Day 9 - Arua to Lençóis (11Feb2026)

The day started in the same general area where the previous day ended.  The coastal forest is tough for photography and we also were dumped on by some rain early on.  However, after the rain moved through, the birds were more confiding.

Pale-bellied Tyrant-Manakin - not quite a Brazilian endemic, but almost.  There are some records in Guyana and a few in Bolivia.

Fringe-backed Fire-eye - the endemic specialty we were after!  Only found in this small area of eastern Brazil in Bahia state.

White-flanked Antwren - this is the female, but even the male in this sub-population doesn't have obvious white flanks like they do in the Central and northern South American populations.  Perhaps ripe for a split.

Scaled Antbird!  Southeastern Brazil endemic!  This was the male.

And the female.

Male again.

Golden-spangled Piculet!  There are two disjunct populations for this species, one north of the Amazon basin and this one is a representative of the southeastern Brazilian cohort. 

Red-headed Manakin - young male only showing a hint of the color to come.

We emerged from the forest and birded the open area under the road a bit.

White-winged Cotinga!  Vulnerable status by IUCN criteria, and only found in southeast Brazil.  This was the female. 

Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird

Pernambuco Foliage-gleaner!  This is yet another Brazilian endemic of the southeast and is endangered according to IUCN criteria.

We cleaned up the major targets for the area and set out on the road for another long day in the van.  It seemed a bit ridiculous that just the previous day we drove 7 hours from the interior to the coast and now we would be doubling back to drive another 6 hours inland!  I am sure the tour operator did the best he could do, but this was a little punishing.  By the end of the trip we had driven over 3000 miles - basically across the USA.

The drive on Day 9 was designed to reposition at the famous National Park of Chapada Diamantina.

Caatinga Cacholote at a gas station stop.

White-cheeked Pintail at a random roadside pond.

Sooty-fronted Spinetail - I hope to meet this species again as it never fully confided to me or at least I failed to get crisp shots in the open.

Roadside Hawk

We arrived at our beautiful bed and breakfast type accommodation in the late afternoon in the pretty town of Lençóis.

A type of Cracker Butterfly.

That night we had a wonderful meal at an upscale restaurant in town and I sampled some of the local beer.

Ropa Vieja!

Next morning we would spend the day up in the mountains of Chapada Diamantina!