While eating their breakfasts of ham and eggs on the veranda, visitors spot local toucans eating their papayas in the trees. While strolling on the beach at sunset, they find their feathered friends doing the same.

Belize is for the birds. Even people who never watched birds before leave this nest as experienced bird watchers. The definitive guide Birds of Belize, by H Lee Jones, identifies 573 known species, and avid birders discover five more each year.

Bird watchers migrate here from north and south during all seasons, especially mating, from March to August. Early mornings and late afternoons make ideal times to catch birds feeding and flying.

Birds flock in all Belizean environments. Jabiru storks, largest avian species in the West, nest in savannas. Boat-billed herons, kingfishers, and egrets gather by waterways. Gray-necked wood-rails stroll the highways, until vehicles shoo them away. Colorful toucans lounge like guests at jungle resorts, as wading birds gather in the lagoons. Magnificent frigates soar over beaches, while tiny hummingbirds seem to stand still in midair.

For a bird watcher at any level, a single vacation can yield a hundred species, and the hobby jibes perfectly with other activities, like canoeing, hiking, horseback riding, beach strolling, and archaeological exploring. Even urban areas host vibrant avian life, with 120 known species around Belize City alone.

Many resorts and jungle lodges maintain habitats, often including rare and endangered birds, and offer guided tours with checklists. The best include Chan Chich in Or­ange Walk, and Chaa Creek and Crystal Paradise in Cayo.

Belize District. Populations of jabiru storks and roseate spoonbills continue to grow at Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, with 260 bird species, best spotted from February to May. At Community Baboon Sanctuary, squirrel cuckoos, black-throated bobwhites, and quail gather.

The Belize Zoo (Western Highway mile 29) displays jabiru storks, spectacled owls, green parrots, scarlet macaws, great egrets, and looming vultures. Panama, a rare harpy eagle raised by the humans, poses like a model for visitors. With fewer than 30 nesting sites in the harpy's range - southern Mexico to northern Argentina - the zoo leads a program to restore the species, once extinct in Belize.

Orange Walk and Corozal. Blue-crowned motmots, collared aracaris, and red-lored parrots live around the Lamanai archaeological site. See more species of birds and other animals during the fascinating 90-minute New River boat ride to Lamanai. The Rio Bravo Conservation Area, largest private re­serve in the country, makes a home for the rare wood thrush and orchard oriole. At Shipstern Nature Reserve, birders have identified 200 species, including the reddish egret, white-winged dove, and Yucatán jay.

Cayo. Visit 50-acre Guanacaste Nation­al Park, near Belmopan. Stroll nature trails full of smoky-brown woodpeckers and black-headed trogans. Rare orange-breasted falcons, tropical counterparts to northern peregrine falcons, nest on cliffs over the Macal River and outcroppings in the Mountain Pine Ridge. Scarlet macaws breed along the Upper Macal River.

Five Blues Lake National Park claims 217 species. Other top sites include Blue Hole National Park, Tapir Mountain National Reserve, Chiquibil Forest Reserve (Caracol), El Pilar archaeological site, and Aguacate Lagoon.

Stann Creek. Cockscomb Basin Wild­life Sanctuary - nirvana for nature lovers - contains 300 avian species, including keel-billed toucans, scarlet macaws, king vultures, and great curassows. Brilliant scarlet macaws flock to the village of Red Bank, especially from January to March.

Toledo. Birds of Belize author Jones, a research biologist, lives in Punta Gorda, so one can expect great birding in Toledo. This district often takes first place in the country's annual Christmas bird count.

Cayes. Birders can spot 260 species around Ambergris Caye. On Caye Caulker, the black catbird has its own reserve. Thousands of sea birds, including rare red-footed boobies with white plumage, nest at Half Moon Caye Natural Monument, at Lighthouse Reef Atoll.