Destinations: Europe

Costa Rica is rich in bird biodiversity: The small tropical country is home to roughly 850 species, from Sapphire-throated Hummingbirds to dazzling quetzals. But let’s face it: Everyone wants to see a toucan. Six members of the toucan family Ramphastidae call Costa Rica home, including the Keel-billed. These yellow-chested, rainbow-billed beauties are occasionally visible in fruit trees and forests on the nearby lower slopes of Cordillera de Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, both about 90-minutes from Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Papagayo.

Papagayo is not without its own brilliant avifauna. The peninsula is named for the numerous colourful parrots that inhabit its lush canopies. Visitors who attend the 930-hectare (2,300-acre) Resort’s morning and afternoon nature walks can learn about the 25 species of endangered trees found on the peninsula and the birds who visit them, including Crested Caracaras, Great Kiskadees, Tropical Kingbirds, Inca Doves and Yellow-naped Parrots – each of the parrots a bright green marked with a vivid yellow line along its forehead and the nape of its neck.

Thailand: Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum)

Many brightly coloured passerines flit through the moist bamboo thickets and steamy riverine forests of the Golden Triangle where Burma, Laos and Thailand converge. But few are as elegant and photogenic as the elusive Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker.

Sightings of the birds from Four Seasons Hotel Tented Camp, Golden Triangle are rare, but not impossible. They’re more likely at Chiang Saen Lake, about 45 minutes from the camp, or on trees at nearby fruit gardens where you can watch them quietly nibbling on figs and buah cherries. They may be one of the smallest birds in Southeast Asia, but their deep ruby red, sparkling white and navy blue markings are unmistakable.

Australia: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)

When you first sight one of these flamboyantly feathered birds, you might think you’ve spotted an escaped pet. But these large, cacophonous, snow-white cockatoos with the butter-coloured crest live wild in Sydney and appear in spots throughout the country, including the Botanic Gardens and Hyde Park, both within walking distance from Four Seasons Hotel Sydney. It’s a vivid reminder that you’ve crossed the Wallace Line, a faunal boundary marking two distinctly different ecozones.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are known for their curiosity, screechy calls and longevity. One legendary Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, christened Cocky Bennett, lived for over 100 years.

Geneva: Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

It’s not a long wait before a wild white swan glides along the shoreline of Lake Geneva. Just steps outside Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues Geneva, these grand birds with black masks and orange beaks can be seen along the lake, and on the tiny island of l’Ile Rousseau in front of the Resort, often with their S-curve necks in perfect formation like ballerinas.

From the 13th to the 19th century, western European swan populations were nearly exterminated by hunting. Protective measures to save the lake’s waterfowl took effect in the late 1800s, allowing the swans to reclaim their former range. In the 1960s, numbers declined again, but fortunately they are increasing today.

Florida: Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens)

This jay is Florida’s only endemic bird, and one of only 15 endemic bird species in the continental United States. Because Florida’s scrub oak habitat has rapidly dwindled in the past few decades, and therefore the number of birds has, the jay has been designated a threatened species.

It’s possible to see this bold and feisty bird at Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World® Resort and the Tranquilo Golf Club, both of which are home to dozens of replanted live oak trees, the preferred habitat of the Scrub Jay – not to mention shrubs, ground cover, bushes and palms that it and other birds can use for food and shelter. For birders who want a more guaranteed sighting, the Florida Scrub-Jay Trail is a mere 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.

Serengeti: African Grey Hornbill (Lophoceros nasutus)

The chance to sight the Big Five beasts may draw travellers from far and wide, but Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti is also a fine spot for observing African birds. Right on the grounds, it’s possible to come face to face with mischievous African Grey Hornbills, which are sometimes spotted amid the fig trees along the Lodge’s boardwalks.

With its heavy-looking, downward-curving bill, the bird has an oddly primitive appearance, but it moves with the agility of a lion, both in the air and on the ground.

“While flying, they dip in mid-flight, which is quite distinctive, and as the most pronounced of all the hornbills in this region, their piercing, whistle-like call is also quite distinctive,” says the Lodge’s Discovery Centre Manager, Oli Drieke.

Guests who wish to see more of these creatures should cover more of their habitat by embarking on the game drives and walking safaris offered at the Lodge.