Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park
🇯🇲 Jamaica
🐦 Streamertails in the Blue Mountain MistRising sharply above the Caribbean Sea, Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park protects a steep tropical rainforest in eastern Jamaica. Dense vegetation blankets the rugged slopes, where narrow dirt trails wind through misty canopy and dense ferns.
18.044° N 76.497° W
Wildlife
⭐ Iconic Species
★ 
Streamertail
Trochilus polytmus
★ 
Jamaican Tody
Todus todus
★ 
Black-billed Parrot
Amazona agilis
★ 
Jamaican Boa
Chilabothrus subflavus
📊 Most Spotted
Loggerhead Kingbird
Tyrannus caudifasciatus
Bananaquit
Coereba flaveola
White-chinned Thrush
Turdus aurantius
Jamaican Spindalis
Spindalis nigricephala
Orangequit
Euneornis campestris
American Redstart
Setophaga ruticilla
Jamaican Woodpecker
Melanerpes radiolatus
Jamaican Oriole
Icterus leucopteryx
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Setophaga caerulescens
Sad Flycatcher
Myiarchus barbirostris
Ring-tailed Pigeon
Patagioenas caribaea
📊 Most Spotted
Jamaican flower bat
Phyllonycteris aphylla
Mongoose
Herpestes javanicus
Antillean Ghost-faced Bat
Mormoops blainvillei
⭐ Iconic Species
★ Streamertail
Trochilus polytmus
★ Jamaican Tody
Todus todus
★ Black-billed Parrot
Amazona agilis
📊 Most Spotted
Loggerhead Kingbird
Tyrannus caudifasciatus
Bananaquit
Coereba flaveola
White-chinned Thrush
Turdus aurantius
Jamaican Spindalis
Spindalis nigricephala
Orangequit
Euneornis campestris
American Redstart
Setophaga ruticilla
Jamaican Woodpecker
Melanerpes radiolatus
Jamaican Oriole
Icterus leucopteryx
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Setophaga caerulescens
Sad Flycatcher
Myiarchus barbirostris
Ring-tailed Pigeon
Patagioenas caribaea
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
Stripefoot Anole
Anolis lineatopus
Jamaican Giant Anole
Anolis garmani
Bluefields Anole
Anolis opalinus
Graham's Anole
Anolis grahami
Blue Mountains Anole
Anolis reconditus
Tropical House Gecko
Hemidactylus mabouia
Jamaican Twig Anole
Anolis valencienni
Brown Anole
Anolis sagrei
Jamaican Red Groundsnake
Hypsirhynchus callilaemus
Croaking Lizard
Aristelliger praesignis
Hawksbill
Eretmochelys imbricata
Jamaica Ameiva
Pholidoscelis dorsalis
Recent sightings in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park
LIVEiNaturalistAnimal Events
3Streamertail Courtship Season
Breeding and display season of Jamaica's two streamertail hummingbirds, whose ranges meet only around these eastern mountains — males show their long tail-streamers at flowering trees.
1Warbler Season
North American wood-warblers overwinter in the montane forest, joining the resident endemics — the documented peak birding season for the Blue Mountains.
2Endemic Bird Nesting Season
Spring breeding of Jamaica's endemic birds — the season endemic-birding tours target, when the park's specialties (tody, quail-dove, blackbird) are calling and nesting.
Sighting Calendar
Average chance of spotting the park's most-spotted species, month by month
- 1Warbler Season
- 2Endemic Bird Nesting Season
- 3Streamertail Courtship Season
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
Essentials
Climate
What visitors saw
On our final sortie into the mountains, from the east, we saw 3 elusive species: Eastern Chat-Tanager (scope view of a singing bird), White-fronted Quail-Dove, and Ruddy Quail-Dove.
The birding and herping was excellent on the grounds of our ecolodge, and we found gems such as the tiny Vervain Hummingbird, our first Jamaican Owls (heard-only for most, unfortunately), a curious pair of Chestnut-bellied Cuckoos and several showy Black-billed Streamertails.
We saw the crested quail-dove in the highlands of the Blue Mountains in Blue and John Crow Mountain National Park, which raises a number of geographical questions in my mind that I try to answer first, before getting to the dove.
This road is popular as an easy access site to see most of the dove species found in the island, outside of the more widespread species, we were finally able to connect with Caribbean Dove and Ruddy Quail-Dove, the latter is probably the most skittish bird we had the whole trip.
Quick answers
What animals can you see in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park?
The most likely sightings are Loggerhead Kingbird (seen by about 90% of wildlife watchers), Bananaquit (seen by about 90% of wildlife watchers), White-chinned Thrush (seen by about 90% of wildlife watchers), Jamaican Spindalis (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers), Orangequit (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers) — among 373 recorded vertebrate species, based on citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to visit Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park for wildlife?
March has the highest combined sighting rate for the park's top species in our month-by-month GBIF data. The full sighting calendar on this page shows each species' best months.
Can you see Streamertail in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park?
Yes — about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Streamertail sighting in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, based on 492 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Jamaican Tody in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park?
Yes — about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Jamaican Tody sighting in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, based on 614 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Black-billed Parrot in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park?
Yes — about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Black-billed Parrot sighting in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, based on 413 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Jamaican Boa in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park?
It's possible but not guaranteed: about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Jamaican Boa sighting in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, based on 1 verified sighting from GBIF citizen-science data. Sightings take luck and time in the field.
Where Wildlife Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife?Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
_5.jpg/330px-Cuban_tree_frog_(Osteopilus_septentrionalis)_5.jpg)
