Morro Pai Inacio, Brazil — Photo: Kevin Zimmer

Emphasizes numerous endemics and specialty birds of the caatinga and chapada brushlands and humid Atlantic Forest habitats of northeastern Brazil. Varied habitats, unique plant associations, and scenic landscapes.

Northeastern Brazil is a land of stark contrasts. Its immense, arid interior is dominated by a unique habitat known as caatinga, an association of thorn-scrub, columnar cacti, and huge terrestrial bromeliads, reminiscent of southeastern Arizona. Red rim-rock formations and towering mesas bathed in the glow of blazing sunsets further the impressions of southwestern landscapes. The caatinga teems with birdlife, in a manner similar to the bush country of East Africa. Dawn choruses are spectacular: the hauntingly beautiful songs of Red-legged Seriemas, Small-billed Tinamous, Striped Cuckoos, and Campo Orioles; the raucous duets of cacholotes and horneros; and the bickering of wagtail-tyrants and Masked Water-Tyrants. Birds are everywhere—from flocks of Comb Ducks flying in formation to a distant marsh at dawn, to immaculate White Monjitas perched atop bare acacias, to Least Nighthawks quartering over the desert at dusk. Just as important, they are easy to see! At every stop one is captivated by the sheer "birdiness" of the caatinga and by the ease of viewing conditions in this land of deciduous, stunted woodland and desert. The region harbors a highly endemic avifauna that includes some of the least-known and most endangered species of birds on the South American continent. Foremost among them is the spectacular Lear's Macaw, rediscovered in 1978, and numbering fewer than 250 birds remaining in the wild. Other specialties include White-browed Guan; Caatinga Parakeet; Pygmy Nightjar; Stripe-breasted Starthroat; Broad-tipped Hermit; Spot-backed Puffbird; Spotted and Ochraceous piculets; Silvery-cheeked Antshrike; Pectoral Antwren; Black-bellied Antwren; Stripe-backed Antbird; White-browed Antpitta; Pale-bellied Tyrant-Manakin; Ash-throated Casiornis; the elegant White-naped Jay; Red-cowled Cardinal; São Fransisco Sparrow (described in 1999); and four spectacular endemics: the Great Xenops, Red-shouldered Spinetail, Slender Antbird, and Scarlet-throated Tanager, each of which represents a monotypic genus. A spectacular recent addition to the known avifauna of the region is the stunning Araripe Manakin (described in 1998), which has been seen on each of our tours since its discovery.

Although the chance to bird the caatinga would alone be worth the trip, it is only half the attraction of Northeastern Brazil. 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, Blue Finch, and Pale-throated Serra-Finch, as well as a recently discovered species of Formicivora antwren that still awaits formal description. In the mountains of eastern Ceará, southern Bahia, and the coastal foothills of Alagoas, there also exist remnants of humid Atlantic Forest, one of the most biologically unique and most severely threatened biomes in the world. These lush forests harbor an amazing number of endemics, among them some of the rarest and most spectacular birds of Brazil. Four species of birds new to science have been described from a single forest patch in Alagoas since 1979! 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 to science in 1996. The same region is home to the endangered golden-headed lion tamarin, one of the most elegant of all primates. During our tour we hope to see both of these specialties of coastal Bahia.

An optional extension to Alagoas and adjacent Pernambuco will focus on finding Jandaya Parakeet; Golden-tailed Parrotlet; Long-tailed Woodnymph; Racket-tailed Coquette; Alagoas Foliage-gleaner; Orange-bellied Antwren; Alagoas Antwren; Scalloped Antbird; Black-cheeked Gnateater; Black-headed Berryeater; Buff-throated Purpletuft; White-winged Cotinga; Yellow-faced Siskin; and the spectacular Seven-colored Tanager. We will make a special attempt at seeing the recently described Pernambuco Pygmy-Owl, as well as the recently rediscovered White-collared Kite.

Good accommodations, easy birding (easy walking and good viewing conditions), a warm, mostly dry climate, a variety of habitats, an abundance of endemic birds, and some of the best birding anywhere make Northeastern Brazil a compelling destination.

Good to fine accommodations; some long walks on trails over hilly terrain; many pre-dawn starts with long days of birding; internal flights; several long drives; warm to hot and generally arid climate.