That Honduras, not Africa.
In general, basic operating costs are higher in Africa, because of high fuel prices and many lodges being somewhat remote, which adds to costs in general. On hunting safaris, for instance, many places charge a minimum daily rate of $250-$300, which is basically just to cover the expense of putting customers up. They make their profit in trophy fees. And those are the "handier" places, closer to supplies.
The birding in Africa is great. In fact, most hunting guides are as good at birding as the average birding guide in the U.S. This is because they're often full-time guides, half the year guiding hunters, and the other half of the years guiding non-hunters on game preserves of one sort or another. In fact, on supposed hunting safaris (which generally also involved birding, both because of me and the guide) I've spent several enjoyable days after the game was "collected" just rambling around and looking at Africa, including birding, where the PH was just as enthused as I was.
And the bird life of Africa is incredible. I have birded quite a bit while hunting in the Americas from the Arctic to Argentina (including, fo course, South Texas a number of times) along with several European countries. Africa is a different world, just as it is for hunting.
