The Least Nighthawk is a small nighthawk in the same genus as others I have seen like the Common Nighthawk, Antillean Nighthawk and Nacunda Nighthawk. It has a wide range across the northern and eastern portions of South America. We had great views on my second trip to Brazil, but my camera focus was on the wrong setting for a flying bird and by the time I switched it, they had almost past, hence the butt end shot here.
This beautiful hummer is found over a huge area in north and eastern South America including much of Brazil which is where I saw mine. My best pictures by far were obtained at Lajedo dos Beija-Flores in Boa Nova. It is the only species in its genus and has no defined sub-species.
The Greater Wagtail-Tyrant is one of the three species that were previously lumped into the Wagtail-Tyrant. It has two very disparate populations, one in eastern Brazil and the other just east of the Andes in much of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. The Greater has a more well defined yellow supercilia (eyebrow) than the Bahia, and a darker back and cap. We had both species at Sitio Pau Preto in Potengi. The third one is found in the Amazon and I haven't had the chance to see it yet.
The Spotted Piculet is an endemic to eastern Brazil and relatively common. The genus it belongs to is huge with 25 species. We saw it in multiple different areas and habitats including typical caatinga scrublands or in this case a stand of trees bordering farms fields. Look at those alien eyes!
It's kind of crazy how many Brazilian endemics we found at Sitio Pau Preto in Potengi, but not only endemics, birds that are the only representative in their genus. The Silvery-cheeked Antshrike is yet another in this grouping. However, we obtained even better looks and certainly photos when we visited Lajedo dos Beija-Flores in Boa Nova a week later. This amazing place has worked to set up regular feedings for this species among others and now they come out in the open to get a free meal. Below is an adult male, a younger male and a female.
This is yet another Brazilian endemic although it does have a large range in eastern Brazil. We saw it in two places on our second trip to Brazil including Sitio Pau Preto in Potengi which is an excellent reserve for picking up a variety of eastern Brazil endemics. It is the only member of its genus and has no known sub-species.
All Antbirds are tricky to get good looks at, so we were very happy with these looks. The Stripe-backed Antbird is a speciality of Sitio Pau Preto in Potengi where we saw this one. It has two disjunction populations with the nominate subspecies being endemic to eastern Brazil and the other on the border of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. It is the only species in its genus.
This Antpitta like most of them can be tricky to see. We got to see one after much peering through dense underbrush to a bird that was singing from a perch. I think I was the only one that came away with a camera shot, as I had switched to manual focus and just kept spraying the area until I got it. Camera autofocus does not like dense shrubbery. The White-browed Antpitta is endemic to a relatively small area in eastern Brazil, and is only regularly seen from a small group of sites including Sitio Pau Preto in Potengi which is where we saw this one. So I am not sure why it is in the "Least Concern" category.
The Great Xenops is a Brazilian endemic that is monotypic, meaning it is the only member of its genus. It is found in eastern Brazil including a good portion of Ceará state which is where I saw this one. We had only one while visiting Sitio Pau Preto in Potengi. It is interesting that this is one of many birds in Brazil that was initially listed as threatened, probably mainly because they were not often seen. However, as birding has become more popular, range maps are expanding which causes the birds to be uplisted to Least Concern categories. Clearly these and many other species of the Caatinga forests are experiencing rapid deforestation and are under threat despite IUCN classification.
This Brazilian endemic has a relatively small range in eastern Brazil and is quite skulky. We were at Sitio Pau Preto in Potengi, trying in some thick undergrowth to see one that was calling and walked away very frustrated. This was one of those birds I was convinced I would miss my opportunity to get a decent picture. Then as we were walking back, Sherry had to commune with a bush for a minute so we stopped and waited. While she was around the corner doing her business, she spotted a pair of these birds being much more forthcoming and called us over. There is something about relieving yourself that brings out the birds. Maybe letting your guard down is what causes the birds to lose inhibitions. Anyhow, thanks to Sherry for heeding the call of nature.
There are three species in the Wagtail-Tyrant genus Stigmatura, but some authorities have them lumped into one. The Bahia flavor is endemic to eastern Brazil in Ceara and Bahia states. We saw ours at the famous Sitio Pau Preto in Potengi.
This is one of the 13 species of new world Cuckoos in the Coccyzus genus which should not be confused with the 11 species of Cuckoos in the old world Cuculus genus. Dark-billed Cuckoos inhabit a large range across much of South America including some islands offshore like the Galapagos. It does have a tendency to wander probably due to some of the populations being migratory. It has been recorded in Texas. Apparently they are common, but I have only seen this one at the famous Sitio Pau Preto in Potengi, Brazil. I am sure I will get more opportunities to improve pics on this one.
This drab looking Manakin is almost totally endemic to Brazil but there are a few records in Guiana and Bolivia. It does have a fairly large range, but we only saw it in two locations on my second trip to Brazil. It is in a genus of 5 other similarly drab birds, at least from a Manakin perspective.
This was the main target of our second trip to Brazil, partially because of how rare it is but also because it is striking and has a cool story. It was only "discovered" in 1996 and scientifically described in 1998. This "discovery" was not some split from another similar looking species, it is totally unique in its appearance. It simply flew under the radar because it has a very small range and people just were not looking for birds there. Initially upon discovery it was thought to be almost extinct with only 50 birds, but since then surveys have been more promising with an estimate of about 500 pairs. Most of the known breeding population is found in the middle of a Theme Park (think water slides and rides) which is a bit alarming, but they have actually done a good job of protecting and promoting this bird.
We found this female on nest!
The range map from Wiki shows how limited this bird is in distribution.
These "finches" of South America are actually placed in the Tanager family Thraupidae. They have three disjunction populations with the largest being in the Brazilian interior. They look a lot like the similar Saffron Finch which is also in the Sicalis Genus. Although they are considered widespread and common, we only really noticed them at one gas station which our guide typically visits to get them. Note the dusky lores and pink legs. Saffron Finches have darker legs and less pronounced dark lores.
The Blue-winged Macaw is a relatively common macaw in southeastern South America. That being said, we only saw them once on our second trip to Brazil. Like all Macaws they face threats from the pet bird trade and deforestation. We saw these at Rio de Pedras in Bahia State Brazil.
The Southern Scrub Flycatcher was split from the Scrub Flycatcher complex back in the early 2000s. The Southern one has a wide range across South America mostly south of the Amazon basin and then overlaps with the Amazon Scrub Flycatcher which obviously is in the Amazon basin. The Northern one is way north in Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, Guiana and Suriname. I now need to get me an Amazon one. This one was photographed at Rio de Pedras in Bahia State in Brazil.
Indigo Macaw is also known as Lear's Macaw is an endangered endemic species per IUCN criteria. Its population was tiny until its breeding location in the cliffs was discovered in the 1970s and set aside for protection. Previous to that, the bird was only known from the pet trade. We were able to stay at the famous Estação Biológica de Canudos (Lear's Macaw reserve) in the ranger's quarters so we could visit the cliffs first thing in the morning. This was probably my personal highlight of the whole trip to northeast Brazil.
This Brazilian endemic has a limited range in east and northeast Brazil due to fragmentation of its habitat. We got ours in a tiny gallery forest that was bordering a farm field. There are 17 Antwren species in this genus and the Pectoral Antwren's closest relative is the Large-billed Antwren which I picked up on my trip to the Pantanal. This species is dimorphic with females having brown and rufous colors. This one was a male.
This South American hummingbird has a huge range across much of the north of the continent and eastern portions of Brazil which is where I saw mine for the first time. We saw several of them in different places but this one was at Mata do Rio de Serra in Bahia State. The Sapphires and Emeralds of eastern Brazil are tricky identification problems so I relied heavily on our guide for nailing the ID, but generally this species has a black upper mandible and dark red lower mandible. I hope to get a better adult male picture on a future trip. This species is one of five in the genus Chlorestes which includes the White-chinned Sapphire which also is found in this area but has a more brightly red bill.
The Green-backed Trogon is a widespread Trogon found all over the Amazon basin in South America but also the southeast of Brazil. This is a consequence of the fragmentation of Brazilian forest which has segregated different populations of birds. They used to be lumped with the White-tailed Trogon of Colombia, Ecuador and Panama but phylogenetic studies led to the split in the early 2000s. I took this photo at Fazenda Paris in Bahia State.
This araçari is one of 12 species in the Genus Pteroglossus. The name araçari comes from the indigenous Tupi people of Brazil who called it Arassari. Their range is huge across much of northeastern South America and southeastern Brazil with 3 sub-species considered. We saw them in several places on my second trip to Brazil, but these pictures were taken at Fazenda Paris in Bahia State.
This is a mostly coastal hummer of eastern and north-eastern South America. The common name is a little funky I suppose because White-bellied was already taken by another hummer that is not even in the same Genus. Leucogaster means white-bellied, and the White-bellied Hummingbird is Chionogaster which means snow-bellied. The Plain-bellied has a couple sub-species, with the southern one (Bahiae) found in east Brazil including Bahia state which is where I saw this one (Porto Seguro). This particular bird was on a fence surrounding our hotel while we waited for our flight home, so it was a nice send off.
The Wing-banded Hornero also known as the Band-tailed Hornero is a Brazilian endemic with a pretty wide range within Brazil in the central and eastern portions. It looks a lot like and overlaps with the Pale-legged Hornero but the main distinction is that the Wing-banded has dark legs and the Pale-legged has pinkish legs. I think the band in the wing is only visible in flight. The below photo was taken at the famous SÃtio Pau Preto reserve in Potengi.
This beautiful endemic parakeet from the Northeast of Brazil was one of the first good birds on my second trip to Brazil. They have a wide distribution but are fairly rare and hard to find unless you go to one of the sites where they nest in towns which is what we did. It is thought that this is the closest living relative to the Carolina Parakeet which is now extinct, but so far no one has done the phylogenetic work to verify that claim.
