The reserve is located in the south of Sinaloa. It is a forest of pine and oak that is considered one of the most fragile and impressive ecosystems in the Sierra Madre Occidental. 

It is the habitat of around 130 bird species, and in fact, its name is derived from one of the birds that inhabit the reserve, the chara pinta, from the Corvidae family, known for their intelligence and sociability.

Among the other birds that you can admire in the reserve are the white-eared hummingbird, the Mexican shearwater, the green macaw, the mountain trogon, the Mexican quetzal, the bat falcon, and the Montezuma quail, among many others.

There are comfortable cabins in the El Palmito ejido.