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.
The 7" Brown Tanager (Orchesticus abeillei) is another Brazil endemic. He is all brown except for a black stripe through his eye.
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| Brown Tanager |
2 birds have red crown spots. The 7.5" Diademed Tanager (Stephanophorus diadematus) is a deep blue bird with a black face and a wisp of red feathers on his crown.
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| Diademed Tanager |
The 7" male Ruby-crowned Tanager (Tachyphonus coronatus) is an iridescent black bird with a tiny red spot on top of his head. The female is completely different - just a plain brown bird.
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| Ruby-crowned Tanager - male |
Hai cousin, the 6.5" Flame-crested Tanager (Tachyphonus cristatus) is a black bird with a flat orange crest and a yellow rump. The female is brown.
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| Flame-crested Tanager - male |
The 4.5" male Chestnut-vented Conebill (Conirostrum speciosum) is blue-gray above and pale below with the rufous vent feathers.
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| Chestnut-vented Conebill - male |
The most unusual tanager is the 11" Magpie Tanager (Cissopis leverianus). He is an easy ID with his black and white plumage, long tail and a bright yellow eye.
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| Magpie Tanager |
The 8.5" Black-throated Grosbeak (Saltator fulginosus) is another easy ID with his dark gray body, black throat and bright red bill.
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| Black-throated Grosbeak |
The final tanager for the trip was a gaudy tangara species, the 5" Red-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanocephala). He is an easy ID if you see him. I think it is interesting that the common name is red-necked, but the scientific name means blue-headed???
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| Red-necked Tanager |
I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing
David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com
photos copyright 2006 - 2024 David McDonald
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