A Baird's tapir at the water's edgeThe largest of the three tapirs of the Americas. Its snout and upper lip make a short, bendy trunk.
A ceiba tree with a thorny trunkThe trunk and the larger branches of a ceiba are often crowded with large thorns.
A Honduran emerald at a flowerA hummingbird that lives only in Honduras. Dark green above, with a red and black bill.
A manatee and its calfThe West Indian manatee lives along Caribbean coasts, Honduras among them. A rounded body and a paddle tail.
A mantled howler calling from a branchA howler monkey of Central America. The golden-mantled kind lives in Honduras.
A queen conch peering out, eyes on stalksA big sea snail in a heavy, sandy-colored shell. Its two large eyes sit at the ends of stalks.
A stand of elkhorn coralA reef coral with branches like elk antlers. The reef off Honduras is part of the second-longest in the world.
A Utila spiny-tailed iguana in the mangrovesFound only on the island of Utila, and one of two lizards known to live only in mangrove swamps.
A whale shark with a snorkeler for scaleThe reefs of Utila are known for whale sharks. Pale spots and stripes, in a pattern unique to each fish.
A white-tailed deer at the forest edge, tail raisedThe national mammal of Honduras. Draw the tail raised to show the white under it.
An ocote pine on a hillside, cones in its crownThe national tree is simply the pine. The ocote, Pinus oocarpa, is the kind most often meant.
Cacao pods growing from a trunkCacao flowers and pods grow straight from the trunk. Columbus first met cacao on Guanaja in 1502.
Honduran white bats under a leaf tentSmall white bats with yellow ears and noses. They cut the veins of a heliconia leaf so it folds into a tent.
The orchid Rhyncholaelia digbyanaThe national flower since 1969, when it replaced the rose. An orchid that grows on trees, not in soil.
Two scarlet macaws flying over treetopsThe national bird: a large parrot in red, yellow, green and blue, which features in Maya mythology.
Places and ancient sites 15
A map of Honduras with its two coastsThe Caribbean lies to the north and the Pacific, at the Gulf of Fonseca, to the south.
A river through the Río Plátano forestA World Heritage Site since 1982, with some of the largest stretches of tropical forest left in Central America.
A stela at CopánThe carved standing stones of Copán are far more three-dimensional than most Maya stelae.
A stone macaw head from the ball courtScarlet macaw images decorated the ball court at Copán. A hooked beak and a round eye.
A trail in La TigraLa Tigra was Honduras's first national park. Tree trunks close on both sides, light at the end.
Altar Q, four rulers to a sideA stone block carved in 776 with all sixteen rulers of Copán, four seated figures on each side.
The cathedral clock of ComayaguaThe cathedral tower holds a clock described as the oldest in the Americas. A dial, a bell tower, a tiled dome.
The Cayos Cochinos from the airTwo small islands and 13 smaller coral cays, 30 km off the north coast.
Cloud forest on CelaqueCelaque National Park holds the tallest peak in Honduras, Cerro Las Minas, about 2,870 meters high.
El Tigre island in the Gulf of FonsecaAmapala is made up of El Tigre Island and its islets, on the country's Pacific coast.
The Hieroglyphic Stairway at CopánIts 2,200 glyphs form the longest known Maya text. Draw a few steps large enough to show the blocks.
Lake Yojoa with mountains behindThe largest lake in Honduras. Almost 400 kinds of bird have been recorded around it.
The pines of GuanajaOne of the Bay Islands. Columbus called it the Isle of Pines in 1502.
The reef off Roatán, seen from under waterRoatán is the largest of the Bay Islands, a coral island that sits on an ancient reef.
The Rosalila templeA temple found intact, buried inside a later one. Copán has been a World Heritage Site since 1980.
Food 15
A baleada folded in halfA flour tortilla spread with mashed refried beans, crema and cheese, sold by street vendors at breakfast.
A bowl of bean soup with a tortillaSopa de frijoles: black or red beans boiled soft and blended, served with rice and tortillas.
A bowl of sopa de caracolConch soup: conch cooked in coconut milk with yuca, cilantro and green bananas.
A cup of coffee beside a few beansHonduran coffee grows on mountain slopes. Marcala, Copán and Ocotepeque are regions known for it.
A glass of horchataIn Honduras horchata is the drink made from morro, the seeds of the jícaro.
A Honduran breakfast plateFried eggs, refried beans, crema, fresh cheese, avocado, sweet fried plantains and tortillas.
A Honduran enchiladaHere an enchilada is flat: a whole tortilla fried crisp and piled with toppings.
A plate of rosquillasMade from corn masa and cheese, and sometimes described as a Honduran doughnut.
A plato típicoCarneada, a feast of grilled meat, is counted as a national dish and is called plato típico in restaurants.
A tamal unwrapped on its plantain leafIn Honduras tamales are wrapped in plantain leaves. A corn tamal is called a montuca.
An anafre with chips for dippingA clay pot of melting cheese and mashed beans kept hot over burning charcoal, with fried tortilla chips.
Coffee cherries on a branchIn 2011 Honduras became the top coffee grower in Central America. Berries in clusters along the stem.
Fried fish from Lake YojoaFried Yojoa fish is a dish in its own right. Fried fish is served with pickled onions and jalapeños.
Tajadas, fried green banana slicesRefried beans are typically served with fried green bananas, called tajadas.
Tamalitos de elote with sour creamSmall tamales of sweet yellow corn dough, sold by street vendors and eaten with sour cream.
Flag, crafts and festivals 14
A carnival float in La CeibaOn May's third or fourth Saturday the city puts on a carnival that draws about 500,000 visitors.
A drummer playing for a punta dancePunta is a dance and music of the Garifuna people, whose language, dance and music UNESCO honored in 2001.
A Lenca clay potLenca pottery is made by hand by Lenca women, and its look is counted a mark of their culture.
A Maya glyph block, copied square by squareRule a grid over a photograph of one glyph from the stairway at Copán and copy it one square at a time.
A painted bus loaded for marketRetired school buses, repainted in bright patterns, carry people and goods between towns in Honduras.
A pair of Garifuna drumsThe main drum of Garifuna music is the segunda, the bass. The drums are made from hollowed logs.
A pair of maracasDrums and maracas are the main traditional instruments of Garifuna music.
A sack of coffee beansCoffee looms large in the history of Honduras. A rounded sack, a scoop, beans spilling out.
A sawdust carpet on a street in ComayaguaEvery Holy Week people there lay pictures on the street in dyed sawdust, called alfombras de aserrín.
An Independence Day poster for HondurasHonduras marks its Independence Day on September 15, the date of the 1821 act of independence.
Catracho lettered across a posterHondurans are often called catrachos. A woman is a catracha.
Fish on the ground after a stormIn Yoro, fish are found on the ground after big storms. Since 1998 a yearly festival has marked the rain of fish.
Five blue stars set like the five on a dieThe flag of Honduras: blue, white and blue stripes, with five blue stars in the white one.
The flag as two seas with land betweenThe two blue bands stand for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Draw waves in them and hills in the white.
How it works
A bat that folds a leaf into a tent, a stairway of 2,200 glyphs, a tortilla folded over beans. Each of these Honduras drawing ideas names a real thing and gives one checked detail.
Read the full guide
What is on the list
The Topic list sorts the page four ways. Animals and plants begins with the national bird, mammal, flower and tree. Places and ancient sites holds Copán, a lake, islands and forest parks. Food is street and home cooking. Flag, crafts and festivals runs from the five stars to a carpet of sawdust.
Drawing Copán
Maya carving is dense. Pick one thing, a macaw head or a single glyph, and draw it large from a photograph. A whole stela reads better as an outline with a few deep shadows than with every line copied.
The flag has five stars, all blue, in the white stripe. Place the middle one first.
A macaw in flight is a cross: long tail, long wings. Add the bands of red, yellow and blue last.
Questions and answers
What are the national symbols of Honduras?
The national bird is the scarlet macaw and the national mammal the white-tailed deer. Since 1969 the national flower has been the orchid Rhyncholaelia digbyana, not the rose. The national tree is the pine, most often taken to be the ocote.
What do the five stars on the Honduran flag mean?
They stand for the Federal Republic of Central America's five former nations, and for the hope that they might join again. The two blue bands are the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
What is Copán?
A Maya city in western Honduras and a World Heritage Site since 1980. It is known for its carved stelae, its ball court and a stairway whose 2,200 glyphs form the longest known Maya text.
What is a baleada?
A flour tortilla spread with mashed refried beans, crema and cheese and folded in half. Street vendors sell them at breakfast, with eggs or meat added.