1 - 16 November 2000
by Paul Blackburn
SUMMARY
This was an "experience," and a tough trip to characterize. On the plus side, we had really excellent birding (over 400 species seen, of which at least 104 were totally new for us), food was surprisingly good even in the boonies, and our guide was fabulous. On the minus side, the two-thirds of the trip in Noel Kempff National Park brought the most uncomfortable conditions we've ever encountered in the tropics - very hot and humid and plagued by insects like you wouldn't believe: honey-type bees, sweat bees, mosquitoes, sand-flies, gnats, ants and ticks. (One couple had been to Central and South America 35 times before this trip and said this was the worst for bugs they had ever seen.) We wouldn't say "Don't go to Noel Kempff," but do recommend exhaustive consultation with your tour company to try to find a time of the year with an acceptable balance between birds and bugs. Our "Lonely Planet" suggests March thru June might be a good time, but this should be checked closely.
TOUR COMPANY
Neblina Forest
Santa Cruz, Bolivia office (main office in Quito, Ecuador)
www.neblinaforest.com
OUTLINE ITINERARY
Day 0 Fly Pensacola-Atlanta-Miami-Manaus-Santa
Cruz
Day 1 Santa Cruz overnight
Day 2 Fly to Trinidad and overnight
Day 3-5 Drive to Hacienda El Cutal:
stay 3 nights
Day 6-9 Fly to Noel Kempff, Los Fierros:
stay 4 nights
Day 10-13 Fly to Noel Kempff, Flor de Oro: stay 4 nights
Day 14 Fly to Santa Cruz
and overnight
Day 15 Fly to Miami and overnight (arrive
too late for onward
connections)
Day 16 Miami-Atlanta-Pensacola
SPECIES SUMMARY BY SELECTED FAMILIES
(Only "the goodies" & excluding "heard only")
Tinamous - 6
Screamers - 1
Hawks, Eagles, Kites - 16
Falcons, Caracaras - 9
Chachalacas, Guans, Curassows - 6
Pigeons, Doves - 12
Macaws, Parrots, Parakeets - 20
Potoos - 2
Nighthawks, Nightjars - 9
Swifts - 6
Hummingbirds - 13
Trogons -3
Puffbirds - 7
Woodpeckers, Piculets - 13
Woodcreepers - 9
Furnariidae - 11
Ant..things - 26
Flycatchers - 47
Cotingas - 3
Manakins - 8
Swallows -8
Wrens - 6
Site-specific lists are in preparation and will be available on request.
Emberizines - 20
Tanagers - 18
Blackbirds - 18
BACKGROUND
We were part of a group of nine organized by a local couple: the seven of us from the Pensacola area already knew each other, and the lead couple knew the two others from Georgia. Originally, our guide was to have been Neblina Forest's Tim Miller, resident in Santa Cruz. At the last minute, Tim couldn't do it due to illness and Neblina sent in the superlative Lelis Navarette from Quito.
We flew Miami-Manaus, Brazil-Santa Cruz, Bolivia overnight on Lloyd Aero Boliviano (LAB) to avoid the flights which stop in La Paz (13,400 feet above sea level) and give many folks instant altitude sickness when they open the plane's door. The LAB Airbus A-310 seemed about as (un)comfortable as most, and food and service were about average.
DAY 1 - Santa Cruz
It rained in Santa Cruz for our first afternoon of birding in Bolivia. This wasn't too much fun and we quit early after everyone got fairly wet. The next morning we were supposed to take off at 7:30 am for Trinidad, a small town 200 miles northwest and gateway to Beni province in the Amazonian basin, but found after we got to the airport that the flight had been delayed until 11:30. Eventually we got on the plane, which turned out to be a Russian YAK-40 jet (looks like a miniature B727), still bearing its emergency signs in Russian but with plaques added in Spanish. We and 15 or so others were in what seemed like low-backed deck chairs up front, with the luggage and cargo strapped down under nets in the back. The plane turned out not to be as noisy as Paul expected from experience in Russian passenger planes, and the pilot provided an incredibly smooth flight from takeoff to landing.
DAYS 2-5 - Trinidad and Hacienda El Cutal
Trinidad
The transport which met us at Trinidad airport gave a hint that we weren't in Kansas any more: two biggish Toyota 4WD pickups with two crosswise rows of pipe frame seats mounted on top of their stake-body cargo areas. Our bottoms resting on tightly stretched cowhide and our backs on plastic clothesline laced like a lawn chair, off we went through the mostly dirt streets - ignoring the newly-installed traffic signals like everyone else. After checking in at our surprisingly decent hotel, we headed out of town for lunch at a lakeside restaurant, birding along the way. We had good fun along the little-traveled road, and an excellent very late lunch of fried "paku" fish. Most of us didn't want dinner, but the few who went out for pizza said it was the best they'd ever had anywhere!
Up early for the ride to Hacienda El Cutal, 60 miles away over a dirt road, we found that our trucks now sported a roof of tarp over a pipe frame, and one pulled a trailer for the tarp-wrapped baggage. We didn't set any speed records as we stopped to check interesting spots for birds, and the road got progressively worse as we left the town farther behind. There had been rain in the last few days, and low stretches were more or less muddy. (Not nearly in the same class as our mud derby in Argentina, but sloppy nevertheless.) In fact, those of us in the second truck were pretty well convinced we had bought the farm when our excellent driver (female and owner of the local tour company) committed to a track on the "wrong" side of a particularly nasty stretch, and the male driver of a BIG truck came around a corner going the other way and decided he wasn't about to slow or stop for us. At the last possible second Lilliam swerved to the right and he stopped, but it was a question of inches whether he'd clip the trailer and probably flip us over.
El Cutal
Hacienda El Cutal is a working cattle ranch: a modest 10,000-acre spread created when the paterfamilias split the original holding equally among his four kids. Within this 40,000-acre area lies protected the world's only population of Blue-Throated Macaws - maybe two hundred birds total. These we had come to see, plus whatever else could be found over the next four days. Seven of us were accommodated in the owner's weekend house: two couples upstairs in relatively palatial digs, us and our single female participant in anterooms downstairs, and our two single guys in a fairly dingy and airless annex. Briefly, the ranch staff was great, the food was surprisingly good given the isolation (especially the Thai/Chinese spread the last night!), but the sleeping arrangements for the majority weren't a great thrill.
We were up at 3:30 the first morning for our truck ride to see the Blue-Throated Macaws at sunrise. That was a real trip - off crosscountry through the brush and hummocks in the dark, bouncing through mudholes and across partially flooded grazing land eventually to an "island" of undisturbed largely-palm forest in the middle of a flat plain. The sun was well above the horizon, but the birds were still there - glorious blue and yellow figures in the tops of the palms perhaps 200 yards away. After enjoying this sight to our hearts' content, we regained normal ranch roads and spent the rest of this and the succeeding two days exploring the wetlands, grasslands, brushy and forested areas of the combined ranches. Our normal daily routine from this point on was to breakfast at 5:00, hit the road at 5:30, generally return for lunch around noon, and go out again from 3/3:30 pm to around 6 pm. It was pretty hot, 90's by 10 am, but there usually was a breeze, and the birding was excellent. We saw everything from Jabiru (arguably the world's largest stork) and ostrich-like Greater Rhea (there were even two pet Rhea babies around the ranch buildings), thru a Crowned Eagle relatively low overhead, to secretive Undulated Tinamou and the really neat Pale-crested Woodpecker, Red-billed Scythebill, etc. - not to mention a full dozen species of parrots, parakeets, parrotlets and macaws. When you have a couple pairs each of Blue-Throated and Blue-and-Yellow Macaws in a tree maybe 30 feet up and 50 feet away, you don' t soon forget it!
Our last morning at El Cutal was a bit of a nail-biter. It had rained like hell the evening before and dawn was cloudy, so we weren't sure whether the three light aircraft (Cessna 206's) coming from Santa Cruz to pick us up would have problems. In the event, they landed on the ranch's grass strip more or less on time, we loaded the bags into one, got the folks in the other two, and headed off for the Los Fierros Camp of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, 200+ miles away to the east. Neblina Forest's John Meyers, resident in Santa Cruz, came in with the planes to join us from this point on.
[Note: We all thought very highly of our local ground operator, Lyliam C. Gonzalez. Her administrative arrangements were excellent, she goes out of her way to provide service, and is a really nice person. We would recommend her highly to anyone travelling to the area. www.ben.entelnet.bo/paraiso/index.htm ]
DAYS 6-10 - Los Fierros Camp, Noel Kempff Mercado National Park
Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (NKMNP) is snuggled up in the northeast corner of Bolivia, bordering Brazil across the river. It reportedly ranks with Peru's Manu National Park as one of the world's great hotspots of biodiversity, and has recorded over 600 species of birds - roughly the same number as all those regularly occurring in the U.S. and Canada! It is easily accessible only by air.
Located 25 miles east of the little town of La Florida, Los Fierros Camp is a community-based ecotourism project. Ladies from La Florida do the cooking, cleaning, etc.in week-long shifts, while the National Park rangers are there on longer rotations. The facility offers fairly basic screened rooms for about 30 tourists, with a bathroom for about each three rooms. It has a dirt airstrip that looks to be about 5000 feet long; part-time electricity from a combination of solar electric power and a small generator; and a radio for contact with the outside world. When you come to Los Fierros, you bring with you the food and water you'll need. [Note: Neblina Forest had arranged for a plane and pilot to stay with us throughout our time in the National Park to provide emergency transport. Given the isolation of the two Camps, we think other visitors might be wise to insist on this measure.]
"Los Fierros" means, roughly, "a big hunk of iron" and the camp is so named because there was once a sawmill not far away. A better name would be "Los Fieros" - "the fierce/savage ones" as there is one overriding presence there: insects.
[SERIOUS WARNING - If you are uncomfortable with bees buzzing around and landing on you, or worse are allergic to bee venom, don't even THINK about visiting Los Fierros. Bees are a constant presence - though less overwhelming at some times of the year. Everyone in our party was stung at least twice in our four days there.]
In addition, there were: a) sweat bees which don't sting but can cover every moist surface - you haven't lived until you've eaten a sandwich in the woods with them all over both your hands and the sandwich; b) gnats which swarm so thickly that it's almost impossible to avoid inhaling them; c) good old-fashioned mosquitoes, d) sandflies which take chunks out of you (only a few at the time of year we were there), and e) no-see-ums which are active from about 4 pm until dark.
The area around Los Fierros offers tropical forest, termite savanna, and dry deciduous "cerrado". We spent about equal time in each environment, using one park truck plus one Neblina Forest had sent from Santa Cruz. While seven of us battled bugs to enjoy the wonderful birds Lelis found, two intrepid souls hiked with John Meyers on successive days to the El Encanto waterfalls ("had a great time"), and to the top of the Serrania Huanchaca plateau ("Boy, that was a killer.") In addition to neat birds like Razorbilled Curassow, Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Horned Sunbeam, Collared Crescentchest and the fiendishly elusive Snethlage's Tody-Tyrant, we also saw one Tapir, several Crab-eating Foxes, a small cat that was either an Ocelot or a Marguay, and Spider and Howler monkeys, including a troop of 37 Spiders which crossed a road through overhanging branches not far from where we were trying to find one of the Manakins. The two who climbed to the plateau also saw Pampas deer. Oh, yeah, mustn't forget the tarantulas: one big one lives under the walk from the kitchen to the dining hall, another even bigger was seen on the road to La Florida.
While the birding had been incredible and the camp staff had taken exceptionally good care of us, none of us was unhappy to leave Los Fierros for Flor de Oro Camp. Los Fierros did, however, get in a final swipe. Our plane had 9 bees in it, and Linda has a real thing about stinging critters in confined spaces. I squashed a couple using the stick which serves as the plane's double-check on the gas gauge, and Linda squashed two more. Apparently one of hers wasn't quite dead as it got her in the butt as she settled back in her seat after her exertions!
Flying north along the western escarpment of the Serrania de Huanchaca gave us some impressive views of this massive uplifted block of the earth's crust, and a somewhat distant look at the major waterfalls Arco Iris and Ahlfeld.
DAYS 11-14 - Flor de Oro Camp, NKMNP
Flor de Oro is located about 100 miles north of Los Fierros on the Rio Itenez (Bolivian name)/Rio Guapore (Brazilian name) which forms the border with Brazil. It boasts very comfortable rooms (8 of us were in a spotlessly clean four-room detached building whose full-length screened porch boasted a hammock and a chair for each room and made a great gathering place for a preprandial beer or two;) full-time electricity, and a fan in each room. It is park headquarters, and has a small but good interpretation center. It also often has a breeze. Walking over the freshly mowed grass from the airstrip to our lodgings around noon, we saw nary a bee nor mosquito, and thought we had entered paradise.
Well, we were wrong. Again, the birding was exceptional, but it was even hotter than Los Fierros (we noted 97 degrees in the shade one day at mid-afternoon,) the mosquito swarms in the gallery forest along the river had to be seen to be believed, and there were wood ticks (found one on Paul and two on Linda.)
Flor de Oro offers riverside gallery forest, where we spent most of our time; grasslands with scattered groves of trees - legacy of a ranch confiscated from a drug baron and incorporated into the park; and boat rides on the river and its side lagoons to look for birds and aquatic mammals.
We spent most of our time in the riverside gallery forest swatting mosquitoes (Cutters kept most of them from actually biting, but they still swarmed all around,) marveling as Lelis identified ever more birds by their vocalizations, and waiting for them to respond to tapes of their own calls. It was always time-consuming, sometimes frustrating, but it gave us looks at incredible birds such as the Black-spotted Bare-eye, Flame-crested and Firey-capped Manakins and Rufous-capped Nunlet (our first Nunlet anywhere.) On the other hand, one sometimes had to question his own sanity when waiting to see if that damned Flammulated Bamboo-Tyrant would show himself this time - and had seriously to consider self-committal when the bird in the feather turns out to be nothing at all to write home about!
Our several boat trips on the swift-flowing river and its placid side lagoons got us our first-ever (fleeting) looks at Green-and-Rufous Kingfisher and Sungrebe, plus the amazing Amazonian Umbrellabird; and Little Nightjar and Band-tailed Nighthawk at dusk. We also saw a couple of South American River Otters, and a few Porpoises.
Eventually it seemed the insects got to all of us, and we weren't unhappy to climb aboard our planes for the final flight to Santa Cruz.
DAYS 14-15 - Santa Cruz
We all went birding at the city's Botanical Gardens in the afternoon, and even picked up a couple final birds to add to the trip total. Some went back to the Botanical Gardens the next morning (our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 2:30 pm), but we had a late breakfast and did some shopping and people-watching in the city. Santa Cruz struck us as a pretty bustling and prosperous place, with lots of goods and services available if one has the money. We did not see a lot of beggars or street people.
It is hard to know how to conclude this report. In some ways, we're glad we went. We saw a very different part of the world, enjoyed the company of our group, and saw some really spectacular and/or rare birds. Would we go back into the same conditions? Probably not. As one member of the organizing couple said after reaching Pensacola, "Well, we survived it."
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BOLIVIA
SITE-SPECIFIC BIRD LISTS
(Lists do not include "heard only" species)
Data of: Paul Blakeburn, Linda Bogiages
SANTA CRUZ AREA
11/2/00 AIRPORT AREA - 9:00am-12:00 in rain
11/15/00 BOTANICAL GARDENS 3:00-6:00PM
("F" indicates first sighting anywhere)
Red-winged Tinamou
Rhynchotus rufescens
Least Grebe
Tachybaptus dominicus
Neotropic Cormorant
Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Muscovy Duck
Cairina moschata
Swallow-tailed
Kite
Elanoides forficatus
White-tailed
Kite
Elanus leucurus
Snail Kite
Rostrhamus sociabilis
Plumbeous Kite
Ictinia plumbea
Long-winged Harrier
Circus buffoni
Harris' Hawk
Parabuteo unicinctus
Speckled Chachalaca
Ortalis guttata
Common Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus
Wattled Jacana
Jacana jacana
Solitary Sandpiper
Tringa solitaria
Southern Lapwing
Vanellus chilensis
Rock Dove
Columba livia
Picazuro Pigeon
Columba picazuro
Pale-vented Pigeon
Columba cayennensis
Plain-breasted
Ground-Dove
Columbina minuta
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Columbina talpacoti
Picui Ground-Dove
Columbina picui
Chestnut-fronted
Macaw
Ara severa
F Golden-collared Macaw
Ara auricollis
White-eyed Parakeet
Aratinga leucophthalmus
F Green-cheeked Parakeet
Pyrrhura molinae
Blue-winged Parrotlet
Forpus xanthopterygius
Canary-winged
Parakeet
Brotogeris versicolurus
Scaly-headed
Parrot
Pionus maximiliani
Mealy Parrot
Amazona farinosa
Yellow-billed
Cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
Squirrel Cuckoo
Piaya cayana
Guira Cuckoo
Guira guira
Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia
White-collared
Swift
Streptoprocne zonaris
Short-tailed
Swift
Chaetura brachyura
Glittering-throated
Emerald Amazilia
fimbriata
F Sapphire-spangled
Emerald
Amazilia lactea
F Bar-breasted Piculet
Picumnus aurifrons
Black-banded
Woodcreeper
Dendrocolaptes picumnus
Straight-billed
Woodcreeper
Xiphorhynchus picus
Rufous Hornero
Furnarius rufus
Common Thornbird
Phacellodomus rufifrons
Greater Thornbird
Phacellodomus ruber
Mouse-colored
Tyrannulet
Phaeomyias murina
Bran-colored
Flycatcher
Myiophobus fasciatus
Gray Monjita
Xolmis cinerea
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
Purplish Jay
Cyanocorax cyanomelas
Plush-crested
Jay
Cyanocorax chrysops
Black-billed
Thrush
Turdus ignobilis
Thrush-like Wren
Campylorhynchus turdinus
F Fawn-breasted Wren
Thryothorus guarayanus
House Wren
Troglodytes aedon
White-winged
Swallow
Tachycineta albiventer
Brown-chested
Martin
Progne tapera
Gray-breasted
Martin
Progne chalybea
Southern Rough-winged
Swallow Stelgidopteryx
ruficollis
House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
Masked Yellowthroat
Geothlypis aequinoctialis
Grassland Sparrow
Ammodramus humeralis
Sayaca Tanager
Thraupis sayaca
Palm Tanager
Thraupis palmarum
Saffron Finch
Sicalis flaveola
Wedge-tailed
Grass-Finch
Emberizoides herbicola
Blue-black Grassquit
Volatinia jacarina
Double-collared
Seedeater
Sporophila caerulescens
F White-bellied Seedeater
Sporophila leucoptera
F Dark-throated Seedeater
Sporophila ruficollis
Crested Oropendola
Psarocolius decumanus
Yellow-rumped
Cacique
Cacicus cela
Epaulet Oriole
Icterus cayanensis
White-browed
Blackbird
Sturnella superciliaris
Chopi Blackbird
Gnorimopsar chopi
Shiny Cowbird
Molothrus bonariensis
75 SPECIES
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TRINIDAD AREA & HACIENDA EL CUTAL
11/3-6/00
F Undulated Tinamou
Crypturellus undulatus
Red-winged Tinamou
Rhynchotus rufescens
Neotropic Cormorant
Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Anhinga
Anhinga anhinga
Southern Screamer
Chauna torquata
White-faced Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna viduata
Black-bellied
Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna
autumnalis
Orinoco Goose
Neochen jubata
Muscovy Duck
Cairina moschata
Whistling Heron
Syrigma sibilatrix
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Cocoi Heron
Ardea cocoi
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Striated Heron
Butorides striatus
Black-crowned
Night-Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Rufescent Tiger-Heron
Tigrisoma lineatum
Bare-faced Ibis
Phimosus infuscatus
Plumbeous Ibis
Theristicus caerulescens
Buff-necked Ibis
Theristicus caudatus
Green Ibis
Mesembrinibis cayennensis
Roseate Spoonbill
Ajaia ajaja
Wood Stork
Mycteria americana
Maguari Stork
Ciconia maguari
Jabiru
Jabiru mycteria
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Lesser Yellow-headed
Vulture Cathartes
burrovianus
Hook-billed Kite
Chondrohierax uncinatus
Snail Kite
Rostrhamus sociabilis
F Slender-billed Kite
Rostrhamus hamatus
Long-winged Harrier
Circus buffoni
Great Black-Hawk
Buteogallus urubitinga
Savanna Hawk
Buteogallus meridionalis
Black-collared
Hawk
Busarellus nigricollis
F Crowned Eagle
Harpyhaliaetus coronatus
Roadside Hawk
Buteo magnirostris
White-tailed
Hawk
Buteo albicaudatus
Crested Caracara
Caracara plancus
American Kestrel
Falco sparverius
Bat Falcon
Falco rufigularis
Chaco Chachalaca
Ortalis canicollis
Speckled Chachalaca
Ortalis guttata
Gray-necked Wood-Rail
Aramides cajanea
Limpkin
Aramus guarauna
Wattled Jacana
Jacana jacana
Solitary Sandpiper
Tringa solitaria
White-rumped
Sandpiper
Calidris fuscicollis
Southern Lapwing
Vanellus chilensis
Large-billed
Tern
Phaetusa simplex
Yellow-billed
Tern
Sterna superciliaris
Picazuro Pigeon
Columba picazuro
Pale-vented Pigeon
Columba cayennensis
Plumbeous Pigeon
Columba plumbea
Eared Dove
Zenaida auriculata
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Columbina talpacoti
Picui Ground-Dove
Columbina picui
White-tipped
Dove
Leptotila verreauxi
Gray-fronted
Dove
Leptotila rufaxilla
Blue-and-yellow
Macaw
Ara ararauna
F Blue-throated Macaw
Ara glaucogularis
Red-and-green
Macaw
Ara chloropterus
Chestnut-fronted
Macaw
Ara severa
Golden-collared
Macaw
Ara auricollis
White-eyed Parakeet
Aratinga leucophthalmus
Dusky-headed
Parakeet
Aratinga weddellii
F Peach-fronted Parakeet
Aratinga aurea
F Crimson-bellied Parakeet
Pyrrhura rhodogaster
Blue-winged Parrotlet
Forpus xanthopterygius
Canary-winged
Parakeet
Brotogeris versicolurus
Cobalt-winged
Parakeet
Brotogeris cyanoptera
Yellow-crowned
Parrot
Amazona ochrocephala
Mealy Parrot
Amazona farinosa
Yellow-billed
Cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
Squirrel Cuckoo
Piaya cayana
Little Cuckoo
Piaya minuta
Greater Ani
Crotophaga major
Smooth-billed
Ani
Crotophaga ani
Guira Cuckoo
Guira guira
Striped Cuckoo
Tapera naevia
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
Glaucidium brasilianum
Lesser Nighthawk
Chordeiles acutipennis
Nacunda Nighthawk
Podager nacunda
F Rufous Nightjar
Caprimulgus rufus
Long-tailed Hermit
Phaethornis superciliosus
F Buff-bellied Hermit
Phaethornis subochraceus
Swallow-tailed
Hummingbird
Eupetomena macroura
Black-throated
Mango
Anthracothorax nigricollis
Glittering-throated
Emerald Amazilia
fimbriata
Blue-crowned
Trogon
Trogon curucui
Ringed Kingfisher
Ceryle torquata
Amazon Kingfisher
Chloroceryle amazona
Green Kingfisher
Chloroceryle americana
Rufous-tailed
Jacamar
Galbula ruficauda
Toco Toucan
Ramphastos toco
F White-wedged Piculet
Picumnus albosquamatus
White Woodpecker
Melanerpes candidus
Little Woodpecker
Veniliornis passerinus
F Golden-green Woodpecker
Piculus chrysochloros
F Spot-breasted Woodpecker
Colaptes punctigula
Green-barred
Woodpecker
Colaptes melanochloros
Campo Flicker
Colaptes campestris
F Pale-crested Woodpecker
Celeus lugubris
Crimson-crested
Woodpecker
Campephilus melanoleucos
F Great Rufous Woodcreeper
Xiphocolaptes major
Straight-billed
Woodcreeper
Xiphorhynchus picus
Narrow-billed
Woodcreeper
Lepidocolaptes angustirostris
F Red-billed Scythebill
Campylorhamphus trochilirostris
Rufous Hornero
Furnarius rufus
Chotoy Spinetail
Schoeniophylax phryganophila
Sooty-fronted
Spinetail
Synallaxis frontalis
F Cinereous-breasted
Spinetail Synallaxis
hypospodia
Yellow-chinned
Spinetail
Certhiaxis cinnamomea
Common Thornbird
Phacellodomus rufifrons
Greater Thornbird
Phacellodomus ruber
F Plain Softtail
Phacellodomus fusciceps
Rufous Cacholote
Pseudoseisura cristata
F Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner
Automolus ochrolaemus
Great Antshrike
Taraba major
Barred Antshrike
Thamnophilus doliatus
F Rusty-backed Antwren
Formicivora rufa
F Mato Grosso Antbird
Cercomacra melanaria
F Rusty-fronted Tody-Flycatcher
Todirostrum latirostre
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Todirostrum cinereum
Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Camptostoma obsoletum
Yellow-bellied
Elaenia
Elaenia flavogaster
F Plain-crested Elaenia
Elaenia cristata
F White-bellied Tyrannulet
Serpophaga munda
Yellow-olive
Flycatcher
Tolmomyias sulphurescens
Vermilion Flycatcher
Pyrocephalus rubinus
Gray Monjita
Xolmis cinerea
White-rumped
Monjita
Xolmis velata
White Monjita
Xolmis irupero
Black-backed
Water-Tyrant
Fluvicola albiventer
White-headed
Marsh-Tyrant
Arundinicola leucocephala
Cattle Tyrant
Machetornis rixosus
F Dull-capped Attila
Attila bolivianus
Short-crested
Flycatcher
Myiarchus ferox
Brown-crested
Flycatcher
Myiarchus tyrannulus
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Tyrannus savana
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher
Griseotyrannus
aurantioatrocristat
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Megarynchus pitangua
Streaked Flycatcher
Myiodynastes maculatus
Rusty-margined
Flycatcher
Myiozetetes cayanensis
Lesser Kiskadee
Philohydor lictor
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
F Green-backed Becard
Pachyramphus viridis
White-winged
Becard
Pachyramphus polychopterus
F Black-tailed Tityra
Tityra cayana
Black-crowned
Tityra
Tityra inquisitor
Purplish Jay
Cyanocorax cyanomelas
Plush-crested
Jay
Cyanocorax chrysops
Rufous-browed
Peppershrike
Cyclarhis gujanensis
F Rufous-crowned Greenlet
Hylophilus poicilotis
Black-billed
Thrush
Turdus ignobilis
Chalk-browed
Mockingbird
Mimus saturninus
Black-capped
Donacobius
Donacobius atricapillus
Thrush-like Wren
Campylorhynchus turdinus
Fawn-breasted
Wren
Thryothorus guarayanus
House Wren
Troglodytes aedon
Masked Gnatcatcher
Polioptila dumicola
White-rumped
Swallow
Tachycineta leucorrhoa
Brown-chested
Martin
Progne tapera
Gray-breasted
Martin
Progne chalybea
Blue-and-white
Swallow
Pygochelidon cyanoleuca
Southern Rough-winged
Swallow Stelgidopteryx
ruficollis
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
Yellowish Pipit
Anthus lutescens
Tropical Parula
Parula pitiayumi
Masked Yellowthroat
Geothlypis aequinoctialis
Grassland Sparrow
Ammodramus humeralis
Red-crested Cardinal
Paroaria coronata
Red-capped Cardinal
Paroaria gularis
F Hooded Tanager
Nemosia pileata
Silver-beaked
Tanager
Ramphocelus carbo
Sayaca Tanager
Thraupis sayaca
Palm Tanager
Thraupis palmarum
Purple-throated
Euphonia
Euphonia chlorotica
Red-crested Finch
Coryphospingus cucullatus
Saffron Finch
Sicalis flaveola
Great Pampa-Finch
Embernagra platensis
F Plumbeous Seedeater
Sporophila plumbea
Rusty-collared
Seedeater
Sporophila collaris
F Lined Seedeater
Sporophila lineola
Double-collared
Seedeater
Sporophila caerulescens
White-bellied
Seedeater
Sporophila leucoptera
F Tawny-bellied Seedeater
Sporophila hypoxantha
F Marsh Seedeater
Sporophila palustris
F Great-billed Seed-Finch
Oryzoborus maximiliani
Buff-throated
Saltator
Saltator maximus
Grayish Saltator
Saltator coerulescens
Crested Oropendola
Psarocolius decumanus
Solitary Cacique
Cacicus solitarius
Epaulet Oriole
Icterus cayanensis
Troupial
Icterus icterus
Unicolored Blackbird
Agelaius cyanopus
White-browed
Blackbird
Sturnella superciliaris
Scarlet-headed
Blackbird
Amblyramphus holosericeus
Chopi Blackbird
Gnorimopsar chopi
Velvet-fronted
Grackle
Lampropsar tanagrinus
Bay-winged Cowbird
Molothrus badius
Screaming Cowbird
Molothrus rufoaxillaris
Bobolink
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
205 SPECIES
------------------------------------------------------------------
NEOL KEMPFF MERCADO NATIONAL PARK - LOS FIEROS CAMP
11/7-10/00
F Cinereous Tinamou
Crypturellus cinereus
Little Tinamou
Crypturellus soui
F Brazilian Tinamou
Crypturellus strigulosus
F Small-billed Tinamou
Crypturellus parvirostris
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Lesser Yellow-headed
Vulture Cathartes
burrovianus
Greater Yellow-headed
Vulture Cathartes melambrotus
White-tailed
Kite
Elanus leucurus
Plumbeous Kite
Ictinia plumbea
Harris' Hawk
Parabuteo unicinctus
Roadside Hawk
Buteo magnirostris
White-tailed
Hawk
Buteo albicaudatus
F Ornate Hawk-Eagle
Spizaetus ornatus
Black Caracara
Daptrius ater
Red-throated
Caracara
Daptrius americanus
Crested Caracara
Caracara plancus
Yellow-headed
Caracara
Milvago chimachima
F Lined Forest-Falcon
Micrastur gilvicollis
Bat Falcon
Falco rufigularis
Rusty-margined
Guan
Penelope superciliaris
F Blue-throated Piping-Guan
Pipile cumanensis
F Red-throated Piping-Guan
Pipile cujubi
F Razor-billed Curassow
Mitu tuberosa
Gray-necked Wood-Rail
Aramides cajanea
F Scaled Pigeon
Columba speciosa
Picazuro Pigeon
Columba picazuro
Pale-vented Pigeon
Columba cayennensis
Plumbeous Pigeon
Columba plumbea
Ruddy Pigeon
Columba subvinacea
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Columbina talpacoti
Blue-and-yellow
Macaw
Ara ararauna
Chestnut-fronted
Macaw
Ara severa
Golden-collared
Macaw
Ara auricollis
Red-shouldered
Macaw
Ara nobilis
Blue-headed Parrot
Pionus menstruus
Squirrel Cuckoo
Piaya cayana
Greater Ani
Crotophaga major
Smooth-billed
Ani
Crotophaga ani
Great Horned
Owl
Bubo virginianus
Great Potoo
Nyctibius grandis
Common Potoo
Nyctibius griseus
Pauraque
Nyctidromus albicollis
Rufous Nightjar
Caprimulgus rufus
Spot-tailed Nightjar
Caprimulgus maculicaudus
Little Nightjar
Caprimulgus parvulus
F Scissor-tailed Nightjar
Hydropsalis brasiliana
White-collared
Swift
Streptoprocne zonaris
F Chapman's Swift
Chaetura chapmani
Buff-bellied
Hermit
Phaethornis subochraceus
F Cinnamon-throated
Hermit
Phaethornis nattereri
F Reddish Hermit
Phaethornis ruber
Swallow-tailed
Hummingbird
Eupetomena macroura
Black-throated
Mango
Anthracothorax nigricollis
F Fork-tailed Woodnymph
Thalurania furcata
Golden-tailed
Sapphire
Chrysuronia oenone
F Horned Sungem
Heliactin cornuta
Amethyst Woodstar
Calliphlox amethystina
Blue-crowned
Trogon
Trogon curucui
Rufous-tailed
Jacamar
Galbula ruficauda
White-necked
Puffbird
Notharchus macrorhynchos
Black-fronted
Nunbird
Monasa nigrifrons
F White-fronted Nunbird
Monasa morphoeus
F Red-necked Aracari
Pteroglossus bitorquatus
Chestnut-eared
Aracari
Pteroglossus castanotis
Toco Toucan
Ramphastos toco
Yellow-tufted
Woodpecker
Melanerpes cruentatus
Campo Flicker
Colaptes campestris
F White-chinned Woodcreeper
Dendrocincla merula
Buff-throated
Woodcreeper
Xiphorhynchus guttatus
Narrow-billed
Woodcreeper
Lepidocolaptes angustirostris
Pale-breasted
Spinetail
Synallaxis albescens
F Plain-winged Antshrike
Thamnophilus schistaceus
Eastern Slaty
Antshrike
Thamnophilus punctatus
F Amazonian Antshrike
Thamnophilus amazonicus
F Pygmy Antwren
Myrmotherula brachyura
F Rufous-winged Antwren
Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus
F Gray Antbird
Cercomacra cinerascens
F Blackish Antbird
Cercomacra nigrescens
F White-backed Fire-eye
Pyriglena leuconota
F White-browed Antbird
Myrmoborus leucophrys
F Warbling Antbird
Hypocnemis cantator
F Spot-winged Antbird
Percnostola leucostigma
F Chestnut-tailed Antbird
Myrmeciza hemimelaena
F Black-throated Antbird
Myrmeciza atrothorax
F Dot-backed Antbird
Hylophylax punctulata
F Collared Crescent-chest
Melanopareia torquata
Bare-necked Fruitcrow
Gymnoderus foetidus
F Red-headed Manakin
Pipra rubrocapilla
F Snow-capped Manakin
Pipra nattereri
F Fiery-capped Manakin
Machaeropterus pyrocephalus
F Snethlage's Tody-Tyrant
Hemitriccus minor
F Stripe-necked Tody-Tyrant
Hemitriccus striaticollis
Pearly-vented
Tody-Tyrant
Hemitriccus margaritaceiventer
Suiriri Flycatcher
Suiriri suiriri
Yellow-bellied
Elaenia
Elaenia flavogaster
Small-billed
Elaenia
Elaenia parvirostris
Plain-crested
Elaenia
Elaenia cristata
F Short-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant
Myiornis ecaudatus
F Euler's Flycatcher
Lathrotriccus euleri
Dull-capped Attila
Attila bolivianus
Brown-crested
Flycatcher
Myiarchus tyrannulus
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Tyrannus savana
Streaked Flycatcher
Myiodynastes maculatus
Rusty-margined
Flycatcher
Myiozetetes cayanensis
Social Flycatcher
Myiozetetes similis
Piratic Flycatcher
Legatus leucophaius
White-winged
Becard
Pachyramphus polychopterus
Masked Tityra
Tityra semifasciata
Rufous-browed
Peppershrike
Cyclarhis gujanensis
Red-eyed Vireo
Vireo olivaceus
F Buff-cheeked Greenlet
Hylophilus muscicapinus
Chalk-browed
Mockingbird
Mimus saturninus
F Tooth-billed Wren
Odontorchilus cinereus
Moustached Wren
Thryothorus genibarbis
Fawn-breasted
Wren
Thryothorus guarayanus
House Wren
Troglodytes aedon
Gray-breasted
Martin
Progne chalybea
F Rose-breasted Chat
Granatellus pelzelni
Grassland Sparrow
Ammodramus humeralis
F Black-faced Tanager
Schistochlamys melanopis
F White-rumped Tanager
Cypsnagra hirundinacea
Flame-crested
Tanager
Tachyphonus cristatus
Silver-beaked
Tanager
Ramphocelus carbo
Sayaca Tanager
Thraupis sayaca
Palm Tanager
Thraupis palmarum
Purple-throated
Euphonia
Euphonia chlorotica
Turquoise Tanager
Tangara mexicana
Paradise Tanager
Tangara chilensis
Bay-headed Tanager
Tangara gyrola
Burnished-buff
Tanager
Tangara cayana
F Masked Tanager
Tangara nigrocincta
Blue Dacnis
Dacnis cayana
Red-legged Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes cyaneus
Swallow-Tanager
Tersina viridis
Saffron Finch
Sicalis flaveola
Wedge-tailed
Grass-Finch
Emberizoides herbicola
Blue-black Grassquit
Volatinia jacarina
Plumbeous Seedeater
Sporophila plumbea
Lined Seedeater
Sporophila lineola
Double-collared
Seedeater
Sporophila caerulescens
Dark-throated
Seedeater
Sporophila ruficollis
Yellow-rumped
Cacique
Cacicus cela
Red-rumped Cacique
Cacicus haemorrhous
Giant Cowbird
Scaphidura oryzivora
146 SPECIES
----------------------------------------------------------------
NOEL KEMPFF MERCADO NATIONAL PARK - FLOR DE ORO CAMP
11/11-14/00
Neotropic Cormorant
Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Anhinga
Anhinga anhinga
Southern Screamer
Chauna torquata
Muscovy Duck
Cairina moschata
Capped Heron
Pilherodius pileatus
Cocoi Heron
Ardea cocoi
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Striated Heron
Butorides striatus
Rufescent Tiger-Heron
Tigrisoma lineatum
Green Ibis
Mesembrinibis cayennensis
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Lesser Yellow-headed
Vulture Cathartes
burrovianus
Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
Gray-headed Kite
Leptodon cayanensis
Plumbeous Kite
Ictinia plumbea
F Gray-bellied Goshawk
Accipiter poliogaster
Savanna Hawk
Buteogallus meridionalis
Black-collared
Hawk
Busarellus nigricollis
Gray Hawk
Asturina nitida
Roadside Hawk
Buteo magnirostris
Black Caracara
Daptrius ater
Crested Caracara
Caracara plancus
Laughing Falcon
Herpetotheres cachinnans
Bat Falcon
Falco rufigularis
Red-throated
Piping-Guan
Pipile cujubi
F Gray-breasted Crake
Laterallus exilis
F Sungrebe
Heliornis fulica
Sunbittern
Eurypyga helias
Limpkin
Aramus guarauna
Wattled Jacana
Jacana jacana
Pied Lapwing
Vanellus cayanus
Southern Lapwing
Vanellus chilensis
Large-billed
Tern
Phaetusa simplex
Yellow-billed
Tern
Sterna superciliaris
Black Skimmer
Rynchops niger
Scaled Pigeon
Columba speciosa
Pale-vented Pigeon
Columba cayennensis
Gray-fronted
Dove
Leptotila rufaxilla
Blue-and-yellow
Macaw
Ara ararauna
Scarlet Macaw
Ara macao
Red-and-green
Macaw
Ara chloropterus
Chestnut-fronted
Macaw
Ara severa
White-eyed Parakeet
Aratinga leucophthalmus
Peach-fronted
Parakeet
Aratinga aurea
Crimson-bellied
Parakeet
Pyrrhura rhodogaster
Canary-winged
Parakeet
Brotogeris versicolurus
Blue-headed Parrot
Pionus menstruus
Yellow-crowned
Parrot
Amazona ochrocephala
Orange-winged
Parrot
Amazona amazonica
Mealy Parrot
Amazona farinosa
Squirrel Cuckoo
Piaya cayana
Hoatzin
Opisthocomus hoazin
Greater Ani
Crotophaga major
Smooth-billed
Ani
Crotophaga ani
Barn Owl
Tyto alba
F Least Nighthawk
Chordeiles pusillus
F Band-tailed Nighthawk
Nyctiprogne leucopyga
Little Nightjar
Caprimulgus parvulus
White-collared
Swift
Streptoprocne zonaris
Gray-rumped Swift
Chaetura cinereiventris
F Pale-rumped Swift
Chaetura egregia
Short-tailed
Swift
Chaetura brachyura
Ashy-tailed Swift
Chaetura andrei
Black-throated
Mango
Anthracothorax nigricollis
Gilded Sapphire
Hylocharis chrysura
Black-tailed
Trogon
Trogon melanurus
White-tailed
Trogon
Trogon viridis
Ringed Kingfisher
Ceryle torquata
Amazon Kingfisher
Chloroceryle amazona
Green Kingfisher
Chloroceryle americana
F Green-and-rufous Kingfisher
Chloroceryle inda
American Pygmy
Kingfisher
Chloroceryle aenea
Rufous Motmot
Baryphthengus martii
Blue-crowned
Motmot
Momotus momota
F Brown Jacamar
Brachygalba lugubris
Rufous-tailed
Jacamar
Galbula ruficauda
White-necked
Puffbird
Notharchus macrorhynchos
White-eared Puffbird
Nystalus chacuru
F Striolated Puffbird
Nystalus striolatus
F Rufous-capped Nunlet
Nonnula ruficapilla
Black-fronted
Nunbird
Monasa nigrifrons
Swallow-wing
Chelidoptera tenebrosa
Lettered Aracari
Pteroglossus inscriptus
Toco Toucan
Ramphastos toco
Bar-breasted
Piculet
Picumnus aurifrons
Yellow-tufted
Woodpecker
Melanerpes cruentatus
F Scaly-breasted Woodpecker
Celeus grammicus
Chestnut Woodpecker
Celeus elegans
White-chinned
Woodcreeper
Dendrocincla merula
Straight-billed
Woodcreeper
Xiphorhynchus picus
F Striped Woodcreeper
Xiphorhynchus obsoletus
F Elegant Woodcreeper
Xiphorhynchus elegans
Yellow-chinned
Spinetail
Certhiaxis cinnamomea
F Spot-winged Antshrike
Pygiptila stellaris
F Saturnine Antshrike
Thamnomanes saturninus
White-flanked
Antwren
Myrmotherula axillaris
F Gray Antwren
Myrmotherula menetriesii
Rusty-backed
Antwren
Formicivora rufa
Warbling Antbird
Hypocnemis cantator
F Band-tailed Antbird
Hypocnemoides maculicauda
F Silvered Antbird
Sclateria naevia
F Black-spotted Bare-eye
Phlegopsis nigromaculata
Bare-necked Fruitcrow
Gymnoderus foetidus
F Amazonian Umbrellabird
Cephalopterus ornatus
F Band-tailed Manakin
Pipra fasciicauda
F Helmeted Manakin
Antilophia galeata
F Flame-crested Manakin
Heterocercus linteatus
F Dwarf Tyrant-Manakin
Tyranneutes stolzmanni
Snethlage's Tody-Tyrant
Hemitriccus minor
F Flammulated Bamboo-Tyrant
Hemitriccus flammulatus
Yellow-bellied
Elaenia
Elaenia flavogaster
Small-billed
Elaenia
Elaenia parvirostris
Yellow-olive
Flycatcher
Tolmomyias sulphurescens
Short-crested
Flycatcher
Myiarchus ferox
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Tyrannus savana
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher
Griseotyrannus aurantioatrocristat
Rusty-margined
Flycatcher
Myiozetetes cayanensis
Piratic Flycatcher
Legatus leucophaius
F Crested Becard
Pachyramphus validus
Black-tailed
Tityra
Tityra cayana
Moustached Wren
Thryothorus genibarbis
Fawn-breasted
Wren
Thryothorus guarayanus
House Wren
Troglodytes aedon
White-winged
Swallow
Tachycineta albiventer
White-rumped
Swallow
Tachycineta leucorrhoa
Brown-chested
Martin
Progne tapera
Gray-breasted
Martin
Progne chalybea
Tawny-headed
Swallow
Stelgidopteryx fucata
Southern Rough-winged
Swallow Stelgidopteryx
ruficollis
Grassland Sparrow
Ammodramus humeralis
Red-capped Cardinal
Paroaria gularis
Bananaquit
Coereba flaveola
Silver-beaked
Tanager
Ramphocelus carbo
Sayaca Tanager
Thraupis sayaca
Palm Tanager
Thraupis palmarum
Purple-throated
Euphonia
Euphonia chlorotica
Thick-billed
Euphonia
Euphonia laniirostris
Burnished-buff
Tanager
Tangara cayana
Red-legged Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes cyaneus
Wedge-tailed
Grass-Finch
Emberizoides herbicola
Blue-black Grassquit
Volatinia jacarina
Rusty-collared
Seedeater
Sporophila collaris
Lined Seedeater
Sporophila lineola
Double-collared
Seedeater
Sporophila caerulescens
F Black-and-tawny Seedeater
Sporophila nigrorufa
Marsh Seedeater
Sporophila palustris
F Gray-and-chestnut
Seedeater Sporophila
hypochroma
F Sooty Grassquit
Tiaris fuliginosa
Grayish Saltator
Saltator coerulescens
Crested Oropendola
Psarocolius decumanus
F Amazonian Oropendola
Gymnostinops bifasciatus
Yellow-rumped
Cacique
Cacicus cela
Red-rumped Cacique
Cacicus haemorrhous
Giant Cowbird
Scaphidura oryzivora
Bobolink
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
159 SPECIES
Paul Blakeburn
<paulb@ksinc.net>