PANTANAL & INTERIOR BRAZIL – The Ultimate ‘interior’ tour, including the Cerrado, the Campo and Alta Floresta

PRICE INFORMATION

Birdquest Inclusions: Our tour prices include surface transportation, accommodations, meals and entrance fees.

We also include all tipping for local guides, drivers and accommodation/restaurant staff.

We also include these flights: Belo Horizonte-Cuiabá and Cuiabá-Alta Floresta.

Deposit: 20% of the total tour price. Our office will let you know what deposit amount is due, in order to confirm your booking, following receipt of your online booking form.

TO BOOK THIS TOUR: Click here (you will need the tour dates)

The single supplement will not apply if you indicate on booking that you prefer to share a room and there is a room-mate of the same sex available.

This tour is priced in US Dollars. Amounts shown in other currencies are indicative.

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency will be pleased to arrange your air travel on request, or you may arrange this yourself if you prefer.

PANTANAL & INTERIOR BRAZIL BIRDING TOUR: DETAILED ITINERARY

Pantanal & Interior Brazil: Day 1  Our tour begins this morning at Belo Horizonte airport in the capital of the huge state of Minas Gerais.

(We will be pleased to arrange your internal flight to Belo Horizonte from your arrival city in Brazil, even if you are arranging your own international tickets.)

From here we will drive westwards to the remote Serra da Canastra for a three nights stay. In the afternoon we will begin our exploration of this fine area.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil: Days 2-3  The Serra da Canastra National Park covers an area of 71,525 hectares in the southwest of Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais. It harbours the headwaters of the Rio São Francisco, the longest river lying totally within Brazil, which flows northward for over 2500 kilometres before entering the Atlantic just south of Recife. The imposing Canastra range overlooks the surrounding countryside and sheer cliffs border the upper parts of the park, where several spectacular waterfalls can be admired.

Different kinds of bushy and grassy savanna, known as cerrado and campo, cover most of the undulating terrain and these endless, largely treeless expanses are dotted with innumerable termite mounds. Here imposing Greater Rheas, fast-running but secretive Red-legged Seriemas and bizarre Giant Anteaters roam. Males of the remarkable Cock-tailed Tyrant perch near the top of tall swaying grass stems and proclaim their territorial rights by regularly launching themselves into the air with fluttery wing beats, holding their uniquely-shaped tails cocked over their backs.

Rocky rivers flow in the valley bottoms and these are the exclusive habitat of the exceedingly rare Brazilian Merganser. With its tiny world population (of around 250 individuals) and mysterious appeal, this enigmatic sawbill is one of the most highly prized Neotropical avian treasures. Persistent scanning of the many wild rivers of the Serra da Canastra will be our priority and should eventually yield views of this enigmatic waterbird.

In some areas, patches of shrub and bushes prevail and here we will try to locate the secretive Brasilia Tapaculo. This distinctive and very localized endemic was first described as a subspecies of the more widespread White-breasted Tapaculo, but its different voice resulted in studies that led to a change of status. Lush gallery forest lines the wider stretches of the rivers and holds an avifauna with distinctly Atlantic Forest affinities.

Amongst the many other species we may well encounter in this splendid part of Brazil are Spotted Nothura, Red-winged Tinamou, Least and Pied-billed Grebes, Snowy, Great and Western Cattle Egrets, White-faced Whistling-Duck, Muscovy Duck, Brazilian Teal, the unobtrusive Masked Duck, Black, Turkey and King Vultures, White-tailed Kite, Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, Roadside and White-tailed Hawks, Crested and Yellow-headed Caracaras, American Kestrel, the dashing Aplomado Falcon, Rusty-margined Guan, Blackish Rail, Southern Lapwing, Picazuro and Pale-vented Pigeons, Eared and White-tipped Doves, Scaled and Ruddy Ground Doves, White-eyed, Golden-capped, Peach-fronted and Maroon-bellied (or Reddish-bellied) Parakeets, Blue-winged Parrotlet, Scaly-headed Parrot, the punk-headed Guira Cuckoo, Squirrel Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, the endearing Burrowing Owl, Least Nighthawk, Common Pauraque, Great Dusky, White-collared and Sick’s Swifts, Planalto Hermit, the huge Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Glittering-bellied and Glittering-throated Emeralds, White-vented Violetear, the rare Stripe-breasted Starthroat, Amethyst Woodstar, Surucua Trogon, Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers, the smart White-eared Puffbird, Red-breasted Toucan, the incomparable Toco Toucan (the largest member of the family, showing off its huge, banana-shaped bill and glorious blue eyes), White-barred Piculet, Campo Flicker, and Green-barred and Blond-crested Woodpeckers.

Passerines include the unusual and rarely-observed Campo Miner, Rufous Hornero, Spix’s, Sooty-fronted and Pale-breasted Spinetails, Firewood-gatherer, Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner, Streaked Xenops, Olivaceous and Narrow-billed Woodcreepers, Variable, Silvery-cheeked and Rufous-winged Antshrikes, Plain Antvireo, White-shouldered Fire-eye, the adorable Collared Crescentchest, Yellow-bellied, Plain-crested and Highland Elaenias, Sooty, Mouse-coloured, White-crested and Southern Beardless Tyrannulets, Grey-hooded, Sepia-capped, Bran-coloured, Euler’s, Social, Streaked, Variegated, Boat-billed, Fork-tailed and Short-crested Flycatchers, Grey-headed (or Yellow-lored) Tody-Flycatcher, Grey and White-rumped Monjitas, Masked Water Tyrant, the marvellous Streamer-tailed Tyrant, Long-tailed and Yellow-browed Tyrants, the dainty Sharp-tailed Tyrant, Tropical Kingbird, the loud Eastern Sirystes, Rufous Casiornis, Crested Black-Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Chestnut-crowned and White-winged Becards, the glorious Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, the superb Helmeted Manakin, Gray-breasted Martin, Southern Rough-winged, Tawny-headed, White-rumped and Blue-and-white Swallows, Curl-crested Jay, House and Grass Wrens, Rufous-bellied, Pale-breasted and Creamy-bellied Thrushes, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Grey-eyed Greenlet, the localized Ochre-breasted Pipit, Cinnamon, White-rumped, Rufous-headed, Hooded, Sayaca, Palm, Swallow, Burnished-buff and Gilt-edged Tanagers, Purple-throated Euphonia, Blue Dacnis, Bananaquit, Grassland and Rufous-collared Sparrows, Great Pampa-Finch, the striking Blue Finch, Saffron Finch, Grassland and Stripe-tailed Yellow-Finches, Wedge-tailed Grass Finch, Yellow-bellied, Double-collared and Plumbeous Seedeaters, Blue-black Grassquit, Grey Pileated Finch, Black-masked Finch, Green-winged and Black-throated Saltators, Southern Yellowthroat, White-bellied and White-browed Warblers, Crested Oropendola, Chopi and Chestnut-capped Blackbirds, Yellow-rumped Marshbird, Giant and Shiny Cowbirds, and Hooded Siskin.

If we are really lucky we will stumble upon the endearing but uncommon Maned Wolf.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil: Day 4  After some final birding in the Serra da Canastra we will retrace our steps to Belo Horizonte and drive northeast to the Serra do Cipó for a two nights stay.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil: Day 5  The Serra do Cipó National Park is situated at the southern end of the Serra da Espinhaço mountain range, and its impressive rock formations and spectacular waterfalls have long made it a popular place among Brazilians. The higher parts of the reserve are true ‘campo’ (grassland), giving way at lower elevations to a patchwork of ‘cerrado’ (bushy savanna) and gallery forest.

The discovery in 1985 of the Cipó Canastero Asthenes luizae catapulted the area into the ornithological limelight. This fairly elusive bird can sometimes be found bounding across the higher rocky outcrops, tail cocked, or skulking amongst the boulder-strewn bushes. Whilst this behaviour is not unusual for a canastero, most remarkably the species was discovered over 1500km from any other known member of the genus! Hyacinth Visorbearer, a truly spectacular hummingbird, the tiny Grey-backed Tachuri, the recently-described Rock Tapaculo, the lovely Cinereous Warbling Finch and the plump Serra Finch (or Pale-throated Pampa Finch) are five other little-known birds endemic to the high campo of eastern Brazil, and a diligent search combined with a little luck should produce them all. Flowering bushes attract yet another marvel of a hummingbird, the stunning Horned Sungem.

Other species we may well encounter in this area include Small-billed Tinamou, Rufous-fronted (or Common) Thornbird, the uncommon Suiriri Flycatcher Small-billed Elaenia, Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Golden-crowned Warbler and Purple-throated Euphonia. If we are in luck we will see a Chaco (or American Crowned) Eagle. Mammals are not conspicuous here, but delightful Black-tufted Marmosets regularly raid the feeders at our hotel.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil: Day 6  After some final birding in the Serra do Cipó we will return to Belo Horizonte and catch a flight to Cuiabá, the capital of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, for an overnight stay.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil: Day 7  From Cuiabá we will drive deep into the Pantanal for a four nights stay (spending the first and last nights in the Pixaim area to the south of Poconé and the middle two nights at Porto Jofre at the end of the Transpantaneira). As we drive through this splendid area today we will not be able to resist stopping as we come across one exciting new bird after another.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil: Days 8-10  The Pantanal of Brazil needs little introduction for it is undoubtedly one of the most famous wetlands in the Americas. This seasonally flooded grassland close to the Bolivian border is one of the largest marshes on the face of the globe and lies along the upper and middle course of the Paraná River. We will visit the northern fringe of this huge expanse of marsh, where numbers of waterfowl are impressive and where a varied avifauna definitely makes for a rich experience.

We will spend most of our time along the famous Transpantaneira, a dirt road with more than a hundred, often rather dilapidated bridges, that runs through a variety of habitats including pastures, palm groves, gallery woodland, scrubby growth, meandering rivers, ponds and extensive flooded marshes. We will drive to within metres of the gigantic nests of the huge and grotesque Jabiru, which seem to balance precariously on the crowns of the scattered trees. The weird haunting cries of Southern Screamers are a common early morning sound as numerous herons, egrets and ibises fly in to throng the marshes. Pairs of reclusive Plumbeous Ibises feed in the shallows, away from the more boisterous species. Raptors are very well represented, and include Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Western Osprey, Grey-headed and Snail Kites, Crane, Savanna, Black-collared and Short-tailed Hawks, Great Black Hawk, and Laughing and Bat Falcons.

Away from the water, birdlife abounds in the scattered patches of gallery forest and in the distinctive savanna habitat, called cerrado, which is so characteristic of this part of Brazil. These palm-rich forests are the stronghold of the world’s largest parrot, the spectacular Hyacinth Macaw. As we watch these huge birds flapping lazily towards their roosting trees, their rich purplish-blue feathers glow in the last rays of the setting sun. The world population of this fantastic creature, which surely epitomizes the wildness and uniqueness of the Pantanal, is now sadly reduced to just a few thousand birds, due to trapping for the cagebird trade. Here we should also find two splendid cracids: the rare Chestnut-bellied Guan and the gorgeous and not uncommon Bare-faced Curassow.

Amongst the many other bird species we may well see here are Undulated Tinamou, Neotropic Cormorant, Anhinga, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Whistling, Little Blue, Capped, Cocoi and Striated Herons, the splendid Agami Heron, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, the bizarre Boat-billed Heron, Bare-faced, Green and Buff-necked Ibises, the unlikely-looking Roseate Spoonbill, Wood and Maguari Storks, Chaco Chachalaca, the smart Blue-throated Piping Guan, Gray-necked Wood Rail, Purple and Common Gallinules, Limpkin, the strange Sungrebe, the spectacular Sunbittern, Wattled Jacana, Collared Plover, Pied Lapwing, Black-necked Stilt, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Large-billed and Yellow-billed Terns, Black Skimmer, Blue Ground Dove, the dainty Long-tailed Ground Dove, Monk and Yellow-chevroned Parakeets, Blue-fronted (or Turquoise-fronted) Parrot, Little and Striped Cuckoos, Great Horned Owl, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Band-tailed and Nacunda Nighthawks, Spot-tailed and Little Nightjars, Common and Great Potoos, Buff-bellied Hermit, Blue-crowned Trogon, Green, Green-and-rufous and American Pygmy Kingfishers, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Black-fronted Nunbird, Chestnut-eared Aracari, White-wedged Piculet, and Golden-green, Little and Pale-crested Woodpeckers.

Passerines include Red-billed Scythebill, Pale-legged Hornero, Chotoy, White-lored, Cinereous-breasted, Rusty-backed and Yellow-chinned Spinetails, Greater Thornbird, the jay-like Rufous (or Grey-crested) Cacholote, Great and Barred Antshrikes, Large-billed and Rusty-backed Antwrens, Mato Grosso and Band-tailed Antbirds, Common and Rusty-fronted Tody-Flycatcher, Tawny-crowned Pygmy Tyrant, Stripe-necked Tody-Tyrant, Fuscous, Vermillion, Yellow-olive, Rusty-margined and Piratic Flycatchers, Black-backed Water Tyrant, White-headed Marsh Tyrant, Cattle Tyrant, Green-backed Becard, Lesser Kiskadee, Black-crowned Tityra, the unusual White-naped Xenopsaris, Purplish Jay, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Chivi Vireo, Ashy-headed Greenlet, Black-capped Donacobius, Thrush-like, Buff-breasted and Fawn-breasted Wrens, Masked Gnatcatcher, Brown-chested Martin, White-winged Swallow, Yellowish Pipit, Chestnut-vented Conebill, Silver-beaked, Guira and Grey-headed Tanagers, Thick-billed Euphonia, Red-crested and Yellow-billed Cardinals, Red-crested Finch, Rusty-collared and White-bellied Seedeaters, Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch, Greyish Saltator, Flavescent Warbler, Solitary Black and Yellow-rumped Caciques, Epaulet Oriole, Orange-backed Troupial, Unicoloured and White-browed Blackbirds, the exquisite Scarlet-headed Blackbird and Bay-winged Cowbird. If we are lucky we will find Ash-throated Crake, Long-winged Harrier, Yellow-collared (or Golden-collared) Macaw or Nanday (or Black-hooded) Parakeet.

A major attraction of the Pantanal for the naturalist is the distinct possibility of meeting the most powerful cat in the New World, the mysterious and cagey Jaguar. Although this magnificent animal is still quite widespread in Central and South America, occurring from northern Mexico south to central Argentina, it is rarely seen almost everywhere. Jaguars are usually associated with large tracts of dense rain forest, but it is now known that they equally feel at home in more open habitat, with a very marked preference for the immediate vicinity of watercourses. The Pantanal probably holds the highest density of this enigmatic creature and is the world’s foremost locale for viewing and photographing Jaguars.

The most reliable way of seeing this inscrutable cat is to take boat trips on the rivers, as they like to loaf at the edge of a river or on the sandbanks. As we patrol the waterways we will be keeping a constant lookout for this spotted beauty, which is regularly active by day here, in contrast to its more crepuscular and nocturnal habits elsewhere on the continent. The largest individuals of ‘El Tigre’, as it is commonly referred to in most of Latin America, live here in the southern Mato Grosso, where average adults usually weigh twice as much as their colleagues in Central America.

We should almost certainly encounter this golden-eyed, exquisite marvel during our two boat trips from Porto Jofre and very likely more than one. With a bit of luck, an individual will be cooperative enough to allow our cameras to click away furiously at close range!

Although Jaguars dominate the scene in the Pantanal, they would not be there for a healthy population of prey animals. Capybaras, the world’s largest rodents, are (along with caiman) a favourite prey of the big cat and occur all over the Pantanal, leading a semi-aquatic life. Collared Peccaries also feature high on the Jaguar’s menu and small, snorting groups are sometimes encountered. Other mammals that we have a fair chance of seeing include Azara’s Agouti, Crab-eating Fox, Neotropical River Otter, South American Coati, Black Howler Monkey, the curious-looking Brazilian Tapir and Marsh Deer. If we are particularly lucky we will encounter a Jaguarundi or an Ocelot. We will also make a special boat trip to try to see the awesome Giant Otter. Several family parties inhabit the rivers. Sometimes inquisitive individuals come to inspect the boat and can then be admired at minimal range. On at least one evening we will make an extended night drive, armed with a powerful spotlight, with the aim of trying to observe some of the spectacular mammals that inhabit the Pantanal.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil: Day 11  Today we leave the Pantanal behind and drive to the Chapada dos Guimarães for a two nights stay. This afternoon we will have time for some initial exploration.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil: Day 12  Situated at the western edge of the Planalto do Mato Grosso, the canyonlands of the Chapada dos Guimarães offer excellent birding amidst spectacular scenery. Impressive waterfalls plunge over sheer sandstone cliffs which rise out of riparian forests and cerrado. The scarce, near-endemic Biscutate Swift nests in the safety of these cliffs, which also provide a secure roosting site for several members of the parrot family. The most common psittacid species here is the White-eyed Parakeet, but we can also expect spectacular Red-and-green and Blue-winged Macaws.

In a stretch of wild cerrado, we will search for such specialities as Chapada Flycatcher, White-banded Tanager and the marvellous Coal-crested Finch, while a wooded valley often holds Planalto Slaty Antshrike, Western Fire-eye, Moustached Wren and Pectoral Sparrow.

With a bit of luck, we will find the rare, near-endemic Rufous-sided Pygmy Tyrant, an inhabitant of untouched open cerrado and there is also a chance for the magnificent but rare Pheasant Cuckoo.

Amongst the other species that we may well encounter in this area are the near-endemic the localized Cinnamon-throated Hermit, as well as the more widespread Tataupa Tinamou, Swallow-tailed Kite, the elegant White Hawk, Scaled Pigeon, Amazonian Motmot, Lettered Aracari, Channel-billed Toucan, Lineated Woodpecker, Buff-throated Woodcreeper, Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner, Cliff Flycatcher, Band-tailed Manakin, Tropical Parula, Black-faced, White-shouldered, White-lined and Swallow Tanagers, and Buff-throated Saltator.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil: Day 13  After some final birding in the Chapada dos Guimarães we will drive to Cuiabá, where the main section of our Pantanal & Interior Brazil birding tour ends this afternoon.

(We will be pleased to arrange your internal flight from Cuiabá to your departure city in Brazil, even if you are arranging your own international tickets.)

ALTA FLORESTA EXTENSION

Pantanal & Interior Brazil (Alta Floresta): Day 1  Those taking the Alta Floresta section of our Pantanal & Interior Brazil tour will overnight in Cuiabá.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil (Alta Floresta): Day 2  This morning we will take a flight to the town of Alta Floresta, situated in the far north of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, on the border with the state of Pará. We will divide the next seven nights between two of Alta Floresta’s famous lodges, Rio Azul Jungle Lodge (3 nights) and Cristalino Lodge (4 nights), each of which has a subtly different suite of wonderful birds.

After driving through pastures and isolated patches of forest to the banks of the Rio Teles Pires (the local name for the upper reaches of the Rio Tapajós), a boat will take us to the first of our two venues. In the late afternoon will start birding this remote paradise.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil (Alta Floresta): Days 3-8  The Alta Floresta region is situated near the geographical centre of Brazil, at the southern edge of the Amazonian rainforest, between two large rivers (the Rios Tapajós and Xingu) which have, over time, acted as barriers to the dispersal of many bird species.

Rio Azul Jungle Lodge at Serra do Cachimbo is surrounded by protected areas that are part of Brazil’s ‘Southern Amazon Protected Corridor’. The 630-hectare privately owned Rio Cristalino Forest Reserve surrounding the Cristalino Lodge is well protected and is bordered on three sides by 250,000 hectares of almost completely undisturbed jungle. No indigenous people live here, there is no disturbance from outside settlers and no hunting takes place. The lodge itself is built in a clearing on the banks of the river. The rivers in this area are mainly blackwater rivers, a natural phenomenon whereby tannins leaching out from the forest vegetation through the sandy soil give a dark colour to the water. Both lodges are very comfortable and serve good food.

We will have plenty of time to immerse ourselves in the amazingly varied avifauna of this splendid and little-explored corner of Amazonia. One of the main attractions at the Rio Cristalino Forest Reserve are the two well-built 50m high aluminium towers that offer extraordinary views over the surrounding forest, which stretches away to the far horizon. One of the towers stands next to a magnificent forest giant and the roomy platforms allow intimate looks at different levels in the surrounding forest canopy. The towers are superb spots to bird from during early mornings, late afternoons and just after showers when many species come to dry out and enjoy the sunshine on top of the canopy.

In the early morning and late afternoon, squabbling and screeching flocks of macaws, parrots and parakeets exhibit a riot of colours as they fly between their roosts and distant feeding trees. Scarlet, Red-and-green and Chestnut-fronted Macaws, Santarem and Golden-winged Parakeets, Dusky-billed Parrotlet, White-bellied and Blue-headed Parrots, and the spectacular Red-fan Parrot are all regularly encountered here, but the main prizes of the psittacid family are the strange endemic Bald Parrot (a major draw at Rio Azul) and the recently-described Kawall’s (or White-faced) Amazon. Kawall’s Amazon is a restricted-range species that resembles the closely related Southern Mealy Amazon but can be identified by the patch of bare whitish skin at the base of the bill and the grey eyering. Another localized speciality is the striking Crimson-bellied Parakeet, chattering parties of which may well find foraging in the canopy.

Swirling mixed-species flocks, led by exquisite White-winged Shrike-Tanagers, career through the canopy and may hold such species as the handsome Black-girdled Barbet, Masked Tityra, the hard-to-see-well Tooth-billed Wren, Slaty-capped Shrike-Vireo, the lovely Red-billed Pied-Tanager, Yellow-backed, Flame-crested, Turquoise, Paradise, Bay-headed, Opal-rumped and Green-and-gold Tanagers, Rufous-bellied and Golden-bellied Euphonias, Black-faced and Yellow-bellied Dacnises, Green and Purple Honeycreepers and the widespread, but rarely-encountered Yellow-shouldered Grosbeak. Exposed snags provide lookouts for Plumbeous and Ruddy Pigeons, Paradise Jacamar, White-fronted Nunbird, croaking Channel-billed and yelping White-throated Toucans, Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, the glowing Spangled Cotinga and Bare-necked Fruitcrow.

There are usually flowering or fruiting trees to be found, giving us the opportunity to get acquainted with a whole realm of nectar-loving and frugivorus species including Red-necked and Curl-crested Aracaris, Gould’s Toucanet, Slate-coloured and Blue-black Grosbeaks, and Olive (or Para) Oropendola.

We will also be able to study the different species of monkeys that live in the Alta Floresta region. Family groups of Dusky Titi, Brown Tufted Capuchin, Red-handed Howler, White-whiskered Spider Monkey and White-nosed Bearded Saki often forage in the trees, and we may also see Silvery Marmoset. Other mammals are not conspicuous, but sightings of Red Brocket Deer, Paca, Brazilian Tapir and the awesome Giant Otter are by no means uncommon.

As the thermals start rising, Greater Yellow-headed Vultures, Double-toothed and Plumbeous Kites, and Black Hawk-Eagles will cruise lazily overhead, whilst Pale-rumped, Short-tailed and Grey-rumped Swifts sweep past. A pair of diminutive Amazonian Pygmy-Owls often resides in one of the nearby hollow trunks and the secretive Black-bellied Cuckoo often creeps about in emergent trees.

We will spend a lot of our time quietly creeping along trails in the tall terra firme forest of Alta Floresta. Understorey flocks can usually be detected by listening for the loud calls of Cinereous Antshrikes and may hold a dizzying mixture of species including the dazzling Blue-cheeked (or Blue-necked) Jacamar, Red-stained Woodpecker, Curve-billed (or Tapajos) Scythebill, Olivaceous, Striped and Buff-throated Woodcreepers, Chestnut-winged Hookbill, Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner, Plain Xenops, Fasciated, Plain-winged and Amazonian Antshrikes, Pygmy, Sclater’s, White-eyed, Plain-throated, Long-winged and Grey Antwrens, Wing-barred Piprites and Long-billed Gnatwren.

In the ‘alborada’, the local term for the mysterious twilight preceding dawn, we will position ourselves strategically to listen for the barking calls of the Cryptic Forest-Falcon, a newly described species, and we will definitely try to lure this exciting bird into view. Low guttural humming sounds emanating from the forest floor will betray the presence of Dark-winged Trumpeters. These large and social birds roam the jungle in small groups and are one of the much-wanted prizes of the area, but as they do wander widely they are sometimes scarce.

Tiny, restless Snow-capped, Fiery-capped and Band-tailed Manakins play hide-and-seek in the middle levels, where we will also hope to encounter the gorgeous Flame-crowned (or Flame-crested) Manakin. Isolated, almost-impenetrable bamboo thickets hold a very interesting range of species including the localized Chestnut-throated Spinetail, Bamboo and Chestnut-crowned Foliage-gleaners, Manu and Striated Antbirds, and Dusky-tailed and Large-headed Flatbills. We will also keep an eye and an ear open for army ant swarms with their attendant species. The superb Bare-eyed Antbird with its pale glaucous-green orbital ring and funny crest is a very-localized professional ant-follower, as is the unreal-looking Black-spotted Bare-eye. Other species we should encounter at the amazing phenomenon of an army ant swarm include Plain-brown and White-chinned Woodcreepers, Xingu Scale-backed Antbird, Tapajos Fire-eye and Red-crowned Ant-Tanager.

Trails that penetrate the varzea, the seasonally flooded forest near the river, allow us access to a quite different assortment of birds. Here we will diligently search for the rather saurian-like Long-billed Woodcreeper and the dazzling Glossy Antshrike.

A short boat ride away, a fairly steep trail at Rio Cristalino will take us to the top of a granite outcrop covered in scrubby and thorny woodland, terrestrial bromeliads and many vines. This is the territory of the very patchily-distributed Brown-banded Puffbird, the localized Natterer’s Slaty Antshrike, Black-throated Antbird, Dusky-capped Greenlet and Masked Tanager, whilst Blackish Nightjars roost on the bare rocky areas.

Boat trips along the river and visits to adjoining oxbow lakes should add two members of the enigmatic cracid family to our tally: the gorgeous Red-throated Piping-Guan and the huge Razor-billed Curassow, both of which only survive in areas where guns and traps are unknown, and, with a bit of luck, we will come across the much sought-after Zigzag Heron. Additional species we may well find along the river or at the forest edge include Pearl Kite, Black Caracara, Orange-cheeked Parrot, the prehistoric Hoatzin, Short-tailed Nighthawk, Ladder-tailed Nightjar, Swallow-winged Puffbird (or Swallow-wing), Amazonian Umbrellabird, Drab Water-Tyrant, White-banded Swallow and Red-capped Cardinal.

Amongst the many other birds we may well find in this region of Brazil are the little-known White-browed Hawk, the vociferous Red-throated Caracara, Spix’s Guan, Marbled Wood-Quail, Grey-fronted Dove, Ruddy Quail-Dove, Blue-and yellow Macaw, Yellow-crowned and Orange-winged Amazons, Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl, Ocellated Poorwill, Rufous-breasted, Great-billed and Reddish Hermits, Grey-breasted Sabrewing, White-necked Jacobin, Black-throated Mango, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Versicoloured Emerald, Black-eared Fairy, Long-billed Starthroat, Black-tailed, Amazonian White-tailed, Collared and Amazonian Violaceous Trogons, Broad-billed Motmot, Great Jacamar, White-necked and Striolated Puffbirds, Rufous-capped Nunlet, Bar-breasted (or Gold-fronted) Piculet, and Yellow-throated, Cream-coloured, Scale-breasted (or Scaly-breasted), Ringed, Crimson-crested and Red-necked Woodpeckers.

Additional passerines at Alta Floresta include Long-tailed, Wedge-billed, Amazonian Barred and Spix’s Woodcreepers, the layardi form of the Dusky-capped Woodcreeper (sometimes split as Layard’s Woodcreeper), the fantastic Point-tailed Palmcreeper, Chestnut-winged Foliage-gleaner, Chestnut-backed, Spot-winged, White-shouldered and Saturnine Antshrikes, Amazonian Streaked, Ornate, Rufous-winged and Dot-winged Antwrens, Grey, White-browed, Spix’s Warbling and Spot-backed Antbirds, the hard-to-see Rufous-capped, Striated and Black-faced Antthrushes, White-browed Purpletuft, Screaming Piha, Blue-backed and Red-headed Manakins, Dwarf Tyrant-Manakin, Spotted Tody-Flycatcher, Slender-footed, White-lored and Yellow-crowned Tyrannulets, Forest Elaenia, Short-tailed and Helmeted Pygmy-Tyrants, Ochre-bellied and Ruddy-tailed Flycatchers, Bright-rumped and Cinnamon Attilas, Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher, Black-capped Becard, Cinereous Mourner, Varzea Schiffornis, Thrush-like Schiffornis, Scaly-breasted (or Southern Nightingale) Wren, the amazing Lawrence’s Thrush with its unique imitations, the unobtrusive Hauxwell’s Thrush, Grey-chested Greenlet, the striking Rose-breasted Chat, and Blue-grey Tanager.

If we are lucky we will see a few of the rarely observed (but in some cases often to be heard) forest floor skulkers, such as Great, Variegated, Brazilian and Cinereous Tinamous, and Alta Floresta, Variegated and Thrush-like Antpittas.

We even have a chance for Harpy Eagle at Alta Floresta, depending on whether or not there is an active nest we can visit. Seeing an adult at the nest is unlikely; a well-grown or recently-fledged juvenile is much more probable.

Pantanal & Interior Brazil (Alta Floresta): Day 9  This morning we will return to Alta Floresta airport, where our tour ends.

(We will be pleased to arrange your internal flight from Alta Floresta to your departure city in Brazil, even if you are arranging your own international tickets.)