Main Ridge Forest Reserve
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
🐦 Blue-backed Manakin Lek SpectacleSituated on the steep tropical rainforest slopes of Tobago, Main Ridge Forest Reserve stands as a legally safeguarded mountain sanctuary of dense greenery and damp walking trails. Towering hardwood trees, giant ferns, and tangled vines cloak the steep terrain, creating a dense canopy that shelters specialized island wildlife along muddy mountain footpaths.
11.271° N 60.657° W
Wildlife
⭐ Iconic Species
White-tailed Sabrewing
Campylopterus ensipennis
Trinidad Motmot
Momotus bahamensis
Blue-backed Manakin
Chiroxiphia pareola
Rufous-vented Chachalaca
Ortalis ruficauda
📊 Most Spotted
Bananaquit
Coereba flaveola
Barred Antshrike
Thamnophilus doliatus
Orange-winged Parrot
Amazona amazonica
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Galbula ruficauda
Grenada Tree Anole
Anolis richardii
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Trinidad Ameiva
Ameiva atrigularis
Rufous-breasted Hermit
Glaucis hirsutus
Blue-gray Tanager
Thraupis episcopus
Turniptail Gecko
Thecadactylus rapicauda
Eastern Cane Toad
Rhinella marina
Copper-rumped Hummingbird
Saucerottia tobaci
📊 Most Spotted
Red-tailed Squirrel
Sciurus granatensis
Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat
Artibeus jamaicensis
Crested Agouti
Dasyprocta leporina
Brazilian Spiny Tree Rat
Makalata didelphoides
Miller's long-tongued bat
Glossophaga longirostris
Flat-faced Fruit-eating Bat
Artibeus planirostris
Seba's Short-tailed Bat
Carollia perspicillata
Nine-banded Armadillo
Dasypus novemcinctus
Geoffroy's tailless bat
Anoura geoffroyi
Robinson's Mouse Opossum
Marmosa robinsoni
Gervais's Fruit Eating Bat
Artibeus cinereus
Attenborough's Myotis
Myotis attenboroughi
⭐ Iconic Species
White-tailed Sabrewing
Campylopterus ensipennis
Trinidad Motmot
Momotus bahamensis
Blue-backed Manakin
Chiroxiphia pareola
Rufous-vented Chachalaca
Ortalis ruficauda
📊 Most Spotted
Bananaquit
Coereba flaveola
Barred Antshrike
Thamnophilus doliatus
Orange-winged Parrot
Amazona amazonica
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Galbula ruficauda
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Rufous-breasted Hermit
Glaucis hirsutus
Blue-gray Tanager
Thraupis episcopus
Copper-rumped Hummingbird
Saucerottia tobaci
White-lined Tanager
Tachyphonus rufus
Rufous-breasted Wren
Pheugopedius rutilus
Crested Oropendola
Psarocolius decumanus
Yellow-legged Thrush
Turdus flavipes
📊 Most Spotted
Grenada Tree Anole
Anolis richardii
Trinidad Ameiva
Ameiva atrigularis
Turniptail Gecko
Thecadactylus rapicauda
Tropical House Gecko
Hemidactylus mabouia
Common House Gecko
Hemidactylus frenatus
Eyespot Gecko
Gonatodes ocellatus
Dormilona
Corallus ruschenbergerii
Red-tailed Boa
Boa constrictor
Green Iguana
Iguana iguana
Black-backed Snake
Erythrolamprus melanotus
Venezuelan Cat-eyed Snake
Leptodeira ashmeadii
Cloudy Snail-eating Snake
Sibon nebulatus
📊 Most Spotted
Eastern Cane Toad
Rhinella marina
Charlotteville Robber Frog
Pristimantis charlottevillensis
Smooth-skinned Ditch Frog
Leptodactylus validus
Bloody Bay Litter Frog
Pristimantis turpinorum
Banana Tree Dwelling Frog
Boana platanera
Lesser Antilles Robber Frog
Pristimantis urichi
Eastern Glass Frog
Hyalinobatrachium orientale
Mount Tucuche Tree Frog
Flectonotus fitzgeraldi
Whistling Grass Frog
Leptodactylus fuscus
Red Snouted Tree Frog
Scinax ruber
Forest Chirping Frog
Adenomera hylaedactyla
Guayaquil Dwarf Frog
Engystomops pustulosus
Animal Events
Blue-backed Manakin Lek Displays
Male Blue-backed Manakins gather at communal leks along Gilpin Trace, performing coordinated jump-and-wing-snap courtship dances
Endemic Glass Frog Chorus
Once the rains set in, male Tobago glass frogs call from Heliconia leaves over Main Ridge's forest streams
Sea Turtle Nesting
Leatherbacks (Tobago hosts one of the world's largest nesting populations) nest on northeast-Tobago beaches around Charlotteville, with hawksbills nesting onward.
Sighting Calendar
Chance of spotting each species, month by month
Sighting Zones
Warm areas are where all species together are recorded most, so they track where people go as much as where animals are. For one species, see the map on its own page.
Where Wildlife Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife?Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
Quick answers
What animals can you see in Main Ridge Forest Reserve?
The most likely sightings are Trinidad Motmot (seen by 80–90% of wildlife watchers), Bananaquit (seen by 80–90% of wildlife watchers), Blue-backed Manakin (seen by 80–90% of wildlife watchers), Barred Antshrike (seen by 80–90% of wildlife watchers), Orange-winged Parrot (seen by 80–90% of wildlife watchers) — among 471 recorded vertebrate species, based on citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to visit Main Ridge Forest Reserve for wildlife?
January 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 White-tailed Sabrewing in Main Ridge Forest Reserve?
Yes — about 72% of wildlife watchers report a White-tailed Sabrewing sighting in Main Ridge Forest Reserve, based on 300 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Trinidad Motmot in Main Ridge Forest Reserve?
Yes — about 89% of wildlife watchers report a Trinidad Motmot sighting in Main Ridge Forest Reserve, based on 368 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Blue-backed Manakin in Main Ridge Forest Reserve?
Yes — about 84% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-backed Manakin sighting in Main Ridge Forest Reserve, based on 348 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Rufous-vented Chachalaca in Main Ridge Forest Reserve?
Yes — about 72% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-vented Chachalaca sighting in Main Ridge Forest Reserve, based on 297 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.