A Month In Northern Peru, Part 18: Wattled Curassows at Muyuna Lodge (February 26, 2024)

February 26, 2024

As dawn broke, Laura, Moises and I slowly cruised along a quiet watercourse. The dawn chorus was active and included species like Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Zimmer's Woodcreeper and Black-tailed Antbird, but I stayed focused on the treeline, hoping that a curassow-shaped bird would appear. 

The dawn chorus quieted as the sun rose above the horizon. Early morning is the best time to find the curassow, and we were running out of time. 

Domain of the Wattled Curassow - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

And there it was! It was the bright red bill that first caught my attention and 0.05 seconds later, my brain registered that I was staring at a female Wattled Curassow.

Wattled Curassow - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

But it was better than I had imagined - the female was accompanied by a tiny chick! For a few magical minutes we watched the duo in their element. 

Wattled Curassow chick - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Wattled Curassow chick - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Wattled Curassows are closely associated with these rivers in the western Amazon basin and that has led to their downfall. The rivers are the highways, and curassows have a lot of meat. But in a few areas like here, hunting of the curassows does not occur and encounters with this secretive species are possible. The curassows like feeding on the fruits of mahogany trees that line the watercourses, and that is likely what this female was on the hunt for. 

Wattled Currasow - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

We were on cloud nine after such an epic start to the day! I was pleased that I even managed some mostly in-focus photos with my broken lens. 

For the next few hours we cruised around by boat, checking out different waterways in search of some of our target birds. We were successful with Black-tailed Antbird and Short-tailed Parrot. 

Black-tailed Antbird - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Short-tailed Parrot - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

It was a very birdy morning and we cleared the hundred species mark before returning to the lodge for breakfast. 

Bluish-fronted Jacamar - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Black-tailed Tityra - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Proboscis Bat (Rhynchonycteris nasa) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

After breakfast, we searched by boat for some of the few remaining target birds I had in mind such as Purple-throated Cotinga, Gray-eyed Greenlet and Wing-barred Seedeater, but were unsuccessful. 

Unidentified katydid - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

We were also on the lookout for Dusky-billed Parrotlets, a potential lifer for Laura and a new photographed bird for me. Moises claimed sightings on a few occasions, but each time my photos revealed that they were the more expected Riparian Parrotlets. 

Band-tailed Antbird - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

At one point during the afternoon we entered an area of higher ground where there was a small walking trail. After spending most of the day in a boat it felt great to feel the earth beneath our boots, even though this meant that we were accompanied by a swarm of mosquitoes.

Amazonian Trogon - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Methona confusa - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

We found several groups of Eastern Pygmy Marmosets, one of the smallest species of monkey!

Eastern Pygmy Marmoset (Cebuella niveiventris) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Eastern Pygmy Marmoset (Cebuella niveiventris) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Our guide, Moises had a stake-out for Nancy Ma's Night-Monkey (Aotus nancymai) that was visible from the main watercourse. 

Nancy Ma's Night-Monkey (Aotus nancymai) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

During the mid-afternoon, Moises took us down a channel choked with vegetation to look for some herps. We kept a close eye on the vegetation until Laura spotted the first snake, as she is known to do!

Giant Parrot Snake (Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

While we have seen this widespread species before, this was a new subspecies for us. The extensive black markings between the scales are quite distinctive. 

Giant Parrot Snake (Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Even better than the parrot snake was this next species: a Northern Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis)! I have wanted to see this huge species of lizard for many years but had never gotten lucky. As the name suggests, particularly large individuals somewhat resemble caimans, and they share similar aquatic habitats. Caiman lizards feed on snails, fish, amphibians and other creatures that they find underwater. 

Northern Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Northern Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

As the sun set, we found ourselves slowly paddling in a different wetland after another unsuccessful Purple-throated Cotinga search. We enjoyed watching a pair of Yellow-chinned Spinetails. This species is widespread in South America but is fairly localized in Peru. 

Yellow-chinned Spinetail - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

You would be hard-pressed to find an activity that Laura likes more than a night-hike in the tropics, and tonight's walk was a good one. We only stayed out for a short while but came away with some nice sightings, including several snakes!

Smoky Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Ancylometes sp. - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Unidentified net-casting spider (family Deinopidae) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Crowned False Boa (Pseudoboa coronata) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Pierella hortona - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Leptodactylus sp. - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Sais rosalia - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Garden Tree Boa (Corallus hortulana) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

I think my favourite sighting of the walk was this Slender Opossum (Marmosops sp.). It was extremely confiding and didn't mind my close approach for photos. 

Slender Opossum (Marmoseps sp.) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

Though they may resemble a rodent to some (Moises confidently identified it as an "Amazonian Mouse", whatever that is), these are actually a tiny genus of neotropical opossums, meaning that they are a marsupial. Slender opossums typically live in the viny, dense understory where they search for insects, arachnids, flowers and fruit. 

Slender Opossum (Marmoseps sp.) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru

My final post from Peru will include our last couple of days at Muyuna Lodge.