Northeastern Brazil Part II: Jan 21—Feb 01, 2010

Morro do Pai Inacio, Chapada Diamantina National Park— Photo: Andrew Whittaker

Emphasizes numerous endemics and specialty birds (several described only in the past decade) of the caatinga and chapada brushlands and the humid Atlantic Forest habitats of the state of Bahia. Varied habitats, unique plant associations, and scenic landscapes.

If one were to pick a single state that encapsulated all that makes Northeast Brazil so appealing and unique, that state would be Bahia. Celebrated by the novels of Jorge Amado, Bahia encompasses a biological and cultural diversity that is impressive even by Brazilian standards. Rich in history, the capital city of Salvador was, for over two hundred years, the capital of colonial Brazil, and to this day it retains much of its colonial architecture and flavor. This was also a center of Brazil's sugar and cacao industry and the African slave trade that supported it. The infusion of African religion, music, dance, cuisine, and martial arts is strongly apparent even today, and has been a driving force in shaping the cultural identity of the region.

Part II of our Northeast Brazil tour will provide an intimate exploration of the avian riches of this fascinating state, from the caatinga and cerrado of the interior badlands or sertão, to the humid foothill and lowland forests and white sand beaches of the litoral.  Chapada de Diamantina embraces landscapes of spectacularly eroded mesas, sheer cliffs, and plunging waterfalls, and, in its upper elevations, a beautiful and highly endemic plant community that harbors such specialties as the stunning Hooded Visorbearer, Gray-backed Tachuri, Yellow-billed Blue Finch, and Pale-throated Serra-Finch, as well as the recently described (2007) Sincora Antwren (a bird that was independently discovered by our 1997 tour group!) and Diamantina Tapaculo. The Serra da Ouricana near Boa Nova is perhaps even less well-known, and recent surveys there have also yielded two new species to science (Bahia Spinetail and Bahia Tyrannulet) since 1990!

Not all discoveries have come from the mountains: the bizarre Pink-legged Graveteiro, a bird so unique that it was placed in its own genus, inhabits lowland humid forest in southern Bahia, and was just described in 1996. The same region is home to the endangered golden-headed lion tamarin, one of the most elegant of all primates. The area surrounding the town of Jequié supports some of the most intact examples of a threatened habitat known as mata-de-cipó or "vine forest" which harbors a unique avifauna that includes Slender Antbird, Caatinga Antwren, Narrow-billed Antwren, São Francisco Sparrow, and many others.

This tour is a perfect complement to our Northeast Brazil Part I (Ceará, Pernambuco & Alagoas) tour, as well as a wonderful, stand-alone introduction to the birds and habitats of Northeast Brazil for those desiring a shorter tour experience.   

Good accommodations; some long walks over mostly level to moderately hilly terrain; mostly pre-dawn starts with full mornings of birding, usually with a mid-afternoon break on non-travel days; a few long drives; no internal flights after arrival in Salvador; warm to hot and generally dry climate.