Photographicbirdlistomania

Sunday, July 5, 2026

Day 17 - Serra Bonita to Itacaré (19Feb2026)

Serra Bonita ended with a little bit of an anticlimax because we spent a good time back at the bottom of the hill (Fazenda Paris) in the morning waiting for a Banded Cotinga that never showed. If you check eBird you will see that overall this is a very difficult species to see.

Saying goodbye to Serra Bonita. I think Sherry actually took this pic the day before.

At Fazenda Paris we were hyper focused on the Acai berries which is a preferred food item for Banded Cotingas.

Piratic Flycatcher

Opal-rumped Tanager - this species has two disjunct populations with the southeastern sub-species having a pale breast.

Maroon-faced Parakeet! Brazilian endemic and a good consolation prize to dipping on the Banded Cotinga.

Red-footed Tortoise

Yellow-rumped Cacique

Gray-rumped Swift

Least Pygmy-Owl!! We had heard these several times but finally got our eyes and lenses on this one.

Zone-tailed Hawk

Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift

Red-rumped Cacique

Black-crowned Tityra

Great Kiskadee

Boat-billed Flycatcher

Sick's Swift

We said our goodbyes to Serra Bonita and took about a 3 hour drive to the coast in the idyllic surfing town of Itacare.

This Golden-capped Parakeet greeted us upon arrival.

As did this White-bellied Tanager, a Brazilian endemic of the southeast coast.

Blue-backed Manakin female.

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Cobalt-rumped Parrotlet

Peach-fronted Parakeet

Rufous-browed Peppershrike

Pale-breasted Thrush

Even the slow days were good days. I would go back to Itacare to go surfing and relax. Its a great little town.

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Day 16 - Serra Bonita (18Feb2026)

Serra Bonita is a forest reserve acquired by the American Bird Conservancy. You can read about it here.

https://conservationbirding.org/?reserve=serra-bonita-reserve

This land was strategically bought because it was one of the last remnant tracts of Atlantic Forest in the area and consequently it is rich in species diversity including some highly prized endemics. The lodge is perched in high elevation rain forest. Geribirding began in earnest on the lodge porch after breakfast.

Red-necked Tanager

Azure-winged Tanager

Buff-throated Saltator

Maroon-bellied Parakeet - not a Brazil endemic, but a southeast South America endemic spilling over into Argentina and Paraguay.

Long-tailed Tyrant

Black-capped Foliage-gleaner - southeast South America endemic.

Three-striped Flycatcher

Plain-winged Woodcreeper - yet another bird endemic to the Atlantic forests of southeast South America.

Plumbeous Antvireo!! A Brazilian endemic with a very limited range.

Toyota Bandeirante! The excellent vehicle we took up and down the mountain.

Sharpbill - terrible photo of a great bird.

Atlantic Black-throated Trogon! Not endemic to Brazil, but endemic to the Atlantic forest of the southeast.

Rufous Gnateater

Star-throated Antwren!! This little Brazilian endemic was super hard to photograph, constantly moving.

White-collared Foliage-gleaner - southeast Brazilian endemic!

Streak-capped Antwren - very frustrating again to photograph. These forest birds like to keep a few leaves between them and the camera. This is another southeast Atlantic forest specialist. It spills over into Argentina and Paraguay.