The Brazilian endemic White-browed Antpitta (Eduardo Patrial) NORTHEAST BRAZIL 9 – 31 JANUARY 2016 LEADER: EDUARDO PATRIAL With 518 species of birds recorded, this reformulated Northeast Brazil 2016 tour was just outstanding! An excellent option not just for those who had been in Brazil few times before but also for the ones who want to come for the first time to the country. The reason is the combination of a detailed scan on the sole endemic biome in Brazil, the dry Caatinga and its physiognomies, with the rich Atlantic Forest remnants and even some fractions of Cerrado, providing an amazing percentage of specialties from the country, a list with execatly hundred Brazilian endemics! As there cannot be different, long drives were necessarily confronted in a vast variety of landscapes and habitats, particularly several isolated places, home of incredible localized species. Notable sightings of remarkable species were constantly witnessed during the trip (like the mega- rare Stresemann’s Bristlefront for the first time), which brings to everyone present good remembrances of many spectacular moments. A short summary about the highlights includes Mangrove Rail, Little Wood Rail, Plain-bellied Emerald, White-naped Xenopsaris, Grey-breasted Parakeet, Buff-breasted Tody-Tyrant, Gould’s Toucanet, Spectacled Owl, Ceara Gnateater, Short-tailed Antthrush, Silvery-cheeked, Planalto Slaty, Tufted and Spot-backed Antshrikes, Great Xenops, White-browed Antpitta, Red-shouldered Spinetail, Tawny, Ochraceous and Spotted Piculets, Araripe Manakin, Pale-bellied Tyrant-Manakin, Surucua Trogon, Blue-winged Macaw, The show of Lear’s Macaw, Pectoral Antwren, Ash-throated Casiornis, White-fringed Fire-Eye, Jandaya Parakeet, Lesser and Greater Wagtail-Tyrants, Hooded Visorbearer, Broad-tipped and 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Northeast Brazil www.birdquest-tours.com Hook-billed Hermits, Horned Sungem, Ruby-topaz Hummingbird, Stripe-breasted Starthroat, Brown Violetear, Collared Crescentchest, Blue Finch, Sincora, Narrow-billed and Black-bellied Antwrens, Sao Francisco Sparrow, Serra Finch, Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrant, Diamantina and Bahia Tapaculos, Three-toed Jacamar, Stresemann’s Bristlefront, Grey-backed Tachuri, Sharp-tailed Tyrant, Ochre-backed Woodpecker, Slender Antbird, Pygmy and Little Nightjars, Least Nighthawk, Tawny-browed Owl, Black-capped Screech Owl, Stripe-backed, Rio de Janeiro, Scalloped, White-bibbed, Scaled and Ferruginous Antbirds, Bahia and Grey-headed Spinetails, Striated Softtail, Pale-browed Treehunter, ‘Serra das Lontras’ Treehunter, Giant Snipe, Pink-legged Graveteiro, Rufous-brown Solitary, Plumbeous Antvireo, Cinnamon-vented Piha, Salvadori’s Antwren, East Brazilian Pygmy Owl, Caatinga and Crescent-chested Puffbirds, Ochre-marked and White-eared Parakeets, Spot-billed and Saffron Toucanets, Bahia Antwren, Bahia Tyrannulet, Eastern Striped Manakin, Band-tailed Antwren, Golden-tailed Parrotlet, Red-browed Amazon, White-winged and Banded Cotingas, Black-headed Berryeater, Shrike-like, White-rumped, Green-headed, Red-necked, Turquoise and Opal-rumped, Brazilian and Scarlet-throated Tanagers, White-naped Jay, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Red-billed and Black-billed Scythebills, Scaled Woodcreeper, Russet-crowned and Ash-throated Crakes, White-throated, Dubois’s, Copper, Buffy-fronted and Temminck’s Seedeaters, White-bellied and Spotted Nothuras, Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, White-fronted Nunbird, Sharpbill and hundreds more. This reformulated NE Brazil tour started by the noon of Jan 9th at the international airport of Fortaleza, capital of Ceara state. From the meeting point, the group was immediately transferred east to Icapuí, a coastal town three hours driving from the capital. Our attention there is given to the mangroves near the salt pans of Barra Grande, home of the uncommon endemic Little Wood-Rail, Mangrove Rail, Bicolored Conebill and an interesting variety of waders. Along the highway we were able to contemplate some nice coastal Caatinga habitats and some of their inhabitants such as Lesser Yellow-headed and Turkey Vultures, Savanna and Roadside Hawks, Pearl Kite, Southern Crested Caracara, Rudy Ground Dove, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Neotropical Palm Swift and even the endemics Caatinga Parakeet and Campo Troupial. Arriving at Icaupí by mid-afternoon we went straight to the Barra Grande mangrove for our first birding session. We had pleasant with several species, including a number of Whimbrels, Black-necked Stilts, Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Grey-headed Gull, Gull-billed, Common and Cabot’s Terns, Short-billed Dowitcher, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, several Bicolored Conebill, great sightings of Plain-bellied Emerald, the endemic Red-cowled Cardinal, Amazon, Green and Ringed Kingfishers, Picui and Common Ground Doves, a surprising White-napped Xenopsaris and two amazingly close Mangrove Rails that provided a great show. We put a lot of effort after Little Wood Rail. The tide was high and at least we heard the bird in the mangrove before dusk, so that would our main goal for the next morning. In the evening we checked-in the nice front beach hotel Casa do Mar and had a lovely dinner. The mangrove of Icapuí is an excellent place to find Plain-bellied Emerald; finding the uncommon White-napped Xenopsaris in the mangrove was a great surprise (Eduardo Patrial) 2 BirdQuest Tour Report: Northeast Brazil www.birdquest-tours.com Bicolored Conebill is another common mangrove inhabitant at Icapuí; and with cracking views, Mangrove Rail was definitely the bird of that day (Eduardo Patrial) January 10th. Aiming the little-known endemic Little Wood Rail, we returned to the Barra Grande mangrove very early. The tide was receding, just about right to find the bird. There we basically had the same cast of waders and water birds, but this time we spotted Least Sandpiper, Least Tern, Black-crowned Night Heron and the good-looking Yellow-crowned Night Heron. We also sighted the endemic Caatinga Cacholete, the lovely Green-barred Woodpecker, the smart Black-backed Water-Tyrant and Short-crested Flycatcher. With the tide low completely, the persistence finally put us in contact with Little Wood Rail. We saw two birds at each time, feeding along the edge of the mangrove. A rewarding end in the last minute we could say. Driving back for a late breakfast we still spotted American Oystercatcher at Barra Grande. We said good bye to Icapuí before noon towards the little town of Guaramiranga, our next destination on the hills of Serra do Baturité, an isolated range of Atlantic Forest, home of some localized endemics and several target species for our group. We arrived there around two thirty pm. Our lodge, immersed in the forest, promptly provided us good birding and a great start in the area with views of Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Blue Dacnis, loads of stunning Red-necked Tanager, Planalto Tyrannulet, the endemic Grey-headed Spinetail, Golden-crowned Warbler, Ochre-lored Flatbill, Pectoral Sparrow, the localized endemic Buff-breasted Tody-Tyrant, Blue- crowned Trogon, the endemic and recent split Ochre-backed Woodpecker and Variable Antshrike ssp. cearensis. Later we visited our Grey-breasted Parakeet stakeout, a small private land where some nest boxes from the conservation project were placed. The site is usual roost for a small group of this highly threatened jewel. Besides the great views of the parakeet we came across with some other birds – the endemics Band-tailed Hornero and Campo Troupial, Epaulet Oriole, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Pectoral Sparrow in the open and Buff-throated Woodcreeper ssp. gracilirostris. Back for the dusk at the lodge, our pre dinner owling was in vain. For the post dinner we had Spectacled Owl singing by our rooms. It took some time but we cautiously managed a quick but fantastic view of that impressive large owl just before going to bed. Yellow-crowned Night Heron, always a nice bird to see; and our top prize at Icapuí, the endemic Little Wood Rail (Eduardo Patrial) 3 BirdQuest Tour Report: Northeast Brazil www.birdquest-tours.com The recent split Ochre-backed Woodpecker and the localized endemic Grey-breasted Parakeet (Eduardo Patrial) January 11th. For the good number of target birds still to see in Guaramiranga, the morning was spent in the good area of Hotel Remanso. We started by the entrance road in a misty rainy weather gradually improving. Still a bit dark when we saw the localized subspecies cearensis of Rufous-breasted Leaftosser. After that we luckily located the close Short-tailed Antthrush that was calling right by the road. At eye level it provided a superb view. Following down the road we saw Violaceous Euphonia, Gould’s Toucanet badly, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, a nest of Ochre-lored Flatbill and one of our main targets, the localized Ochraceous Piculet. Later on a narrow trail in the forest we achieved better views of Rufous-breasted Leaftosser and also found the other important target Ceara Gnateater, which we saw really well. Returning for breakfast we still had a couple of Purple-throated Euphonia and Large Elaenia by the common area of Hotel Remanso. For the rest of our morning we did an even better trail at Hotel Remanso. There we started with great views of Black- capped Antwren, followed by Plain Antvireo, superb views of Ceara Gnateater again, Buff-breasted Tody- Tyrant, a stunning and cooperative male Gould’s Toucanet, a close couple of Ochraceous Piculet, the cute White-throated Spadebill, the hectic Ochre-cheeked, Sooty-fronted and Grey-headed Spinetails and both sexes of the marvellous Band-tailed Manakin. Our mission at Guaramiranga was accomplished so by noon we started our quite short drive south to the town of Quixadá, immersed in a vast zone of dry Caatinga. Our stay and place for biding was the nice Pedra dos Ventos Hotel (a new site in the itinerary) which is covered in good Caatinga, placed and surrounded by rocky mounds, the perfect habitat to find the camouflaged endemic Pygmy Nightjar. There we enjoyed the last hours of the afternoon. Taking a trail uphill we were first surprised by a group of the odd endemic Scarlet-throated Tanager passing by.