Bird watching to promote ecotourism in the Ricuricocha lagoon in Peru

Bird watching is a booming type of tourism that attracts a market segment with high purchasing power. The objective was to identify bird species to promote ecotourism in the Ricuricocha lagoon, Peru. The investigation was basic of exploratory level. Birds were inventoried through point counts, direct counts, intensive searches, and linear and strip transects. The results were the identification of 167 species of birds belonging to 48 families and 22 orders, 17 are of interest for bird watching, 10 migratory species, the most representative being the Tyrannidae family. It is concluded that the Ricuricocha lagoon has great potential to promote the ecotourism thanks to the variety and quantity of bird species it houses.