After 3 trips to Colombia with diminishing returns, it was time to go further afield. Pablo Flores the guide in Colombia is now leading trips to Brazil as well. So my birding buddy Martin Jackson and my daughter Chantel and I decided to go there. We visited the Pantanal, the Atlantic forest in the Sao Paulo area and had 1 day in the Chapada. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world, so it is teeming with wildlife. The Atlantic Forest is a unique ecosystem from sea level to about 1 mile elevation. It contains 800 species of birds (225 endemic) and 26 species of primates. Unfortunately it also contains 2 mega cities - Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and the resulting sprawl and clearing for agriculture since the Portuguese arrived 500 years ago, has wiped out 90%+ of the original forest. About 250 species of amphibians, birds and mammals have gone extinct in the past 400 years. The good news is that many preserves and parks have been set aside to try and preserve the remaining biodiversity.
We notched an astounding 5 species of rails on the trip and 4 were new for me. The 11" Blackish Rail (Pardirallus nigricans) was the one I had seen in Colombia. It has a charcoal head and breast with brown wings and a yellow bill.
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| Blackish Rail |
There were 2 new species of wood rails. These are the easiest to see as often they are walking around in the open. The 15" Grey-cowled Wood Rail (Aramides cajaneus). This rail is IDed by the brown body and grey neck and head. It was split from Grey-necked Wood Rail.
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| Grey-cowled Wood Rail |
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| Slaty-breasted Wood Rail |
The most exciting were a couple of crakes coming to a feeding station in Intervales Park. They are normally exceedingly difficult to see. The 6" Red-and-white Crake (Laterallus leucopyrrhus) is a sparrow-sized rail with a rufous head and back with a clean white breast and barred belly. The legs are pink. He has a short bill.
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| Red-and-white Crake |
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| Rufous-sided Crake |
The final member of the rail family was a group of 3 12" Purple Gallinules (Porphyrio martinica). One was an adult, but the other 2 at first we thought were Azure Gallinules. But the buffy face and some purple on the flanks show it is an immature. We do not see the molting birds like this in the USA
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| Purple Gallinule - molting juvenile |
The elegant 14" Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) is an easy ID with his wispy crest, black breast and red legs.
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| Southern Lapwing |
The dapper 9" Pied Plover (Hoploxypterus cayanus) is a South American bird found around ponds and on sand bars along rivers, as was this one in the Pantanal.
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| Pied Plover |
Lastly, another new snipe, the 11" Pantanal Snipe (Gallinago paraguaiae). The name was recently changed from South American Snipe. Like all snipes, the guide book says it is difficult to see. However with my luck, it was in the open on a muddy area about 10 yards away. We watched him for about 15 minutes.
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| Pantanal Snipe |
I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing
David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com
photos copyright 2006 - 2023 David McDonald
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