This extension will focus on specialties of the humid, ridge-top forests of Alagoas, which harbor one of the most severely endangered avifaunas on the planet. Four species new to science were described from a single forest isolate at Muricí in the late 1970s and early 1980s and, until very recently, two of these were still known only from this single spot. Rampant agricultural development (sugarcane is the primary culprit) has reduced the once plentiful native forest in this region to tiny remnants, which remain the primary refuge for several rare and localized endemic birds. Our primary objectives will be Jandaya Parakeet, Golden-tailed Parrotlet, Long-tailed Woodnymph, Racket-tailed Coquette, Pinto's Spinetail, Alagoas Foliage-gleaner, Orange-bellied Antwren, Alagoas Antwren, Scalloped Antbird, Black-cheeked Gnateater, Black-headed Berryeater, Buff-throated Purpletuft, White-winged Cotinga, Alagoas Tyrannulet, Smoky-fronted Tody-Flycatcher, Yellow-faced Siskin, and the spectacular Seven-colored Tanager, but we will not ignore the many other species that inhabit these remnant forests.

For the first time, we are also including the opportunity to bird some of the few remaining remnants of coastal lowland forest on the Alagoas-Pernambuco border. Time spent at the Saltinha and Trapiche forest reserves and adjacent private properties will allow us to search for the recently discovered Pernambuco Pygmy-Owl and the even more recently rediscovered White-collared Kite, both of which will take great luck to find. However, in the process of searching for these two rarities, we will be treated to an abundance of other special birds, including Golden-tailed Parrotlet, Red-shouldered Macaw, Lesser Woodcreeper (atlanticus subspecies), White-eyed Foliage-gleaner, White-shouldered Antshrike (the endangered distans subspecies), Pale-bellied Tyrant-Manakin, Blue-backed Manakin, Red-headed Manakin, Red-necked and Seven-colored tanagers, Yellow-faced Siskin, and the little-known Forbes's Blackbird.

This extension is the perfect complement to our Northeastern Brazil tour, and will add a number of range-restricted endemic birds not found on the route covered by the main tour.