Field Guides Tour Report Rainforest & Savanna ‐ Alta Floresta & the Pantanal, Brazil 2014 Apr 26, 2014 to May 12, 2014 Marcelo Padua For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. Our Alta Floresta and Pantanal tour has always been a hit, and the reason is quite simple: excellent venues, comfortable lodging, and fantastic birding. But this year's tour came with an interesting twist as we changed the dates of this trip to avoid the FIFA World Cup, which was to take place in Brazil during the usual time frame of our tour. So we started the tour earlier and closer to the end of the rainy season. Although there was clearly more water than normal, it had very little impact, and the birding was as it always is -- spectacular. We started things at Chapada where we connected with a Dot-eared Coquette and saw more Coal-crested Finches than we could count, both of which are migrants and are not normally expected. Another surprise was a Spotted Nothura, which we saw on a recently harvested field - - it's a bird that is rare in the area and has not been recorded around Chapada for a while. The usual suspects like Chapada Flycatcher, White-rumped Tanager, White-banded Tanager, and Black-throated Saltator were also present, making our short stay there worth every minute. Our next stop was Cristalino Jungle Lodge, where the river had reached record-high levels this year but had receded just enough to leave the trails clear for our group, This allowed us to make good use of the great trail system from the lodge and to enjoy time at both towers. It is hard to highlight just a bird or two here, but the subadult Harpy Eagle that landed practically above our group and allowed prolonged scope views and the Crested Eagle that we only saw due to the rains one night before we left the lodge both deserve an honorable mention. What a treat! The Pantanal was -- as it always is -- smooth sailing, with woodpeckers galore, Hyacinth Macaws, and Jabirus. How can we go wrong? The answer is simple, we just can't. Thanks for joining the tour, and I hope to see you in the field again somewhere soon! --Marcelo This hulking subadult Harpy Eagle was a great find at Cristalino! (Photo by guide Marcelo Padua) KEYS FOR THIS LIST One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant BIRDS Rheidae (Rheas) GREATER RHEA (Rhea americana) Tinamidae (Tinamous) UNDULATED TINAMOU (Crypturellus undulatus) [*] VARIEGATED TINAMOU (Crypturellus variegatus) [*] SMALL­BILLED TINAMOU (Crypturellus parvirostris) [*] TATAUPA TINAMOU (Crypturellus tataupa) [*] RED­WINGED TINAMOU (Rhynchotus rufescens) [*] SPOTTED NOTHURA (Nothura maculosa) – Seen near Chapada dos Guimaraes around a recently harvested field. This is actually a rare record for the area and was a bit of a surprise for me. Anhimidae (Screamers) SOUTHERN SCREAMER (Chauna torquata) Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) WHITE­FACED WHISTLING­DUCK (Dendrocygna viduata) BLACK­BELLIED WHISTLING­DUCK (Dendrocygna autumnalis) MUSCOVY DUCK (Cairina moschata) BRAZILIAN TEAL (Amazonetta brasiliensis) Cracidae (Guans, Chachalacas, and Curassows) Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 1 CHACO CHACHALACA (Ortalis canicollis) – An omnipresent creature in the Pantanal. It seems you just cant get away from them. SPIX'S GUAN (Penelope jacquacu) CHESTNUT­BELLIED GUAN (Penelope ochrogaster) BLUE­THROATED PIPING­GUAN (Pipile cumanensis) RED­THROATED PIPING­GUAN (Pipile cujubi) RAZOR­BILLED CURASSOW (Mitu tuberosum) – A bird walking in the middle of the trail was certainly a treat. BARE­FACED CURASSOW (Crax fasciolata) Podicipedidae (Grebes) LEAST GREBE (Tachybaptus dominicus) Ciconiidae (Storks) JABIRU (Jabiru mycteria) – Perhaps as Iconic for the Pantanal as the Hyacinth Macaw. WOOD STORK (Mycteria americana) Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants and Shags) NEOTROPIC CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) Anhingidae (Anhingas) ANHINGA (Anhinga anhinga) Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) ZIGZAG HERON (Zebrilus undulatus) – This is probably the hardest South American Heron to see and we managed to see it twice on the same tour. RUFESCENT TIGER­HERON (Tigrisoma lineatum) COCOI HERON (Ardea cocoi) GREAT EGRET (Ardea alba) SNOWY EGRET (Egretta thula) LITTLE BLUE HERON (Egretta caerulea) CATTLE EGRET (Bubulcus ibis) STRIATED HERON (Butorides striata) AGAMI HERON (Agamia agami) – This was a bit of a surprise to me. More than one bird seen in the spotlight up high on trees on the Cristalino River. WHISTLING HERON (Syrigma sibilatrix) CAPPED HERON (Pilherodius pileatus) BLACK­CROWNED NIGHT­HERON (Nycticorax nycticorax) Threskiornithidae (Ibises and Spoonbills) WHITE­FACED IBIS (Plegadis chihi) – This bird occurs in very low numbers in the area and we were lucky to spot some of them. GREEN IBIS (Mesembrinibis cayennensis) BARE­FACED IBIS (Phimosus infuscatus) PLUMBEOUS IBIS (Theristicus caerulescens) BUFF­NECKED IBIS (Theristicus caudatus) ROSEATE SPOONBILL (Platalea ajaja) Cathartidae (New World Vultures) BLACK VULTURE (Coragyps atratus) TURKEY VULTURE (Cathartes aura) LESSER YELLOW­HEADED VULTURE (Cathartes burrovianus) GREATER YELLOW­HEADED VULTURE (Cathartes melambrotus) KING VULTURE (Sarcoramphus papa) Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) PEARL KITE (Gampsonyx swainsonii) – A migratory species that can be hard to find some years. This year they seemed to be more abundant than usual. WHITE­TAILED KITE (Elanus leucurus) HOOK­BILLED KITE (Chondrohierax uncinatus) – Seen from the floating deck at cristalino by Lenny and me during a mid day break. SWALLOW­TAILED KITE (Elanoides forficatus) CRESTED EAGLE (Morphnus guianensis) – On our last night at Cristalino a heavy rain damaged a bridge on the way back to town forcing us to take a detour. I ended up spotting a Crested Eagle perched on a tree with a prey item that we could not identify. Lucky Us! HARPY EAGLE (Harpia harpyja) – We were walking on a trail when we heard some loud and seemingly irritate Macaws. Next thing we knew there was a Harpy Eagle perched almost directly over head. BLACK­AND­WHITE HAWK­EAGLE (Spizaetus melanoleucus) BLACK­COLLARED HAWK (Busarellus nigricollis) SNAIL KITE (Rostrhamus sociabilis) DOUBLE­TOOTHED KITE (Harpagus bidentatus) TINY HAWK (Accipiter superciliosus) – One bird flew by the tower at Cristalino Jungle lodge just before we reached the top platform. CRANE HAWK (BANDED) (Geranospiza caerulescens gracilis) SAVANNA HAWK (Buteogallus meridionalis) Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 2 GREAT BLACK­HAWK (Buteogallus urubitinga) ROADSIDE HAWK (Rupornis magnirostris) WHITE­TAILED HAWK (Geranoaetus albicaudatus) GRAY­LINED HAWK (Buteo nitidus) – This species was recently split from the Gray Hawk from North America. Eurypygidae (Sunbittern) SUNBITTERN (Eurypyga helias) Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) GRAY­BREASTED CRAKE (Laterallus exilis) [*] GRAY­NECKED WOOD­RAIL (Aramides cajaneus) PURPLE GALLINULE (Porphyrio martinicus) Aramidae (Limpkin) LIMPKIN (Aramus guarauna) Recurvirostridae (Stilts and Avocets) BLACK­NECKED STILT (WHITE­BACKED) (Himantopus mexicanus melanurus) Charadriidae (Plovers and Lapwings) PIED LAPWING (Vanellus cayanus) SOUTHERN LAPWING (Vanellus chilensis) Jacanidae (Jacanas) WATTLED JACANA (Jacana jacana) Laridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers) LARGE­BILLED TERN (Phaetusa simplex) – This species move in to the Pantanal during the dry season to nest on sand banks along rivers. As the water was higher than usual they were scattered around just waiting for the water levels to go down, so that they could choose their nesting spot. BLACK SKIMMER (Rynchops niger) Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves) ROCK PIGEON (Columba livia) PALE­VENTED PIGEON (Patagioenas cayennensis) PICAZURO PIGEON (Patagioenas picazuro) PLUMBEOUS PIGEON (Patagioenas plumbea) RUDDY PIGEON (Patagioenas subvinacea) RUDDY GROUND­DOVE (Columbina talpacoti) SCALED DOVE (Columbina squammata) PICUI GROUND­DOVE (Columbina picui) BLUE GROUND­DOVE (Claravis pretiosa) LONG­TAILED GROUND­DOVE (Uropelia campestris) – This minute Ground­dove is one of the prettiest ones in my opinion. WHITE­TIPPED DOVE (Leptotila verreauxi) Cuculidae (Cuckoos) LITTLE CUCKOO (Coccycua minuta) SQUIRREL CUCKOO (Piaya cayana) BLACK­BELLIED CUCKOO (Piaya melanogaster) – This handsome relative of the Squirrel Cuckoo is a canopy dweller which we saw very well from the canopy tower at Cristalino Jungle Lodge. GUIRA CUCKOO (Guira guira) STRIPED CUCKOO (Tapera naevia) GREATER ANI (Crotophaga major) SMOOTH­BILLED ANI (Crotophaga ani) Strigidae (Owls) TAWNY­BELLIED SCREECH­OWL (AUSTRAL) (Megascops watsonii usta) [*] CRESTED OWL (Lophostrix cristata) [*] GREAT HORNED OWL (Bubo virginianus) AMAZONIAN PYGMY­OWL (Glaucidium hardyi) [*] FERRUGINOUS PYGMY­OWL (Glaucidium brasilianum) BURROWING OWL (Athene cunicularia) Caprimulgidae (Nightjars and Allies) NACUNDA NIGHTHAWK (Chordeiles nacunda) – This is the largest of the Caprimulgids and seeing them take flight at dusk is always impressive. SHORT­TAILED NIGHTHAWK (Lurocalis semitorquatus) BAND­TAILED NIGHTHAWK (Nyctiprogne leucopyga) BLACKISH NIGHTJAR (Nyctipolus nigrescens) – Always a treat to see these birds roosting on the roofs of the cabins at Cristalino. COMMON PAURAQUE (Nyctidromus albicollis) LADDER­TAILED NIGHTJAR (Hydropsalis climacocerca) – This is the most common species along the river at Cristalino. Field Guides Birding Tours •