The Serranía de las Quinchas is an 860 km² area of tropical rainforest

Tropical rainforest

A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...

 and cloud forest

Cloud forest

A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...

 in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. It lies in the mid Magdalena River Valley

Magdalena River Valley

The Magdalena River Valley is a valley in Colombia located within the Colombian Andes mountain ranges. The valley is specifically located between the Cordillera Central and Cordillera Oriental and crossed by the river of the same name, the Magdalena River....

 in the foothills of the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

. It ranges in altitude from 200 m to 1700 m asl

Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

. It is listed as an Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

, under criteria A1 and A2, as it holds populations of globally threatened and restricted range species. It contains the 848 ha El Paujil Nature Reserve, established by the Fundación ProAves

Fundación ProAves

Fundación ProAves is a nonprofit environmental organization in Colombia established in 1998. Its primary aims are to protects birds of conservation concern and their habitats across Colombia.ProAves has over 60 full-time professional staff...

 in 2004.

Threatened birds found in the Serranía de las Quinchas include the Wattled Guan

Wattled Guan

The Wattled Guan is a species of bird in the Cracidae family. It is a fairly large black cracid with blue-based, black-tipped beak and a long, red-and-yellow wattle. It is 1190-1550 grams and is 72.5-77.5 cm long long.It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela...

, Blue-billed Curassow

Blue-billed Curassow

The Blue-knobbed Curassow or Blue-billed Curassow is a species of bird in the Cracidae family, which includes the chachalacas, guans, and curassows....

, Saffron-headed Parrot

Saffron-headed Parrot

The Saffron-headed Parrot is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It was previously placed in the genus Pionopsitta, but moved out, as it is not as close to the type species Pionopsitta pileata as it was believed...

, White-mantled Barbet

White-mantled Barbet

The White-mantled Barbet is a species of bird in the Capitonidae family.It is endemic to Colombia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, pastureland, and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on...

, Beautiful Woodpecker

Beautiful Woodpecker

The Beautiful Woodpecker is a bird species in the woodpecker family . It is endemic to Colombia.Until recently, it was united with the Golden-naped Woodpecker of Central America as subspecies...

, Antioquia Bristle-tyrant

Antioquia Bristle-tyrant

The Antioquia Bristle-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family. It is endemic to Colombia.-Distribution and habitat:...

, Grey-throated Warbler

Grey-throated Warbler

The Grey-throated Warbler is a species of bird in the Parulidae family.It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International...

, Turquoise Dacnis

Turquoise Dacnis

The Turquoise Dacnis is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family. It is endemic to Colombia. It is a rather distinct species of dacnis, formerly separated in the monotypic genus Pseudodacnis....

 and Sooty Ant-tanager

Sooty Ant-tanager

The Sooty Ant-tanager is a species of bird in the cardinal family ; formerly, it was placed with the true tanagers in the Thraupidae.It is endemic to Colombia...

. It is also home to the critically endangered Brown Spider Monkey

Brown Spider Monkey

The brown spider monkey or variegated spider monkey is a critically endangered species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from northern Colombia and north-western Venezuela. Its taxonomic history has been confusing, and in the past it has been treated as a subspecies of either the...

.