Southeastern Brazil Part II: Oct 14—24, 2008

Espirito Santo & the Search for the Cherry-throated Tanager

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Price: $2,995
Departs: Vitoria
Tour Limit: 14
Operations Manager: Erik Lindqvist
Download Itinerary: PDF (100.2 KB)

Tour Leaders

Andrew-whittaker

Andrew Whittaker

Andrew Whittaker has been based in Amazonian Brazil for the last 21 years. Andy's passion for birding and natural history s...


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Register for this Tour

You can register for this tour by phone (800-328-VENT or 512-328-5221) or by downloading a printable file of our full tour registration form. Signed and completed forms can be faxed to 512-328-2919 or mailed to our office.

Espirito Santo Pedra Azul

Espirito Santo Pedra Azul— Photo: Andrew Whittaker

Complementary to Southeast Brazil: Part I. Focuses on the many Atlantic Forest endemics of Espirito Santo, with special search for the Cherry-throated Tanager; loads of endemic parrots, hummingbirds, and tanagers.

Southeast Brazil Part II is centered on the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo, home to many spectacular endemics not found on the Southeast Brazil: Iguaçu, Rio Grande do Sul and Itatiaia itinerary. Foremost among these is the stunning Cherry-throated Tanager. Long thought extinct, and only recently rediscovered, this amazing bird has been the highlight of four of our last five tours. With a known population that numbers fewer than 15 individuals, the tanager is anything but guaranteed, but we know its voice and its habits, and will be accompanied by the Brazilian biologists who rediscovered the species, all of which should maximize our chances for success.

The charming little town of Santa Teresa will be our base for birding Nova Lombardia (Agusto Ruschi Reserve), a remnant tract of foothill forest with an impressive avifauna. Here, we will search for Blue-bellied Parrot, Long-tailed Potoo, Yellow-eared Woodpecker, Saw-billed Hermit, Spot-backed Antshrike, Serra Antwren, Russet-winged Spadebill, Wied's Tyrant-Manakin, Cinnamon-vented Piha, Hooded Berryeater, Sharpbill, Pin-tailed Manakin, Rufous-brown Solitaire, Red-necked and Cinnamon tanagers, and many others. A visit to the Augusto Ruschi estate will provide a dazzling hummingbird show, with as many as 10 species or more swarming around us.

Time spent at the CVRD Reserve near Linhares will allow us an excellent chance to see the critically endangered Red-billed Curassow, as well as such gems as Rusty-margined Guan, Ochre-marked Parakeet, Red-browed Parrot, Striated Softtail, Plumbeous Antvireo, Band-tailed Antwren, Scalloped Antbird, Black-cheeked Gnateater, Bare-throated Bellbird, Banded (now very rare) and White-winged cotingas, Black-headed Berryeater, and White-bellied Tanager.

Good accommodations and food; easy terrain; many early starts and full mornings, often with significant mid-afternoon breaks; one lodge with excellent on-site birding; one round-trip internal flight; warm to cool climate.