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.
Parrots are a favorite of many people, even who are not birders due to large size, colors and the pet trade. I had an impressive 13 species on this trip.
The 10.5" Scaly-headed Parrot (Pionus maximiliani) is mostly green with a large white eye ring.
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| Scaly-headed Parrot |
The 12.5" Vinaceous-breasted Amazon (Amazona vinacea) is a green parrot with a light purple breast. It is listed as endangered and is included in the book - 'The World's Rarest Birds'. The population is estimated 600-1700 and is declining.
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| Vinaceous-breasted Amazon |
His cousin, the 13.5" Turquoise-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) is a large green parrot with a turquoise forehead and yellow eye ring.
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| Turquoise-fronted Amazon |
At one lodge, a pair was nesting just outside the building and I happened to be right there, when the pair flew down to a bush at eye level. Here he is eating a leaf.
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| Turquoise-fronted Amazon |
The largest parrots are the macaws. We had 4 on the trip. The 13.5" Red-shouldered Macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis) is all green with a light colored bill and a few red spots on the shoulder.
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| Red-shouldered Macaw |
The 15" Golden-collared Macaw (Primolius auricollaris) is a green parrot with a yellow collar on the back of the neck which can be seen on the bird in front.
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| Golden-collared Macaw |
Now we jump to the huge ones. The 34" Blue-and-Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna) is an easy ID ands almost everyone has seen one in pet stores, zoos, tropical hotels etc
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| Blue-and-Yellow Macaw |
The 40" Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacintinus) is the worlds largest parrot (but not the heaviest). It is an easy ID. I saw this bird in the Pantanal on my first trip in 1996. It was the avian highlight of the trip.
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| Hyacinth Macaw |
They eat palm nuts and other vegetation fruit etc. Their powerful jaws allow them to eat nuts that other wildlife cannot deal with. An English naturalist, Henry Bates, in 1852 observed
"It flies in pairs, and feeds on the hard nuts of several palms, but especially of the Mucuja (Acrocomia lasiospatha). These nuts, which are so hard as to be difficult to break with a heavy hammer, are crushed to a pulp by the powerful beak of this macaw."
So here is a close up and can you see anything unusual about the bird?
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| Hyacinth Macaw |
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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