NEW EXCITING DESTINATIOS;
As our company is based in Brazil Andy and our guides are very active in the field often discovering new exciting bird destinations. So we would like to share these with you; the following is a list of such destination with a brief review of the ornithological highlights.

RIO JAVARI LODGE, AMAZONAS.
White-throated Tinamou, Starred Woodquail, Zig-zag Heron, Black-banded Crake, Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet, White-bellied Parrot, Pale-rumped Swift, Fiery Topaz, Gould’s Jewelfront, Needle-billed Hermit, White-throated and Purplish Jacamar, Brown-banded Puffbird, Rusty-breasted Nunlet, Lemon-throated Barbet, Pavonine Quetzal, Bar-bellied and Ocellated Woodcreepers, Orange-fronted Plushcrown, Black-tailed, Hairy-crested, Dot-backed, Sooty, Plumbeous, Black, Slate-colored and Ash-breasted Antbird, Black Bushbird, Moustached (Short-billed), Rio Suno, Rufous-tailed and Chestnut-shouldered Antwren, Chestnut-belted Gnateater, Citron-bellied Attila, Striped Manakin, Gray Wren, Velvet-fronted Grackle and Band-tailed Oropendola and many others.

This lodge provides clean rustic accommodation with excellent food and very good helpful staff. Wonderful forest trails in a reserve behind the lodge and boat trips to rich varzea lakes and trails.

BORBA, AMAZONAS.
A wonderful Amazonian town almost forgotten in time, here simple but good accommodation and superb birding for many rare poorly-known species. Gray Tinamou, White-winged Potoo, Black-necked Red-Cotinga, Nocturnal Curassow, Cryptic Forest-Falcon and Bald Parrot (both newly described), Crimson-bellied Parakeet, Brown-banded Puffbird, Brown-chested Barbet, Hoffman’s, Ocellated and Uniform Woodcreeper, Scaled Spinetail, Pará Foliage-gleaner, Pearly Antshrike, White-breasted and Pale-faced Antbird, Black-bellied Gnateater, Buff-cheeked Tody Flycatcher (Tyrant), Zimmer’s Tody-Tyrant, Flame-crested and Snow-capped Manakin, White- tailed Cotinga, Black-necked Red Cotinga, Blue-backed Tanager, Pale-bellied Mourner and more. We can pre-organize transport both by car and boat to get to the excellent forest trails.

AMAZONIA NATIONAL PARK, AMAZONAS.
A superb pristine wilderness park, simple but clean accommodation, great food and services that we can provide include transport 4 x 4 and guides, cook and IBAMA authorization. White-crested Guan, Dark-winged Trumpeter, Scaled Ground-Cuckoo, Cryptic Forest-Falcon (newly described), White-browed Hawk, Harpy and Crested Eagle, Golden Parakeet, Vulturine Parrot, Brown-breasted Barbet, Rufous-necked Puffbird, Fiery-tailed Awlbill, Harlequin and Bare-faced Antbird, Hoffmann’s Woodcreeper, Pará Foliage-gleaner, White-tailed Cotinga, Black-necked and Guianan Red-Cotinga, Snow-capped Manakin, Zimmer’s Tody-Tyrant and Dotted Tanager. This site is a very good area for rarely seen mammals especially big cats.

CARAJÁS, PARÁ.
An immense area protected by a multinational mining company with hundreds of miles of road through pristine Amazonian rainforest. Birding Brazil Tours can organize a very good hotel, transport, forest guides and permission to stay in the reserve. Orange-breasted Falcon, both Harpy and Crested Eagle, Hyacinth Macaw, Pearly Parakeet, Rufous-necked Puffbird, Peruvian Recurvebill, Chestnut-throated Spinetail, Carajas and Brigida’s Woodcreeper, (Both recently described) Black-bellied Gnateater, Black-chested Tyrant (fairly common!), Black-and–White and Zimmer’s Tody-Tyrant, Blackish Pewee, Opal-crowned Manakin, Guianan Gnatcatcher, Rufous-capped Nunlet, White Bellbird, White-tailed and Purple-breasted Cotinga. Also this is a superb area for rarely seen exciting mammals.

BOAT TRIPS.

JAÚ NATIONAL PARK, ANAVILHANAS ARCHIPELAGO, MACHANTARI ISLAND, AMAZONAS.
Birding Brazil tours can organize very good to luxury private boats for all group sizes to visit these two wonderful locations for their special birds which include; Lesser Razor-billed Curassow, Gray-winged Trumpeter, White-winged and Rufous Potoo, Azure Gallinule, Gray-breasted Crake, Short-tailed, Festive and Kawall’s Parrot, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Olive-spotted Hummingbird, Yellow-billed Jacamar, Chestnut-headed Nunlet, Lesser Hornero, Scaled, Parker’s, Red-and White, Dark-breasted and White-bellied Spinetail, Zimmer’s Woodcreeper, Blackish-Grey and Castalnau’s Antshrike, Yapacana, Black-and-White and Ash-breasted Antbirds, Reddish-winged Bare-Eye, Klages, Cherrie’s and Leadened Antwren, Brownish Elaenia, Pearly-breasted Conebill, Riverside Tyrant, saffron-crested Tyrant Manakin and White-naped Seedeater amongst many others.

INPA TOWER + ZF 3 FORESTED CAMP
We offer getting your special permission to visit these two spectacular sites; Harpy and Crested Eagle, Rusty Tinamou, Black Curassow, Gray-winged Trumpeter, Marial Guan, Rufous and White-winged Potoo, Caica Parrot, Sapphire-rumped Parrotlet, Guainan Toucanet, Capuchin bird (LEK), Guianan Red-Cotinga, Pompadour Cotinga, Crimson Fruitcrow, Crimson Topaz, Racket-tailed coquette, Black-spotted Barbet, Green Aracari, White-chested Puffbird, Black-throated Antshrike, Rufous-throated, White-plumed and Wing-banded Antbird, Spot-backed and Ash-winged, Rufous-bellied and Brown-bellied Antwren, Vareigated and Spotted Antpitta, Olive-green Tyrannulet, Wing-banded Wren, Golden-collard Woodpecker, Guianan Gnatcatcher, Glossy-backed Becard, White-fronted Manakin and Dotted Tanager. Sites are great for Primates and other Mammals.

1- ZF 3 is a pristine camp in virgin forest well run with showers, hammocks and mosquito nets (few mosquito) excellent food and a fantastic grid system of trails running for miles.
2- The INPA TOWER is a well-constructed 45 m tower by NASA sited in pristine forest as far as the eye can see.

 

TWO NEW SPECIES OF NON-PASSERINE DISCOVERED IN BRAZIL!
The first discovery was of a new raptor to science, the Cryptic Forest-Falcon (Micrastur mintoni) from southeastern Amazonia and the Atlantic rainforests of Brazil, (Whittaker 2002).

I made this exciting discovery back in 1997, after a lot of research and data collecting I published. A new species of Forest-Falcon (Falconidae: Micrastur) from southeastern Amazonia and the atlantic rainforests of Brazil. Wilson Bull. 114(4), 2002 pp 421-445.

The Cryptic Forest-Falcon closely resembles the widespread Lined Forest-Falcon and inhabits both SE amazonian and the atlantic rainforests where it’s a generalist. The distinct voice and its shorter tail and broader tail bar(s) one central bar in adults and two bars in subadults and the allopatric distribution are the best way of separating the two cryptically similar species.

The second exciting discovery is the Pernambuco Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium mooreorum), sadly the species has been described as it sits apparently on the brink of extinction. Published in the Brazilian journal Ararajuba 10(2): pp 123-130. Discovered on the brink of extinction: a new species of Pygmy-Owl (Strigidae: Glaucidium) from Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil. José Maria Cardoso da Silva, Galileu Coelho and Luiz Pedreira Gonzaga.

The conservation of the species is critical as its only known only from two sites within the state of Pernambuco and habitat destruction of the remnant forest patches continues especially in the lowlands where the species is found. The raw umber back and crown which is conspicuously heavily spotted are its is the main plumage differences from the sister species the Amazonian Pygmy-Owl with which it differs strongly by voice.

We do hope you have enjoyed our web site, of course any comments to better serve you will be most welcome.

Good Birding.
Andrew Whittaker.