawny-breasted tinamou
Undulated tinamou
Variegated tinamou
White-throated tinamou
Tolima dove
Channel-billed toucan
Keel-billed toucan
White-throated toucan
Emerald toucanet
Groove-billed toucanet
Slaty-tailed trogon
Grey-winged trumpeter
Buffy tuftedcheek
Streaked tuftedcheek
Turquoise dacnis
Turquoise-throated puffleg
Southern beardless tyrannulet
Upper Magdalena tapaculo
Velvet-fronted euphonia
Violaceous trogon
Brown violetear
Lesser violetear
Sparkling violetear
Black-and-white warbler
Black-throated green warbler
Blackpoll warbler
Palm warbler
Prairie warbler
Townsend's warbler
Yellow warbler
Waved albatross
Cedar waxwing
White-crowned pigeon
White-lored warbler
White-mantled barbet
Purple-bibbed whitetip
Amazonian barred-woodcreeper
Black-banded woodcreeper
Straight-billed woodcreeper
Violet-crowned woodnymph
Acorn woodpecker
Ringed woodpecker
Yellow-throated woodpecker
Purple-throated woodstar
Band-backed wren
Stripe-backed wren
Yariguies brush-finch
Yellow-crowned redstart
Yellow-headed brush-finch
Yellow-rumped warbler
The Andean condor inhabits the Andes mountain range. Although it is primarily a scavenger, feeding on carrion, this species belongs to the New World vulture family Cathartidae.
The condor is one of the largest birds on earth with a wingspan ranging from 274–310 cm (108–122 in) and weighing up to 11–15 kg (24–33 lb) for males and 7.5–11 kg (16–24 lb) for females, but overall length can range from 117 to 135 cm (46 to 53 inches).
The adult plumage is of a uniform black, with the exception of a frill of white feathers nearly surrounding the base of the neck and, especially in the male, large patches or bands of white on the wings which do not appear until the completion of the first molting.
There are 456 reported species of mammals in Colombia. Of these, about 22% are endangered or critically endangered. Most of the threatened species status are due to human activities, in particular destruction of plant and animal habitats driven by local consumption of organic resources, especially related to tropical forest destruction.
While most of the species that are becoming extinct are not food species, their biomass is converted into human food when their habitat is transformed into pasture and cropland.
Colombia has the largest number of terrestrial mammals species in the world, including among others:
Colombian woolly monkey
Colombian black-handed titi
Coppery titi
Lucifer titi
Black titi
Collared titi
Ornate titi
White-fronted capuchin
Olinguito
Giant anteater
Giant armadillo
Greater long-nosed armadillo
Hoffmann's two-toed sloth
Linnaeus's two-toed sloth
Myrmecophagidae
Nine-banded armadillo
Pale-throated three-toed sloth
Pygmy marmoset
Silky anteater
Southern naked-tailed armadillo
Southern tamandua
Spectacled bear
Tamandua
Two-toed sloth
Brown-throated three-toed sloth
Amazonian manatee
West Indian manatee
Colombia has the largest number of amphibians in the world (including frogs, toads, salamanders and caecilians) with 208 endangered species, being the zoological group with the highest rate of endangerment. Some causes related with the decline of the amphibians are: chytridiomycosis, habitat destruction, drought, air pollution, water pollution and illegal trade.
There are more than 80 genera of land gastropods in (continental) Colombia.
