Russet-crowned Motmot

Russet-crowned Motmot Russet-crowned Motmot Momotus mexicanus   By Eduardo Villegas September 5, 2025 The Russet-crowned Motmot (Momotus mexicanus) is a species of coraciiform bird belonging to the Momotidae family. The vast majority of its distribution is in Mexico, covering practically the entire Pacific slope, though there is a known population in Guatamela too. Guatemala shows […]

Golden-cheeked Woodpecker

Golden-cheeked Woodpecker Golden-cheeked Woodpecker Melanerpes chrysogenys   By Eduardo Villegas September 5, 2025 The Golden-cheeked Woodpecker (Melanerpes chrysogenys) is a bird found exclusively in Mexico, along the western and southwestern coastal strip of the Pacific Ocean, and in the western bordering regions of the mountains of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. This colorful and eye-catching species […]

Cuitlauzina pulchella

Cuitlauzina pulchella Cuitlauzina pulchella Lily of the Valley Orchid   By Biól. Jesús Ángel Barajas Fragoso April 08, 2026 With a native range spanning from El Salvador to southern Mexico, the Vallarta Botanical Garden welcomes this small and beautiful flower. The genus Cuitlauzina was named in honor of Cuitláhuac, penultimate Mexica emperor and a highly […]

Calliope Hummingbird

Calliope Hummingbird Calliope Hummingbird Selasphorus calliope   By Eduardo Villegas June 25, 2025 Did you know that hummingbirds are among the only birds that can fly backwards? This is possible thanks to the great flexibility of their joints and the incredible speed of their f lapping wings! In this issue we present a small hummingbird, […]

Govenia Superba

Govenia superba Govenia superba   By Eduardo Villegas June 17, 2025 This month we would like to introduce a beautiful orchid: Govenia superba, a species of terrestrial habit native to Mexico that goes by the names of yellow lily and cozticzacatzacuxochitl. This orchid prefers a cool to cold climate. Its pseudobulbs are globose and are […]

Encyclia Trachycarpa

Encyclia trachycarpa Encyclia trachycarpa   By Eduardo Villegas June 17, 2025 Mexican orchids have a special attraction for the tourist sector that invites you to visit the Botanical Garden of Vallarta, where you will find them exhibiting a great variety of shapes and striking colors that make it impossible not to see, admire and contemplate […]

Cuitlauzina Pendula

Cuitlauzina pendula Cuitlauzina pendula   By Eduardo Villegas May 17, 2025 Orchids, with their elegance and diversity, have captivated nature lovers for centuries. Among these botanical jewels, Cuitlauzina pendula stands out as an endemic species of Mexico that deserves our attention. It is a small to medium-sized orchid, epiphytic and in some cases terrestrial, with […]

Oncidium Leleui

Oncidium leleui Oncidium leleui   By Eduardo Villegas May 17, 2025 Orchids are the largest family of plants, with more than 28,000 species identified so far by scientists. Although the variation in size, color and texture is enormous, its flowers have a basic structure: three sepals and three petals, but one of them is different […]

West Mexican Euphoni

West Mexican Euphonia West Mexican Euphonia Euphonia godmani   By Biól. Nat. Eduardo Villegas May 17, 2025 Did you know that bird watching is an increasingly practiced nature tourism activity in this region of Mexico? Specifically in Banderas Bay, this activity has become increasingly popular, since we have more than 300 species of birds, both […]

Cypripedium Irapeanum

Cypripedium irapeanum Cypripedium irapeanum   By Biól. Nat. Eduardo Villegas May 17, 2025 The name of this orchid comes from Kripis (Venus) and pedilon (shoe). For its part, the term irapeanum comes from the first place where the orchid was found: Irapeo, Michoacán. Although it is also distributed on the Mexican Pacific slope, from Chiapas […]