Northeast Brazil is a land of outstanding contrast: from gorgeous white-sand beaches, to arid, cactus-topped plateaus, and the humid montane slopes in between. This region has all the beauty and diversity that any birder could ever hope for. Perhaps what this area is best known for, however, is the stunning array of beautiful endemics that flourish in the diverse habitats of Ceara, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Bahia. With this in mind, our tour explores all the best sites in this fascinating region and offers an impressive bird list that includes Lear’s (Indigo) Macaw, the striking Araripe Manakin and rare, White-collared Kite!
We begin in the state of Ceara, visiting Serra de Baturite for Grey-breasted Parakeet, Ceara Gnateater and Buff-breasted Tody-Tyrant, before heading to Quixada for the rarely recorded Pygmy Nightjar and White-browed Guan. Chapada do Araripe puts us in position for the recently described Araripe Manakin and other superb species such as White-browed Antpitta and Great Xenops in advance of our visit to Canudos for the Critically Endangered Lear’s Macaw! The birding continues apace, as we head to São Benedito do Sul for a plethora of sought-after species; Scalloped Antbird, incredibly adorned Seven-colored Tanager, Orange-bellied Antwren and Alagoas Tyrannulet. White-collared Kite, Forbes’ Blackbird, Pinto’s Spinetail and Yellow-faced Siskin make up the target species near Tamandare before we head to Estancia for the endangered Fringe-backed Fire-eye. The next featured location is one of the best birding sites in Brazil, Chapada Diamantina. Hailed as perhaps the most breathtakingly beautiful of all Brazilian National Parks, it hosts several localised endemics including Hooded Visorbearer, the recently described Sincorá Antwren, Grey-backed Tachuri and Diamantina Tapaculo.
As our tour draws to a close, we head towards the coast and Boa Nova. Located in the southwest of Bahia state where the Montane Atlantic forests meets Caatinga, this diverse location hosts over 430 bird species. Here we shall search diligently for the highly localised Slender Antbird, Narrow-billed Antwren, Bahia Spinetail and Pin-tailed Manakin. We then spend a few days in the delightful Serra Bonita Reserve, host to Pink-legged Graveteiro, Plumbeous Antvireo, Bahia Tyrannulet and Crescent-chested Puffbird before we end in the coastal lowlands of Porto Seguro where targets include White-winged Potoo, White-winged Cotinga, Bahia Antwren, Ochre-marked Parakeet, Red-browed Amazon and the rare Banded Cotinga. We finish the tour in Botumirim for the recently rediscovered Blue-eyed Ground Dove. There are few tours that can offer over 100 endemics in a matter of 24 days, but this tour of Northeast Brazil does just that!
Hooded Visorbearer, Horned Sungem, Blue-eyed Ground Dove, Frilled Coquette, Wied's Tyrant-Manakin, Rusty-margined & White-browed Guans, White-collared Kite, Harpy Eagle, White-necked & Mantled Hawks, Pernambuco Pygmy Owl, Lear’s (Indigo) & Blue-winged Macaws, Grey-breasted, Jandaya, Blue-throated, Plain, Golden-capped & Caatinga Parakeets, Red-browed & Scaly-headed Parrots, Golden-tailed Parrotlet, Gould’s Toucanet, Red-legged Seriema, Spot-winged Wood Quail, Pygmy, Scissor-tailed, Little & Rufous Nightjars, Ochraceous, Golden-spangled, Spotted & Tawny Piculets, Yellow-throated & Blond-crested Woodpeckers, Araripe, Band-tailed, Blue-backed, White-bearded, Red-headed, Blue & Kinglet (Eastern Striped) Manakins, Pale-bellied Tyrant-Manakin, White-winged & Banded Cotingas, Spot-backed Puffbird, Buff-breasted, Stripe-necked & Hangnest Tody-Tyrants, Yellow-eared Woodpecker, Rufous-breasted Leaftosser, Ceara Gnateater, Lesser & Plain-brown Woodcreepers, Broad-tipped Hermit, Diamantina & White-breasted Tapaculos, Hooded & Black-headed Berryeaters, Caatinga, Rufous-winged, Tufted, Silvery-cheeked, Sooretama Slaty, Rufous-capped, White-shouldered (distans subspecies) & Planalto Slaty Antshrikes, Willis’s, Stripe-backed, Slender, Rio de Janeiro, Ferruginous, Ochre-rumped, Scaled, White-bibbed & Scalloped Antbirds, Sincora, Streak-capped, Bahia, Rufous-winged, Band-tailed, Caatinga, Pectoral, Orange-bellied & Southern White-fringed Antwrens, White-browed Antpitta, Such’s Antthrush, Caatinga Cacholote, Collared Crescentchest, Eared & Rufous-sided Pygmy Tyrants, Cinnamon-vented Piha, Bahia Tyrannulet, Velvety-black Tyrant, Fork-tailed Tody-Tyrant, Grey-backed Tachuri, Greenish Schiffornis, Campo Oriole, Pale Baywing, Spix’s (Chicli), Grey-breasted, Bahia, Pallid, Ochre-cheeked, Red-shouldered, Sooty-fronted & Pinto’s Spinetails, Great Xenops, Ash-throated Casiornis, Smoky-fronted Tody-Flycatcher, Forbes’ Blackbird, Bearded Bellbird, Pernambuco & White-collared Foliage-gleaners, Alagoas Tyrannulet, Hook-billed, Scale-throated, Broad-tipped & Margaretta’s Hermits, Long-tailed Woodnymph, Racket-tailed Coquette, Black-bellied Thorntail, Fringe-backed, White-shouldered & White-backed (pernambucensis subspecies) Fire-eyes, Grey-eyed Greenlet, Silver-breasted, Brazilian, Scarlet-throated & Seven-colored Tanagers, Black-billed Scythebill, Striated Softtail, Sharpbill, Blue Finch, White-throated Seedeater, Grey Pileated Finch, Yellow-faced Siskin, Red-cowled Cardinal.
Habitats Covered humid and semi-deciduous forests, Atlantic Rainforest, Chapada, cloud forest, lowland forest, lowland Atlantic Rainforest, dry forest, scrub, caatinga and cerrado
Expected Climate warm to hot and humid, cooler in the higher lying areas
Max Group Size 8 with 1 Rockjumper leader & local birding leader
Tour Pace & Walking Our Mega tours are very fast-paced birding adventures designed for the dedicated lister and serious birder. The focus of the tour is to see as many of the endemics and area specials as possible in our given time. In order to cover the necessary route to maximise the species list we tend to spend a single night at most sites and travel large distances. There is very little down time aside from that spent driving from one site to the next. These tours are not suitable for dedicated or avid photographers; inexperienced or new birders; as well as anyone with serious mobility or health challenges.
Accommodation mostly comfortable, with some rustic locations
Ease of Birding moderate with some tricky species
Number of Species Expected >450 with +-100 endemics
Photographic Opportunities worthwhile, but limited by time
Amazing trip! Wonderful birds, great accommodations and outstanding guides. Leo is an exceptional guide who is very personable and ensures everyone gets a chance to see even the hard to find birds.
We really appreciated our trip. Our Rockjumper guide, Bobby Wilcox, and the local guides were awesome; always on the lookout for new birds and other animals, even on the long drives. The organization was flawless, the lodges were great and perfectly located. Our triplist and lifers goals were exceeded! The group was great and always well controlled by Bobby. Very well done! Our long sighting of a female jaguar was certainly the peak of this trip !!!
Lev was a well kept secret from Rock Jumper ....incredible birder , bird guide, and overall naturalist . Would book another trip with Lev
A fantastic inaugural tour of the Manaus area. As usual, rainforest birding presented its challenges, especially all those skulkers, the names of which invariably begin with ant-! However, our brilliant leader, Forrest Rowland, and his equally brilliant offsider and local guide, Brad, showed endless patience trying to get everyone to see as many species as possible - with almost 500 spp seen in 17 days! We visited a variety of habitats in addition to terra firme forest, including varzea, campinarana and riverine islands, each with a different suite of birds. The trip went off without a hitch with efficient van and boat transport, comfortable accommodation and delicious local food.
I had the very best time on tour with Stephan. He is an excellent leader and a lovely, kind human being. In terms of his technical ability as a birding leader, his eyesight and hearing skills are excellent, which coupled with his first class fieldcraft and ID skills, meant that we saw/heard over 500 species during our tour. He also gelled well with the local guide Caio , so that in terms of finding, IDing and showing the birds to the group, we were treated to splendid views of our target species plus many many 'bonus birds' too. Stephan was also very patient with group members, some of whom for a variety of personal reasons, were less able to see the birds than the majority of the group-so that wherever possible-every group member who wanted to, had the opportunity to see every bird.