March
On March 4, Laura and I landed in São Paulo. It was our first time in Brazil. Even though we had planned to spend much of the next two months exploring Brazil, the country is so large that we could only see a small portion of it. We restricted our route to only include southeast Brazil as this would allow us to do the Atlantic Forest justice. We could always return in the future to see more of the country.
For our first couple of weeks, two fellow naturalists from Canada - Luke Berg and Andrew Keaveney - joined us for a whirlwind route of the Atlantic forest between São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and southward to Santa Catarina state. We covered a lot of ground but it was worth it given our sightings and experiences.
After dropping Luke and Andrew off at the airport, Laura and I continued northeastward. We traveled at a bit of a slower pace, taking our time to thoroughly visit each area. By the end of the month, we had made it all the way to the Vitoria area.
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| South American Coati (Nasua nasua) |
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| Collared Peccary (Pecari tajacu) |
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| Ithomia agnosia |
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| Bare-faced Ibis |
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| Birding at Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil |
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| Double-collared Seedeater |
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| Black-capped Piprites |
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| Serro do Mar Tyrant-Manakin |
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| Siphocampylus sp. |
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| Birding at PN do Itatiaia, Río de Janeiro, Brazil |
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| Itatiaia Spinetail |
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| Pinnated Bittern |
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| Comb Ducks |
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| Burnished-buff Tanager |
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| Colobura dirce |
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| Black Capuchin (Sapajus nigritus) |
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| Luke birding at PN do Itatiaia, Río de Janeiro, Brazil |
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| White-bibbed Antbird |
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| Aulacizes sp. |
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| Green-backed Trogon |
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| White-necked Hawk |
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| Military Ground Snake (Erythrolamprus miliaris) |
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| Psychotria nuda |
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| Serra Snake (Tropidodryas serra) |
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| Bare-throated Bellbird |
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| Brazilian Ruby |
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| Saw-billed Hermit |
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| Violet-capped Woodnymph |
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| Festive Coquette |
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| Common Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) |
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| Wied's Keelback (Helicops carinicaudus) |
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| Blond-crested Woodpecker |
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| Mangrove Root Crab (Goniopsis cruentata) |
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| Star-throated Antwren |
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| Brown-breasted Pygmy-Tyrant |
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| Paraná Antwren |
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| Burrowing Owls |
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| Kaempfer's Tody-Tyrant |
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| Spot-backed Antshrike |
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| Long-tailed Cinclodes |
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| Buff-necked Ibis |
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| Araucaria forest, Urupema, Santa Catarina, Brazil |
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| Paraguay Hairy Dwarf Porcupine (Coendou spinosus) |
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| Red-spectacled Parrots |
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| Planalto Tapaculo |
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| Unidentified tiger moth (subfamily Arctiinae) |
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| Eurata hilaris |
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| Isia intricata |
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| Perusia sp. |
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| Iporanga, São Paulo, Brazil |
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| Spot-billed Toucanet |
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| Sharpbill |
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| Riverbank Warbler |
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| Mottled Owl |
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| Black-footed Pygmy Rice Rat (Oligoryzomys nigripes) |
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| Unidentified moth (subfamily Scoliopteryginae) |
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| Idaea zoalma |
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| Ferrariana trivittata |
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| Black-headed Berryeater |
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| Scea auriflamma |
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| Black-fronted Piping-Guan |
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| Laothus phydela |
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| Yarará Lancehead (Bothrops jararaca) |
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| Atlantic Royal Flycatcher |
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| Spot-winged Wood-Quail |
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| Paromenia auroguttata |
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| Enoclerus miniatus |
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| Paradaemonia meridionalis |
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| Phenax variegata |
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| Elysius conspersus |
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| Russet-winged Spadebill |
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| Neuwied's False Fer-de-Lance (Xenodon neuwiedii) |
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| Two-headed Sipo (Chironius bicarinatus) |
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| Boana bischoffi |
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| Tropical Screech-Owl |
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| South American Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) |
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| Trosia fumosa |
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| Phaegoptera depicta |
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| Parque Estadual Intervales, São Paulo, Brazil |
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| Greenish Schiffornis |
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| White-throated Spadebill |
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| Charis cadytis |
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| Red-and-white Crake |
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| Streamer-tailed Tyrant |
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| Ash-throated Crake |
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| Brassy-breasted Tanager |
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| Serro do Mar Bristle-Tyrant |
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| Southern Tropical Pewee |
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| Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl |
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| Three-toed Jacamar |
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| Unidentified free-tailed bat (family Molossidae) |
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| Proceratophrys boiei |
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| Brazilian Laniisoma |
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| Denivia hemon |
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| Paraselenis normalis |
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| Calpodes sp. |
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| Cabo Frío, Río de Janeiro, Brazil |
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| Mangrove Rail family |
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| Bicolored Conebill |
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| Roseate Spoonbill |
April
Laura and I continued on our route up the coast of Brazil, making it as far north as Porto Seguro before cutting inland. We found that extensive forest could be found further south in Brazil - despite the presence of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the steep mountain slopes helped to limit deforestation. But as we worked our way up the coast, there was less topographic relief and as a result, forest patches were few and far between. Most of our birding was in the remaining woodlots where we searched for species that are becoming increasingly rarer by the day. Several birds have gone extinct in recent years, and some of the ones that we found may follow suit in the coming decades.
A couple of our targets (Cherry-throated Tanager, Banded Cotinga, Plumbeous Antvireo) were missed, but we found most of them. Still, we found the birding tough during this leg of the trip. The breeding season was over, birds weren't really singing, and the remaining forest patches held fewer birds per hectare than continuous forest would. Our search for the Red-billed Curassow near Linhares was successful, but depressing since the remaining forest seems far too small to support a viable population of curassows in the long term.
We cut inland towards Montes Claros. Here, we visited parks that don't receive a lot of foreign tourists. We really enjoyed the birds (and surprise coral snakes!) of Cavernas do Peruaçu, and the flock of Bahian Nighthawks foraging low over a river at dusk. Our inland route also brought us to Botumirim, a beautiful area that is the only known location where Blue-eyed Ground-Doves reside. We saw two of them, a full 10% of the known population. One can only hope that there are other populations somewhere out there in the caatinga, undiscovered by humans.
Laura and I tried to savour each moment in the last few weeks as we drove south towards São Paulo. The beautiful mountains at Lapinha da Serra produced a whole suite of interesting bird species, while we had fun tracking down Blue Finches and Chapada Flycatchers near Pompeu. Our last destination was the grasslands and crystal clear rivers of Serra da Canastra, the only stronghold for the critically endangered Brazilian Merganser. In addition to the merganser, we enjoyed finding species like White-striped Warbler, Cock-tailed Tyrant and Dwarf Tinamou in the extensive grasslands, as well as a half-dozen Giant Anteaters and a glass lizard. We made it back to São Paulo by April 26 where we flew back to Canada.
Despite the extensive deforestation in many areas, we really enjoyed our visit to Brazil and will definitely be back, hopefully before too much time elapses.
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| Black Jacobin bathing in a waterfall |
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| Sooty Tyrannulet |
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| Rhetus periander |
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| Amazon Lava Lizard (Tropidurus torquatus) |
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| Frilled Coquette |
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| White-vented Violetear |
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| Cosmosome auge |
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| Nachaba sp. |
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| Wied's Tyrant-Manakin |
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| Brown Howler Monkey (Alouatta guariba) |
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| South American Dead Leaf Mantis (Acanthops falcataria) |
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| Maroon-faced Parakeets |
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| Red-billed Curassows |
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| Minute Hermit |
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| Ochre-marked Parakeets |
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| White-bellied Tanager |
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| Unidentified hummingbird |
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| Birding at RPPN Estação Veracel, Bahia, Brazil |
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| Brown-winged Schiffornis |
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| Red-headed Manakin |
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| Double-toothed Kite |
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| Blue-backed Manakin |
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| Micrathena fissispina |
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| Amiga arnaca |
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| White-throated Seedeater |
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| Masked Duck |
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| Brazilian Monkey Lizard (Polychrus acutirostris) |
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| Botumirim area, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
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| White-eared Puffbird |
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| Silvery-cheeked Antshrike |
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| Heliconius ethilla |
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| Blue-eyed Ground-Dove |
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| Botumirim area, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
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| Drosera graomogolensis |
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| Pale-throated Pampa-Finch |
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| Rusty-backed Antwren |
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| Horned Sungem |
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| Helmeted Manakin |
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| Gray-eyed Greenlet |
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| Botumirim area, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
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| Wagler's Snake (Xenodon merremii) |
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| Small-headed Elaenia |
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| Hyacinth Visorbearer |
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| Cinnamon Tanager |
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| Anteros lectabilis |
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| Pale-legged Hornero |
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| Diaethria candrena |
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| Caatinga Black-Tyrant |
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| Temenis laothoe |
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| Southern Coral Snake (Micrurus frontalis) |
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| Rock Cavy (Kerodon rupestris) |
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| Common Punaré (Thrichomys apereoides) |
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| Tataupa Tinamou |
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| Brazilian Blindsnake (Trilepida brasiliensis) |
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| Xyleus discoideus |
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| Ochre-backed Woodpecker |
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| Callicore sorana |
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| Guira Cuckoo |
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| Chapada Flycatcher |
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| Black-masked Finch |
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| Least Nighthawk |
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| PN da Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
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| Horned Sungem |
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| Hellmayr's Pipit |
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| Lapinha da Serra, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
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| Rock Tapaculo |
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| Peach-fronted Parakeet |
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| Serra del Cipo Lava Lizard (Eurolophosaurus nanuzae) |
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| Cipó Cinclodes |
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| White-rumped Tanager |
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| Saffron Finch |
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| Gray-headed Tanager |
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| Black-tufted-ear Marmoset (Callithrix penicillata) |
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| PN Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
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| Swallow Tanager |
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| Cock-tailed Tyrant |
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| Pampas Deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) |
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| Crested Black-Tyrant |
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| Brazilian Merganser |
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| Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) |
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| Burrowing Owl |
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| Laura with a Striped Worm Lizard (Ophiodes striatus) |
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| Striped Worm Lizard (Ophiodes striatus) |
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| Golden-capped Parakeet |
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| Red-ruffed Fruitcrow |
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| Buffy-tufted-ear Marmoset (Callithrix aurita) |
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