No place can more quickly erase a vision of the desert as monotony than Big Bend National Park. From canyon to summit, there's a 6,000-foot range in elevations, and the park's 1,200 square-miles are a labyrinth of arroyos, washes, mesas, cuestas and monoclines.

Less evident, perhaps, is the diversity of living things this landscape supports. But from cacti to butterflies, bats to reptiles, Big Bend's biodiversity shames other national parks.

The most vivid illustration of that biodiversity may be the park's bird life. Big Bend is one of the nation's premier birding destinations. As of summer 2019, 452 species have been documented.

David Larson is the park's chief of science and r... Hosted by for KRTS