Codes:

(BRe): endemic to Brazil             (BRqe): quasi-endemic, or nearly endemic to Brazil

 
Regions in the country where birds have been seen during FONT tours noted in the list as follows:
  
AF:        Alta Floresta area, in northern Mato Grosso
AM:       Amazonia
BR:        Brasilia
ES:        Espirito Santo
IG:         Iguacu Falls
MN:       Minas Gerais
MS:       Mato Grosso do Sul
MT:       Mato Grosso (excluding Alta Floresta area)
RS:        Rio Grande do Sul (far-southern Brazil)
SE:        southeast Brazil (the states of Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paulo) 

Links:

Upcoming FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Brazil     Some Highlights from Past FONT Brazil Tours

A List & Photo Gallery of Brazil Birds, in 4 Parts:
Part #1: Tinamous to Doves     Part #2: Macaws to Flycatchers     
Part #3: Antshrikes to Woodcreepers    Part #4: Vireos to Grosbeaks

Lists of Birds in Various Areas in Brazil:
Minas Gerais     Mato Grosso & Mato Grosso do Sul     Rio Grande do Sul     Southeast Brazil

Directory of Photos in this Website

 

SPECIES OF BRAZIL BIRDS

Classified as: CRITICALLY THREATENED

Belem Curassow    Brazilian Merganser    White-collared Kite    Purple-winged Ground Dove    

Araripe Manakin    Kinglet Calyptura    Rio Branco Antbird    Stresemann's Bristlefront    

Hoary-throated Spinetail    Alagoas Foliage-gleaner    Forbes' Blackbird    Cherry-throated Tanager    

Cone-billed Tanager

Classified as: ENDANGERED

Chestnut-bellied Guan    Red-billed Curassow    Dark-winged Trumpeter    Hyacinth Macaw 

Lear's Macaw    Golden Parakeet    Golden-tailed Parrotlet    Brown-backed Parrotlet

Red-tailed Amazon    Red-spectacled Amazon    Red-browed Amazon    

Vinaceous-breasted Amazon    White-winged Nightjar    Hook-billed Hermit    Varzea Hermit    

Buff-throated Purpletuft    Banded Cotinga    White-winged Cotinga    Wied's Neopelma    

Kaempfer's Tody-Tyrant    Atlantic Royal Flycatcher    Restinga Antwren    Black-hooded Antwren

Fringe-backed Fire-eye    Marsh Tapaculo    Cipo Canastero    Bahia Spinetail    Scaled Spinetail    

Saffron-cowled Blackbird    Yellow Cardinal

Classified as: VULNERABLE

Gray Tinamou    Lesser Nothura    White-crested Guan    Blue-throated Piping Guan

Black-fronted Piping Guan     Black Curassow    Wattled Curassow    Southern Rockhopper Penguin

Macaroni Penguin    White-chinned Petrel    Agami Heron    White-necked Hawk    Crowned Solitary Eagle 

Rufous-faced Crake    Olrog's Gull    Ruddy Pigeon    Sapphie Quail-Dove    Golden-capped Parakeet    

Crimson-bellied Parakeet    Pearly Parakeet    Blue-throated Parakeet    Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet

White-bellied Parrot    Vulturine Parrot    Festive Amazon     Yellow-faced Amazon   Blue-bellied Parrot

Scaled Ground-Cuckoo    Dot-eared Coquette    Three-toed Jacamar    Black-girdled Barbet

White-bellied Piculet    Opal-crowned Manakin    Gray-winged Cotinga    Black-headed Berryeater

Cinnamon-vented Piha    Bare-throated Bellbird     Black-capped Piprites    Buff-breasted Tody-Tyrant  

Fork-tailed Tody-Tyrant    Sao Paulo Tyrannulet    Black-and-white Monjita     Cock-tailed Tyrant    

Rondonia Bushbird    White-bearded Antshrike    Plumbeous Antvireo    Salvadori's Antwren    

Unicolored Antwren    Guianan Streaked Antwren    Band-tailed Antwren    Ash-breasted Antbird    

Black-tailed Antbird    Bare-eyed Antbird    Striated Softtail    Pink-legged Graveteiro    

Canebrake Groundkeeper    Uniform Woodcreeper    Mato Grosso Woodcreeper    Hoffmann's Woodcreeper  

Ochre-breasted Pipit    Pearly-breasted Conebill    Black-masked Finch    Cinereous Warbling-Finch   

Temminck's Seedeater    Buffy-fronted Seedeater    

Classified as: NEAR-THREATENED

Solitary Tinamou    Great Tinamou    White-throated Tinamou    Yellow-legged Tinamou

Gray-legged Tinamou    Black-capped Tinamou    Greater Rhea    Crestless Curassoe

Marbled Wood Quail    Orinoco Goose    Magellanic Penguin    Black-browed Albatross

Zigzag Heron    Orange-breasted Falcon    Gray-bellied Hawk    Mantled Hawk    Harpy Eagle    

Crested Eagle    Ornate Hawk-Eagle    Blue-winged Macaw    Black-capped Parakeet    

Caica Parrot    Orange-cheeked Parrot    Bald Parrot     Kawall's Amazon    Rusty-barred Owl   

Bahian Nighthawk    Long-trained Nightjar    Sickle-winged Nightjar     Saw-billed Hermit     

Hyacinth Visorbearer    Red-necked Aracari    Saffron Toucanet    Mottled Piculet    Guianan Piculet    

Yellow-browed Woodpecker    Swallow-tailed Cotinga    White-tailed Cotinga    Black-and-gold Cotinga    

Hooded Berryeater    Hangnest Tody-Tyrant    Eye-ringed Tody-Tyrant    Gray-capped Tyrannulet    

Sharp-tailed Grass Tyrant    Gray-backed Tachuri    Southern Bristle Tyrant    Oustelet's Tyrannulet    

Serra do Mar Tyrannulet    Chapada Suiriri    Olive-sided Flycatcher    Castelnau's Antshrike    

Spot-breasted Antvireo    Brown-bellied Antwren    Rufous-tailed Antbird    Ochre-rumped Antbird    

Rio de Janeiro Antbird    Guianan Warbling Antbird    White-lined Antbird    White-breasted Antbird    

Spotted Bamboowren    Slaty Bristlefront    Brasilia Tapaculo    White-breasted Tapaculo    Campo Miner    

Araucaria Tit-Spinetail    Long-tailed Cinclodes

Species in Brazil classified as CRITICALLY THREATENED:

1  BELEM CURASSOW  ______  MT  (BRe)
Crax pinima

Crax pinima, which has been called "Natterer's Bare-faced Curassow", was conspecific with Crax fasiolata (above).

As of 2014: A tiny captive population of Crax pinima exists, but there have been no confirmed records of it in the wild since 1978. 
According to Birdlife International, "Any remaining wild population must be extremely small, and is likely to still be declining." 
Thus, now their classification of "critically endangered".

Crax pinima has been restricted to Maranhao and Para in northeastern Amazonia, therefore being a Brazilian endemic.
It is said now to be extinct in around Belem, in Para.
It may survive in western Maranhao at the Reserva Biologica do Gurupi and in nearby areas.
The species was not found recently during extensive fieldwork around Paragominas in eastern Para (2003)>
During other even extensive fieldwork in Para from 1998 to 2009, the only reports came from local people who said that the species occurs in very low numbers in the Agropalma Group Forrestal Reserves in Tailandia, where it was said to be even more rare than Mitu tuberosum.
In 2009, 5 individuals (3 females and 2 males) were seized in illegal trade and were sent to a conservation breeding center.     

A female Belem Curassow, or "Nattterer's Bare-faced Curassow" as it was known at the time, was seen during a FONT tour in the 1990s, along the riverbank of the Rio Cristalino, near Alta Floresta, in northern Mato Grosso, Brazil.  



2  BRAZILIAN MERGANSER   ______  MN   (BRqe or now BRe) 
Mergus octosetaceus

The very rare BRAZILIAN MERGANSER has been seen during 6 FONT tours in Brazil: in March 1997, October 1998, August 2002, October 2003, September 2006, and March 2008. 
Each time, our sightings have been in a remote part of western Minas Gerais. 

Recent estimates have put the population of the species at only about 100 pairs. Some say, however, that's too high a number. With large territories, and favoring remote areas, the Brazilian Merganser can be a hard bird to find. 
The range of the bird has included southeast Brazil, northeast Argentina, and adjacent Paraguay. It's probably now extinct in Paraguay, and may be so in Argentina (where the population has been critically small). 
Actually, in the mid-20th Century, the species was thought to be extinct. It was re-found in 1948. Now, just over 50 years later, this rarity is still "too close" to extinction.

The very rare Brazilian Merganser in Minas Gerais, 2006.
A pair was seen during the FONT tour in September of that year. 
There have been sightings during FONT tours in Minas Gerais 
during 6 different years. 
(Photo courtesy of Renilda Dupin)

3  WHITE-COLLARED KITE  (also called FORBES' KITE)  ______  (BRe)
Leptodon forbesi

The White-collared Kite is a mid-sized that occurs in the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil, where it inhabits humid forests below 600 meters above sea level.
It is one of the most endangered raptors in the world, with a very limited range in which there has been an ongoing destruction of its forest habitat.

But Leptodon forbesi has apparently been rare fro years. The species was described in 1922 by H.K. Swann from a single specimen collected by W. A. Forbes in 1882 in Pernambuco.
That specimen is in a natural history museum in England (in Tring). It was thought by some to be an aberrant-plumaged (perhaps immature) Gray-headed Kite, Leptodon cayanensis, but more recently was recognized as a valid species by others.
In 1987, a pair was collected in Alagoas, and another female of unknown age was also collected, elsewhere in Alagoas, although no detailed descriptions or photographs of those specimens were published. It was stated, at that time, that Leptodon forbesi was not an abnormal immature of Laptodon cayanensis.

In all only 5 museum specimens of this enigmatic species are known. In addition to the four just mentioned, there is one in the zoological museum at the University of Sao Paulo, in Sao Paulo.

Still, today, little is known about the White-collared Kite in life, regarding its morphology, plumage variation, ecology, and geographical range.



4  PURPLE-WINGED GROUND DOVE  ______  MN  (BEqe)
Claravis godefrida

The rare Purple-winged Ground was seen during the FONT tour in Minas Gerais, Brazil in October 2009 in the area of Caraca.
The species at that time was classified as endangered. 
Its decline has continued since then, with (as of 2012) the reclassification of it as being critically endangered.
The population has been suspected to be declining at a rate of up to about 20 per cent during 10 years, along with habitat loss within the species' highly restricted range. With the patchy nature of a preferred habitat of bamboo stands and with the impact of habitat fragmentation, the species may well be declining at a more rapid rate.
The range of the Purple-winged Ground Dove has been from Bahia south through eastern Brazil to rarely Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.
It inhabits humid Atlantic forest, with apparently a preference for edge habitats in rather hilly, broken terrain. It was at such a place that we saw it in October 2009.



5  ARARIPE MANAKIN  ______  (BRe)
Antilophia bokermanni

Antilophia bokermanni was first described as recently as 1998. Its known range is extremely small, occurring at just a few locations on the northeastern slope of the Chapada do Araripe in the southern part of the Brazilian state of Ceara.
Its estimated population is about 800 individuals, is an area of suitable habitat of only 28 square kilometers.

In January 2012, a new and unexpected locality for the Araripe Manakin was discovered, in dense forest on the top of the Araripe Plateau, in an area that has been protected as a national forest (known as FLONA). 10 breeding territories were found in that small area of just 1 kilometer by 30 meters. About 5 similar small areas of such habitat occur on the plateau. Even though small, it does mean that the distribution and size of the bird's population is slightly greater than previously thought.



6  KINGLET CALYPTURA  ______  (BRe)
Calyptura cristata

The little Kinglet Calyptura is a bird that has been in the family Cotingidae, and is believed to be closely related to the also-small purpletufts. 
It is very rare, so much so that it appears to be on the brink of extinction.

After an absence of sightings for over a century, the Kinglet Calyptyra was rediscovered in late October 1996, when two birds were observed on the slopes of Serra dos Orgaos, north of Rio de Janeiro. Those birds were seen several mornings, but unfortunately they proved to be just a tantalizing glimpse before the species once more lapsed into obscurity.
Long lost, and dramatically re-found, the Kinglet Calyptura has since been lost again.

In February 2006 (ten years after the 1996 sightings), a single bird was reported near Ubatuba in Sao Paulo state. That sighting was not confirmed.

It seems that the Kinglet Calyptyra occurs at varying altitudes, but perhaps it is most likely to be found between 200 and 1,000 meters above sea level in humid forest canopies, where it would forage on insects, seeds, and fruits including mistletoes.

Even though the species is, as noted here, extremely rare, if it still exists, it may not have been in the past, as there are a number of museum specimens.



7  RIO BRANCO ANTBIRD  ______  (BRqe)
Cercomacra carbonaria



8  STRESEMANN'S BRISTLEFRONT  ______  (BRe)
Merulaxis stresemanni

Until 1995, the Stresemann's Bristlefront, a reclusive tapaculo, was known from only two specimens: the type-specimen collected near Salvador in the 1830s, and a second taken near Ilheus in 1945 in coastal Bahia.
There was another, third specimen, of unknown provenance, that was found subsequently to be in a European museum in Berlin, having been seemingly collected in the "early 19th Century".

The re-discovery in 1995 was of a single bird, tape-recorded and photographed near a place called Una in Bahia. Despite searching, there have been no subsequent findings of the bird at that locality.
But the species has been found since in the Jequitinhonha Valley in Minas Gerais, near the border with Bahia, where it was in a strip of humid valley forest, much of which had been cleared for agriculture.



9  HOARY-THROATED SPINETAIL  ______
Synallaxis kollari



10  ALAGOAS FOLIAGE-GLEANER  ______  (BRe)
Philydor novaesi



11  FORBES' BLACKBIRD  ______  MN  (BRe)
Curaeus forbesi

The Forbes's Blackbird has been considered a critically endangered species as it has a very small total population actually comprised of very small subpopulations in the Brazilian states of Alagoas, Pernambuco, and Minas Gerais. Thus the rare of this rare Brazilian endemic is severely fragmented in the eastern part of the country.
 
Being all-black, without any really distinctive features other than a slender bill and a unique voice, the most notable aspect of the bird is its rarity.

The small numbers (about an estimated 150 birds at one time said to be in Alagoas, and about 40 at most in one area of Minas Gerais) has made the Forbes's Blackbird a rather mysterious  "phantom-like" species, not often seen.

We were fortunate to see 3 Forbes's Blackbirds during the FONT tour in Minas Gerais, not far from Serra do Cipo, in May 2011.
The birds, at about 4pm, were in the tops of palm trees in the valley of a small river. Their slender bills and recognizable call were well noted before they flew away from us.



12  CHERRY-THROATED TANAGER  ______  ES  (BRe) 
Nemosia rourei

The Cherry-throated Tanager is one of the rarest birds ever seen during any FONT tour, anywhere in the world. 
Our sighting was on October 9, 1998 in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo, just east of Minas Gerais. 
The attractive male was seen well that day by everyone in our group (ours was the first birding group EVER to see the species). 6 hours of searching and waiting were worth it.  Two birds of the species were in a moving mixed species flock that we encountered. That flock was seemingly led by the vocal Eastern Sirystes.

The Cherry-throated Tanager is one of the least-seen bird species in the world. In the 19^th Century, it was known only from a lone specimen in a European museum. That bird was collected in 1870 in the area of Muriae, in Minas Gerais state, along the Paraiba River. 

In the 20^th century, the species was sighted once, in 1941, in Espiritu Santo (at Jatiboca), prior to its very exciting re-discovery by Brazilian ornithologists shortly before our tour in 1998. We were most grateful to have been given permission to enter private land (and to stay overnight there), and to have the great cooperation of the local biologists, enabling us to see Nemosia rourei, the Cherry-throated Tanager as we did.



13  CONE-BILLED TANAGER  ______  (BRe)
Conothraupis mesoleuca

The Cone-billed Tanager has been one of the more-famous of the "lost bird species of South America", with others including the Kinglet Calyptura, the Blue-eyed Ground Dove, and the Cherry-throated Tanager (all of these noted above).

In August 1938, a doctor (Dr. A. Vellard), travelling through Mato Grosso in Brazil, gathered a small collection of birds typical to the region. He shot and stuffed a few dozen species that he encountered. Later, he showed his skins to a prominent French ornithologist (Berlioz), who realized that one of them - a black bird with a white belly, and with a stout and conical beak - was a "new species". The bird was then given the common name "Cone-billed Tanager", and at first it was put into its own genus, Rynchopthraupis.
Later, scientists decided that it was similar to another better-known South American bird, the Black-and-white Tanager of Peru and Ecuador, and it was shifted to the genus Conothraupis, where the bird has remained.
The 1938 specimen was collected in dry forest habitat near a place named Juruena.

60 years later, in 2004, the Cone-billed Tanager was re-discovered, seen again fro the first time since the single specimen had been initially found.
In October 2004, a Brazilian ornithologist (Dante Buzzetti) visited the Emas National Park, in south-central Brazil, following up a possible sighting the previous year by a Brazilian bird guide (Braulio Carlos). (Note: Braulio has on occasion been with us on FONT tours in Brazil.)

At dawn at Emas (in October 2004), Buzzetti heard a bird call he did not recognize. His playing of that call on a tape recorder attracted a medium-sized brown bird that he was unable to identify. A few days alter, he heard a melodious song and again using playback, it brought in a male Cone-billed Tanager.
Later that day, Buzzetti was able to confirm that the brown bird that he had earlier seen was a female Cone-billed Tanager, the first ever to be seen.

The following month, Buzzetti and Carlos together, filmed what were presumably the same pair of birds. Unlike published illustrations (all based on the single museum specimen of 1938), in life the bill of the Cone-billed Tanager was strikingly pale, rather than black.

Since 2004, Cone-billed Tanagers have been found again in the Emas National Park. In late 2005, at least 3 birds were found there in gallery forest. 


Species in Brazil classified as ENDANGERED:


14  CHESTNUT-BELLIED GUAN  ______  MT  (BRe)
Penelope ochrogaster



15  BLACK-FRONTED PIPING GUAN  ______  SE  (BRqe)
Pipile jacutinga



16  RED-BILLED CURASSOW  ______  (BRe)
Crax blumenbachi



17  DARK-WINGED TRUMPETER  ______  AF  (BRe)
Psophia viridis



18  HYACINTH MACAW  ______  MS  MT  (BRqe)   (also another photo at the top of the file)
Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus

A Hyacinth Macaw
photographed during a FONT tour
(photo by Andy Smith)

The Hyacinth Macaw is the largest parrot in the world. During the 20th Century, it declined greatly due to trading and hunting. In the 1980's, there was a massive illegal trade, with at least 10,000 birds taken from the wild. 50 per cent of those were destined for the Brazilian market. In 1983-84, over 2,500 were flown out of Bahia Negra, Paraguay.

Currently, some 2,500 to 5,000 wild birds are estimated as remaining in the wild, with the vast majority in Brazil, mostly in the Pantanal region. A few still occur in easternmost Bolivia and northeast Paraguay.

Nesting is during July-December in large tree cavities and on cliffs. Two eggs are usually laid, but only one normally fledged.

The Hyacinth Macaw has been seen during every FONT tour in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. 

Other similar macaws in Brazil and in nearby South America have, unfortunately, become extinct, notably the GLAUCOUS MACAW and the SPIX'S MACAW.

The GLAUCOUS MACAW occurred formerly in southern Brazil, particularly in western Rio Grande do Sul, and in adjacent Argentina and Uruguay, and apparently in southern and eastern Paraguay.

The SPIX'S MACAW is now extinct in the wild. In the 1990's, one individual remained in interior northeast Brazil. No longer. The initiatives to provide effective protection for the last wild birds failed. Endeavors at establishing a captive-breeding program using stock held in private collections around the world (perhaps totaling no more than 20 birds) have been unsuccessful.



19  LEAR'S MACAW  (also called INDIGO MACAW)  ______  (BRe)
Anodorhynchus leari



20  GOLDEN PARAKEET  ______
Guarouba cuarouba



21  GOLDEN-TAILED PARROTLET  ______
Touit surdus



22  BROWN-BACKED PARROTLET  ______
Touit melanonotus



23  RED-TAILED AMAZON  ______  SE  (BRe)
Amazona brasiliensis

The Red-spectacled Amazon has a small range in southern Brazil and northeast Argentina (and possibly also in Uruguay & Paraguay). It is closely associated with Araucaria-dominated forest. Recently, its population has seriously declined. A comparison of population estimates in 1971 and 1997 indicate that the decline of the species has been at a rapid rate of equivalent to 22% in 10 years.

The Red-spectacled Amazon has been seen during FONT tours in Rio Grande do Sul.



25  RED-BROWED AMAZON  ______  (BRe)
Amazona rhodocorytha



26  VINACEOUS-BREASTED AMAZON  ______  MN  RS  SE  (BRqe)
Amazona vinacea



27  WHITE-WINGED NIGHTJAR  ______
Eleothreptus candicans



28  HOOK-BILLED HERMIT  ______  (BRe)
Glaucis dohrnii



29  VARZEA PICULET  ______
Picumnus varzeae



30  BUFF-THROATED PURPLETUFT  ______  SE  (BRe)
Iodopleura pipra 

The Buff-throated Purpletuft is a small bird, just over 3 inches in length, and a member of the cotinga family. It occurs at only a very few places in a severely fragmented range in eastern Brazil. During FONT tours, we've seen it only in the area of Ubatuba, near the seacoast in Sao Paulo state. In that area, our sightings have been at borders of humid forests, secondary woodland, and cacao plantations such as Fazenda Capricorno.

The bird tends to perch on high exposed branches. There is some evidence that it may be associated with a single species of a tall, fine-leaved deciduous tree which is locally common and often supports clumps of mistletoe. The bird feeds primarily on berries, particularly those of mistletoe, supplemented by anthropods.



31  BANDED COTINGA  ______  (BRe)
Cotinga maculata



32  WHITE-WINGED COTINGA  ______  (BRe)
Xipholena atropurpurea



33  WIED'S NEOPELMA  (was called WIED'S TYRANT-MANAKIN)  ______  (BRe)
Neopelma aurifrons



34  KAEMPFER'S TODY-TYRANT  ______  (BRe)
Hemitriccus kaempferi



35  ATLANTIC ROYAL FLYCATCHER  ______ SE  (BRe)
Onychorhynchus swainsoni



36  RESTINGA ANTWREN  ______  SE  (BRe)
Formicivora littoralis  

A recent study (published in 2011) of morphometric, vocal and plumage analyses indicated that Formicivora littoralis, the Restinga Antwren, lacked characteristics to differentiate it from the Serra Antwren, Formicivora serrana. And so it recommended that the two be conspecific, with littoralis as a subspecies of Formicivora serrana.

The Serra Antwren, a Brazilian endemic, and now classified as a species of "least concern" was described in 1929 from the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. 
Subspecies F. s. interposita and F. s. littoralis were described in the late 1980s. from specimens taken in the state of Rio de Janeiro (at two different locations).
Two years later, in 1990, F. s. littoralis was elevated to species status and given the vernacular name of Restinga Antwren.

Formicivora (serrana) littoralis lives in a habitat known as "restinga" that is a beach-scrub habitat rich in cacti and bromeliads on sand dunes, and in other scrub vegetation on coastal hillsides.
The birds usually forage in pairs, remaining close to the ground in dense thickets. 
The bird has a highly restricted range around Cabo Frio in Rio de Janeiro state.

Both the Serra Antwren and the Restinga Antwren have been seen during FONT tours. The Serra Antwren in the states Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. The "Restinga Antwren" in Rio de Janeiro state.



37  BLACK-HOODED ANTWREN  ______ SE  (BRe)
Formicivora erythronotos

Only in a very limited area of southeastern Brazil, the Black-hooded Antwren is very rare. For years, it was only known from Nova Friburgo (north of the city of Rio de Janeiro), where it was feared extinct, due to habitat destruction, and with the last reliable record during the second half of the 19th Century. 

However, it was recently re-discovered, in 1987, in a secondary swampy wooded area near the mangrove line at sea level along the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro state.

The rare Black-hooded Antwren has been found during FONT tours at the appropriate locality in Rio de Janeiro state.



38  FRINGE-BACKED FIRE-EYE  ______  (BRe)
Pyriglena atra

In 2011, with efforts by the Brazilian Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, two private nature reserves were created in the state of Bahia to help and protect the endangered Fringe-backed Fire-eye, a bird that is a symbol for conservation of the coastal Atlantic Forest.
The two new reserves (Olho-de-FogoRendado, 103 hectares and Curio, 13 hectares) are both in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao do Passe, in a narrow belt of Atlantic Forest along the north coast of Bahia.

The global geographic range of the Fringe-backed Fire-eye is about 5,000 square kilometers, and thought to be declining due to loss of the bird's habitat which is lowland forest with undergrowth.
The species has been found in forest fragments of around 50 hectares, but it has been found to have disappeared within 2 years at one locality that was reduced from almost 200 hectares to 40 hectares. 
Remaining forest fragments have become smaller and more isolated.



39  MARSH TAPACULO  (has also been called TALL-GRASS WETLAND TAPACULO)  ______  (BRe)
Scytalopus iraiensis

The Marsh Tapaculo was first sighted in April 1997 in wetlands beside the Irai River near Curitiba in southern Brazil.

Until recently, it was known to be at about two dozen sites in eastern Parana and Rio Grande do Sul (Brazilian states), but it has since also been found in the highlands of Minas Gerais - far north of its previously known range.

Recently discovered birds in Mians Gerais have been, among other places, in the national parks of Serra do Cipo and Serra de Canastra, and in the reserve at Serra do Caraca.



40  CIPO CANASTERO  ______  MN  (BRe)
Asthenes luizae

The Cipo Canastero was discovered only as recently as 1985 in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, where it is very localized. 
When it was initially found, it was quite a surprise as all other canasteros occur much further west in South America, mostly in Andean habitats. 

We've seen the Cipo Canastero during nearly every FONT tour in Minas Gerais.

The range of this species is but a dot on a Brazilian map, where its habitat is a limited area of rocky outcrops, and associated dry vegetation.

Also occurring there are 2 other notable Brazilian endemics, both rare, but not as rare as the canastero. These other two species, designated as "near-threatened" by Birdlife International, are the Gray-backed Tachuri (a flycatcher) and the Hyacinth Visorbearer (a hummingbird). Both have been seen during every FONT tour in the area.



41  BAHIA SPINETAIL  ______  (BRe)
Synallaxis whitneyi



42  SCALED SPINETAIL  ______
Cranioleuca muelleri



43  SAFFRON-COWLED BLACKBIRD  ______  RS
Xanthopsar flavus



44  YELLOW CARDINAL  ______  RS
Gubernatrix cristata

The Yellow Cardinal occurs in far-southern Brazil in Rio Grande do Sul and in adjacent Uruguay.
 

The Yellow Cardinal

Species in Brazil classified as VULNERABLE:


45  GRAY TINAMOU  ______  MT
Tinamus tao



46  LESSER NOTHURA  ______  MN
Nothura minor



47  WHITE-CRESTED GUAN  ______
Penelope pileata



48  BLUE-THROATED PIPING-GUAN  ______  AF  MS  MT
Pipile cumanensis

 

49  BLACK CURASSOW  ______
Crax alector



50  WATTLED CURASSOW  ______
Crax globulosa



51  SOUTHERN ROCKHOPPER PENGUIN  ______  (rare in Brazil in oceanic waters off Rio Grande do Sul)
Eudyptes chrysocome



52  MACARONI PENGUIN  ______  (rare in Brazil in oceanic waters off Rio Grande do Sul)
Eudyptes chrysolophus



53  WHITE-CHINNED PETREL  ______  RS
Procellaria aequinoctialis



54  AGAMI HERON  ______  AF  AM  MT
Agamia agami

A Crowned Solitary Eagle photographed 
in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais,
during the FONT tour in March 2008.
(photo by Marie Gardner)
  

The Crowned Solitary Eagle is a large, gray bird, occurring sparsely over a large range mostly in Brazil, but also in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. 
In its big geographic range of over 3 million square kilometers, this rare bird has been found at about a hundred localities. But a number of those places, however, relate to sightings back in the 19th Century.

The species is classified by Birdlife International as "vulnerable" because "it occurs at very low densities ... in fragmented habitat" and because "the severity of threats strongly suggest a significant and continuing decline". 

Birdlife International suggests that the total population of the bird is somewhere between 2,500 and 10,000 individuals.

However, others say that surely such an estimate is too high for a species which is so thinly scattered and almost everywhere rare or, at best, scarce. A total of just 1,000 breeding birds (500 pairs) would give an average density over the entire range of 1 pair in 6,000 square kilometers (that would be 75 x 80 kilometers). The pattern of current, or recent, sightings does not indicate that many birds. So, even though classified as "vulnerable", the species may well be more so than others in that category.  

Juveniles are said to remain with their parents for several years. Breeding is less than annual. Birds have a large home range.

The Crowned Solitary Eagle can be described as indolent, sluggish, and partially crepuscular, as they most actively feed at dusk and dawn. Their favored prey are skunks and armadillos, animals that are themselves mostly crepuscular.
Population densities are lower in the chaco and cerrado habitats than in rich grasslands. 

The spread of agriculture, with burning, mechanization, and pesticides, and intensive cattle-raising continue to destroy suitable lightly wooded habitats and natural grasslands throughout much of the bird's range. Forestation of grasslands with eucalyptus is further affecting foraging areas. The species is also hunted. And so, with the combination of these factors, the decrease continues.

Adults have a long, occipital crest. Hence, "crowned" in its name. The species is now called the Crowned Solitary Eagle as there is another large raptor called the Crowned Eagle in Africa. 

The Crowned Solitary Eagle and the more-northerly Montane Solitary Eagle (a black, not gray, bird, formerly called the Solitary Eagle) are the only two members of their genus.

Male and female Crowned Solitary Eagles are similar. Females only average about 3 per cent larger.

The Crowned Solitary Eagle is not a "true eagle". It is a buteonine. 
But, regardless as to how it is classified, it is large. Of the 100 raptors in North and South America, only 6 have larger wingspans. In that sense, only the Andean and California Condors, the Bald and Golden Eagles, the Harpy Eagle, and the King Vulture are bigger. In South America, only 3 species of raptors have larger wingspans than the Crowned Solitary Eagle.  
In terms of length, only 7 North & South American raptors are larger, with the Crested Eagle added to 6 species just noted as bigger than the Crowned Solitary Eagle. 
93 (out of 100) species of American raptors have smaller wingspans than the Crowned Solitary Eagle. In terms of both body length and wingspan, the Crowned Solitary Eagle is about twice as big as the Plumbeous Kite.   
 
The Crowned Solitary Eagle has been seen during a few FONT tours in Brazil, in Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais. 
But the best sighting was during our March 2008 tour in Minas Gerais when both male and female birds were seen, closely, both perched and in flight. 

57  RUFOUS-FACED CRAKE  ______
Laterallus xenopterus



58  OLROG'S GULL  _____  RS
Larus atlanticus



59  RUDDY PIGEON  ______  AF  AM  MT
Patagioenas subvinacea



60  SAPPHIRE QUAIL-DOVE  ______
Geotrygon saphirina

 

61  GOLDEN-CAPPED PARAKEET  ______  MN  (BRe) 
Aratinga auricapilla 

The Golden-capped Parakeet is an attractive species restricted to forested areas of southeast Brazil. Its decline is due to habitat fragmentation and trapping.

It is closely related to the Sun Parakeet of northern Brazil and the Jandaya Parakeet of northeast Brazil.

The Golden-capped Parakeet has been seen during most FONT tours in Minas Gerais, where the species is found in scattered areas. Outside Minas Gerais, there are some recent records from several sites in Sao Paulo state, from single sites in Rio de Janeiro and Parana states, and from two areas in Goias state. There have been no records from Espiritu Santo state since 1950.

    

70  BLUE-BELLIED PARROT  ______  (BRqe)
Triciaria malachitacea



71  SCALED GROUND-CUCKOO  ______
Neomorphus squamiger



72  DOT-EARED COQUETTE  ______  AF  MT  (BRqe)
Lophornis gouldii



73  THREE-TOED JACAMAR  ______  MN  SE  (BRe)
Jacamaralcyon tridactyla

The Three-toed Jacamar is a Brazilian endemic that has, during recent years, undergone a major decline in numbers, and a contraction of range. Habitat clearance has been mainly responsible. The population is now estimated to be from 250 to 1,000 birds.
 
The species can continue in relatively small woodlots where there are mudbanks in which to nest. The occurrence of this rarity is localized.

It has been seen during FONT tours since 1997, mostly in Minas Gerais, but most recently in 2011, in a remote part of Rio de Janeiro state, just a few kilometers from the Minas Gerais border.
  


74  BLACK-GIRDLED BARBET  ______  AF  MT  (BRe)
Capito dayi



75  WHITE-BELLIED PICULET  ______
Picumnus spilogaster



76  OPAL-CROWNED MANAKIN  ______
Lepidothrix iris 
 


77  GRAY-WINGED COTINGA  ______  (BRe)
Tijuca condita



78  BLACK-HEADED BERRYEATER  ______  (BRe)
Carpornis melanocephala



79  CINNAMON-VENTED PIHA  ______  ES  MN  (BRe)
Lipaugus lanioides



80  BARE-THROATED BELLBIRD  ______  ES  IG  SE  (BRqe)
Procnias nudicollis



81  BLACK-CAPPED PIPRITES  ______  SE  (BRqe)
Piprites pileatus 



82  BUFF-BREASTED TODY-TYRANT  ______  (BRe)
Hemitriccus mirandae



83  FORK-TAILED TODY-TYRANT  ______  (BRe)
Hemitriccus furcatus



84  SAO PAULO TYRANNULET  ______  SE  (BRqe) 
Phylloscartes paulistus



85  BLACK-AND-WHITE MONJITA  ______  RS 
Heteroxolmis dominicana 

A Black-and-white Monjita 
photographed during a FONT tour in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
(photo by Marie Gardner)

86  COCK-TAILED TYRANT  ______  BR  MN  MT  (BRqe)
Alectrurus tricolor 

With extensive and continuing habitat loss throughout its range, the Cock-tailed Tyrant has had a rapid population decline. The favored habitat is seasonally wet and dry grasslands. It remains locally common in a few scattered protected areas in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Goias. In the former, where we've seen it during a number of FONT tours, in the Serra da Canastra National Park, it has been said to be migratory, arriving in mid-August and departing by January. However, we've also seen the species there, in numbers, during March, most recently during our tour in that month in 2008.

Breeding is said to occur at the start of the wet season in September-October.

Only one time have we seen the species in Mato Grosso, in cerrado habitat in Chapada dos Guimaraes. 

The Canebrake Groundcreeper is a little-known species that occurs in small and fragmented populations. Its range is only in southern Brazil (in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, Santa Catarina, and southern Sao Paulo), and in southeast Paraguay and in northeast Argentina. In the portions in that range in Argentina, Paraguay, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, there have been very few records.
Most recent records of the bird have been in the Brazilian states of Santa Catarina and Parana, But we saw the bird in the state of Rio Grande do Sul  (near Santa Catarina).
 
In the book "Threatened Birds of the World" (a Birdlife International publication), it's stated that there have been "no records in Rio Grande do Sul since 1973".

The bird is said to be rare in thickets and dense vine-tangles near streams where deciduous and Araucaria forests meet. It was in such a habitat that we found it during our October '06 tour.



100  UNIFORM WOODCREEPER  ______
Hylexetastes uniformis



101  BRIGIDA'S WOODCREEPER  (or MATO GROSSO WOODCREEPER)  ______
Hylexetastes brigidai



102  HOFFMANN'S WOODCREEPER  ______
Dendrocolaptes hoffmannsi



103  OCHRE-BREASTED PIPIT  ______  MN  (BRqe)
Anthus nattereri



104  PEARLY-BREASTED CONEBILL  ______  AM
Conirostrum margaritae



105  BLACK-MASKED FINCH  ______  MN 
Coryphaspiza melanotis 



106  CINEREOUS WARBLING FINCH  ______  MN  (BRe)
Poospiza cinerea



107  BUFFY-FRONTED SEEDEATER  ______  SE  (BRqe)
Sporophila frontalis



108  TEMMINCK'S SEEDEATER  ______  SE
Sporophila falcirostris


 
Species in Brazil classified as NEAR-THREATENED:



109  SOLITARY TINAMOU  ______  IG  MN  SE  (BRqe)
Tinamus solitarius



110  GREAT TINAMOU  ______  AF  MT
Tinamus major



111  WHITE-THROATED TINAMOU  ______
Tinamus guttatus



112  YELLOW-LEGGED TINAMOU  ______ MN  (BRe)
Crypturellus noctivagus



113  GRAY-LEGGED TINAMOU  ______
Crypturellus duidae



114  BLACK-CAPPED TINAMOU  ______
Crypturellus atrocapillus



115  GREATER RHEA  ______  MN  MS  MT  RS
Rhea americana

A Greater Rhea photographed during a FONT tour in Brazil

116  CRESTLESS CURASSOW  ______
Mitu tomentosum



117  MARBLED WOOD-QUAIL  ______  AF  MT
Odontophorus gujanensis



118  ORINOCO GOOSE  ______
Neochen jubata



119  MAGELLANIC PENGUIN  ______  RS  SE 
Amazona leucocephala

During recent years, the total population of the Magellanic Penguin has been decreasing.
As of 2012, that population has been estimated as being 1.3 million pairs, with 950,000 breeding along the coast of Argentina, at least 100,000 in the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands, and at least 200,000 nesting in Chile.

In Argentina, there are just over 60 sites where Magellanic Penguins breed. 
In Chile, there are at least 10 locations.

Recent population trends have been different at various colonies. The two largest colonies in Argentina have had decreases during the last decade, but other smaller colonies have grown.

Outside their breeding season, Magellanic Penguins migrate north to the coast and offshore waters of Brazil. 
During FONT Brazil Tours, they have been seen in Rio Grande do Sul and near Ubatuba in Sao Paulo state.

Magellanic Penguins, tracked by satellite and GPS sensor tags during their breeding season, have been found to typically forage more than 100 kilometers from their nesting sites, and sometimes, at various colonies in Argentina, as much 600 kilometers from the sites. 
Individual Magellanic Penguins show a high site fidelity, with nearly all birds returning to the colony in which they were born, and with most adults using the same burrow year after year.

As vagrants, Magellanic Penguins have occurred as far north (in the Pacific Ocean) as El Salvador in 2007, and south to Avian Island on the Antarctic Peninsula, and also as far away as New Zealand and Australia. 

A Magellanic Penguin photographed 
during a FONT Brazil Tour in Rio Grande do Sul

120  BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSS  ______  RS 
Thalassarche (has been Diomedea) melanophrys

Black-browed Albatrosses have been seen from shore during FONT Brazil Tours in Rio Grande do Sul. 



121  ZIGZAG HERON  ______  AF  MT
Zebrilus undulatus

Zigzag Heron
(photo by Frank Stermitz)

122  ORANGE-BREASTED FALCON  ______  MS  MT
Falco deiroleucus



123  GRAY-BELLIED HAWK  ______  MN  SE
Accipiter poliogaster



124  MANTLED HAWK  ______ MN  SE  (BRqe)
Leucopterbis polionotus

The Mantled Hawk is rare and local in lowland and mid-elevation forests of eastern Brazil from Alagoas south to Rio Grande do Sul. It is nearly endemic to Brazil, with only very few in adjacent Uruguay, and just one record recently in Paraguay. Deforestation and agricultural practices have been cited as causes for the species' decline.



125  HARPY EAGLE  ______  AF  AM  MT 
Harpia harpyja

The Harpy Eagle has been seen during a half a dozen FONT tours in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, and also in the state of Amazonas.

Our first sighting of this massive raptor was back in August 1993 in the northern part of Mato Grosso in the area of the Rio Cristalino north of Alta Floresta. The bird was at a nest in a huge tree in the forest. 2 years later, in August 1995, during a boat-trip along the river, an adult Harpy Eagle was observed perched in a big dead tree by the river, just prior to 2 younger birds being seen flying about, nearby, upriver. Photos were taken.

Later, in 1998, 2000, and during 2 tours in 2004, Harpy Eagle were observed at and near a nest, with young, during FONT tours in southern Mato Grosso state, at Serra das Araras.
In 2004, a young bird (already big) was seen at that nest during our tour in August. Two months later, in October, during another FONT tour, that same bird was seen again. The bird was still by the nest (and it was even bigger). Its loud call could be heard a long distance away, as it begged for food.
One of the adults, during the October 2004 tour, was seen nearby, flying not far above the canopy of the forest.

In Amazonian Brazil, during our February 2010 tour, an adult Harpy Eagle was perched high in a tall tree by one of the tributaries of the Amazon on the south side of the big river.   

The Harpy Eagle is sparsely distributed throughout its extensive range in Central & South America. 
It has been extirpated in a large part of its former range, particularly in the north in central & northern Central America, and in the south in northern Argentina and southern Brazil.
The species occurs in interrupted expanses of lowland tropical forest. The low overall population and a slow reproductive rate make shooting a significant threat.     

An immature Harpy Eagle

Another young Harpy Eagle, photographed through a telescope,
during a FONT tour in Mato Grosso, Brazil

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM NOTES WRITTEN BY ARMAS HILL 
RELATING TO ONE OF HIS EARLY TRIPS IN BRAZIL IN THE 1980s:

"From the area of the city of Belem, near the mouth of Amazon River, two of my remembrances are still vivid years later.
One, as I walked along a trail in the jungle, is of an agitated Amazonian Royal Flycatcher up in the tree with its orange erect crest. The bird was agitated as there was a snake moving on a nearby branch.
And secondly, when I was at the zoo in Belem, I saw closely my first Harpy Eagle. That captive bird was big, granted, but what struck me the most at the time, and I can still remember in my mind, were its huge talons and massive claws. I had never seen such things, and seeing them closely made an impression that I've never forgotten."  


The Harpy Eagle is the biggest raptor in the Americas and the most powerful in the world. 
The massive claws of the Harpy Eagle are more powerful than those of virtually every other bird. They can pierce the skull of a monkey or a sloth, the bird's main prey.
Although the large Harpy Eagle often seems docile and doesn't seem to move much, when it does it can move between tree branches at up to 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) an hour during one of its almost silent and often lethal hunting flights.
Female Harpy Eagles are over a meter (3.3 feet) in length and weigh as much as 10 kilograms (22 pounds). They can lift prey weighing more than 12 kilograms (26 pounds) with little effort, tear it to pieces and carry it back to the nest.  
There, at the nest, the adult feeds the morsels to its single chick.
One chick is raised every 2 and half years. The juvenile stays in its parent's territory during that period, and will breed itself after 6 years.

Above: the massive claws of a Harpy Eagle

Below: the orange erect crest of the Royal Flycatcher

126  CRESTED EAGLE  ______
Morphnus guianensis  (the only member of its genus)



127  ORNATE HAWK-EAGLE  ______  AF  MN  MS  MT  SE
Spizaetus ornatus

Ornate Hawk-Eagle

128  BLUE-WINGED MACAW  (also called ILLIGER'S MACAW)  ______  BR  IG  MN  MT  (BRqe)
Primolius (formerly Propyrrhura) maracana



129  BLACK-CAPPED PARAKEET  ______
Pyrrhura rupicola



130  CAICA PARROT  ______
Pyrilla caica



131  ORANGE-CHEEKED PARROT  ______
Pyrilla barrabandi



132  ORANGE-HEADED PARROT  (also called the BALD PARROT)  ______  (BRe)
Gypopsitta aurantiocephala

Although just recently described in 2002, the Orange-headed Parrot has had, during that short time it's been known, 2 English common names. It's also been called the Bald Parrot.
The species has also had, during that short time, 2 scientific names. It was first called "Pionopsitta aurantiocephala", but has since been put in the new genus Gypopsitta, in which it is the only member.

It is unusual, to be sure, that such a large and colorful bird could have gone undetected for as long as it did. But actually it was noticed as it had been assumed to be the immature Vulturine Parrot, Pionopsitta vulturina, seen flying in flocks separated from adults.

The Orange-headed Parrot occurs only in Brazil, in the lower Madeira and upper Tapajos River valleys, and particularly along the Sao Benedito and Cururu tributaries of the Teles Pires River. It seems to favor gallery forest and "campinarana" white sand soil forest (as near the Thaimacu Lodge, and by the Serra de Cachimbo as can be seen from the Cuiaba-Santarem Road).

To Tony Juniper, one of the authors of "A Guide to the Parrots of the World", the discovery of the Orange-headed Parrot was quite significant, as he said: "I think these days the discovery of any new species is a red-letter day ... as (shown by this bird) a species could possibly go extinct without ever having been noticed".



133  KAWALL'S AMAZON  (also called WHITE-CHEEKED AMAZON)  ______  AF  (BRe)
Amazona kawalli

What has been known as the "Kawall's Parrot", or Kawall's Amazon, (also called the White-cheeked Amazon) was described in 1989, from a single caged bird that was noticed in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.

This large parrot was later found to be widespread across much of southern Amazonia, where it was first seen in the wild in 1996.
It was obviously overlooked, and apparently so simply because it was not known to exist and because it so resembled the common Mealy Amazon.

134  RUSTY-BARRED OWL  ______  MN  SE  (BRqe)
Strix hylophila 



135  BAHIAN NIGHTHAWK  (also called PLAIN-TAILED NIGHTHAWK)  ______  (BRe)
Nyctiprogne vielliardi



136  LONG-TRAINED NIGHTJAR  ______  SE  (BRqe)
Macropsalis creagra



137  SICKLE-WINGED NIGHTJAR  ______  MN
Eleothreptus anomalus

The Sickle-winged Nightjar, throughout its range, is generally scarce. There are apparently fragmented populations in central and southeast Brazil. Outside Brazil, the species has been found rarely in eastern Paraguay and northern Argentina. Nearly all records have been of lone individuals, and many times there has been only a single record at a particular locality. Some records have been of southern breeders migrating north in the austral winter (May-Aug).

Habitats where the bird has been found include: gallery forest, chaco-woodlands, cerrado, grasslands, savannas, marshlands, and swamps.

The species was seen during the FONT tour at Serra da Canastra National Park in Minas Gerais state in October 2006.



138  SAW-BILLED HERMIT  ______ SE  (BRe) 
Ramphodon naevius

The Saw-billed Hermit is the largest of the South American hummingbirds known as hermits. Others have longer tails, but in terms of weight, this is the biggest. Its length is 15 centimeters. Only one other hermit, with a longer tail, has a greater length - the Great-billed Hermit of northern Brazil and the Guianas has a length of 16 centimeters.

The Saw-billed Hermit only occurs in southeastern Brazil, where it is relatively common in lowland Atlantic forest and in nearby second growth. The species is considered "near-threatened" by Birdlife International as its overall population can be adversely affected by deforestation and agricultural conversion.

We've seen the Saw-billed Hermit during FONT tours in the Ubatuba area, and, recently, the species was enjoyed when during our March 2008 tour, we birded at the Fazenda Capricorno, located on the Tropic of Capricorn. 

     

139  HYACINTH VISORBEARER  ______  MN  (BRe)
Augastes scutatus

A Hyacinth Visorbearer photographed during a FONT tour

 

140  RED-NECKED ARACARI  ______  AF  MT
Pteroglossus bitorquatus



141  SAFFRON TOUCANET  ______  IG  SE  (BRqe)
Baillonius bailloni

A Saffron Toucanet at a feeder in southeast Brazil,
having breakfast as we were during a FONT tour.

142  MOTTLED PICULET  ______  RS
Picumnus nebulosus



143  GUIANAN PICULET  ______
Picumnus minutissimus



144  YELLOW-BROWED WOODPECKER  ______  RS  MN  SE  (BRqe)
Piculus aurlentus



145  SWALLOW-TAILED COTINGA  ______  MN  SE  (BRqe)
Phibalura flavirostris

The Swallow-tailed Cotinga has been a favorite
during FONT tours in southeast Brazil

146  WHITE-TAILED COTINGA  ______
Xipholena lamellipennis



147  BLACK-AND-GOLD COTINGA  ______  SE  (BRe)
Tijuca atra

The Black-and-gold Cotinga is a Brazilian endemic with a very limited range, occurring from 1,000 to 2,000 meters above sea level in Rio de Janeiro state, extreme eastern Sao Paulo state, and adjacent Minas Gerais state, where it is occurs in montane Atlantic Forest. It is found in the canopy and the middle level of the forest, where it makes its distinctive, unusual call.

The Black-and-gold Cotinga has been seen during FONT tours in Southeast Brazil in more than one of the areas favored by the bird,



148  HOODED BERRYEATER   ______  ES  SE  (BRe)
Carpornis cucullatus



149  HANGNEST TODY-TYRANT  ______  MN  SE  (BRe)
Hemitriccus nidipendulus



150  EYE-RINGED TODY-TYRANT  ______  MN  SE  (BRe)
Hemitriccus orbitatus



151  GRAY-CAPPED TYRANNULET  ______  MN  SE  (BRe)
Phyllomyias griseocapilla



152  SHARP-TAILED GRASS TYRANT  ______  BR  MN 
Culicivora caudacuta



153  GRAY-BACKED TACHURI  ______  MN  (BRe)
Polystictus superciliaris



154  SOUTHERN BRISTLE-TYRANT  ______  IG  SE  (BRqe)
Phylloscartes eximius



155  OUSTALET'S TYRANNULET  ______ SE  (BRe)
Phylloscartes oustaleti



156  SERRA DO MAR TYRANNULET  ______ SE  (BRe)
Phylloscartes difficilis



157  CHAPADA SUIRIRI  ______  MT
Suiriri islerorum

The Chapada Suiriri was recently described, in 2001.



158  OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER  ______  AM
Contopus cooperi



159  CASTELNAU'S ANTSHRIKE  ______
Thamnophilus cryptoleucus



160  SPOT-BREASTED ANTVIREO  ______  SE
Dysithamnus stictothorax



161  BROWN-BELLIED ANTWREN  ______
Myrmotherula gutturalis



162  RUFOUS-TAILED ANTBIRD  ______  SE  (BRe)
Drymophila genei



163  OCHRE-RUMPED ANTBIRD  ______  MN  SE  (BRe)
Drymophila ochropyga



164  RIO DE JANEIRO ANTBIRD  ______  SE  (BRe)
Cercomacra brasiliana



165  GUIANAN WARBLING ANTBIRD  ______
Hypocnemis cantator



166  WHITE-LINED ANTBIRD  ______
Percnostola lophotes



167  WHITE-BREASTED ANTBIRD  ______
Rhegmatorhina hoffmannsi



168  SPOTTED BAMBOOWREN  ______  SE  (BRqe)
Psilorhamphus guttatus



169  SLATY BRISTLEFRONT  ______  SE  (BRe)
Merulaxis ater



170  BRASILIA TAPACULO  ______  MN  (BRe)
Scytalopus novacapitalis

The Brasilia Tapaculo is similar to a number of other small, black tapaculos, in that it haunts then undergrowth. This species, however, is endemic to central Brazil, where it is rare and local. 
During FONT tours, we've had some good looks at this little denizen, since our first, which was in the Serra de Canastra National Park, in March 1997.

 

171  WHITE-BREASTED TAPACULO  ______  MN  SE
Eleoscytalus (formerly Scytalopus) indigoticus



172  CAMPO MINER  ______  MN  MT
Geobates poecilopterus



173  ARAUCARIA TIT-SPINETAIL  ______  RS  SE
Leptasthenura setaria



174  LONG-TAILED CINCLODES  ______  RS  (BRe)
Cinclodes  pabsti

The Long-tailed Cinclodes is a Brazilian endemic restricted to a very limited range in the southern part of the country, in northeast Rio Grande do Sul and southeast Santa Catarina states.
It was described to science as recently as 1969, by the prominent Brazilian ornithologist Helmut Sick.

All of the other cinclodes occur in South America in the Andes and Patagonia. The most widespread member of the genus, the Bar-winged Cinclodes,  also occurs in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, but only during the austral winter. 

There is no estimate of the population of the Long-tailed Cinclodes, but the species, overall, is not common, and it is believed to be declining at a moderately rapid rate due to habitat loss. Up to 60 per cent of the grassland habitat in the bird's range has been converted to pine plantations. 
It appears that the species can persist for about 2 years in an area after it has been planted with pines, but it is displaced by the time the trees reach 7 meters in height.

The following commentary about the Long-tailed Cinclodes is from a book written by Helmut Sick, a classic entitled "Birds in Brazil".. It was translated into English in 1993.

"The Long-tailed Cinclodes is one of the largest of the furmariids (ovenbirds). It can remind one of a Chalk-browed Mockingbird." 

(And that it did when we found the bird during the FONT Tour in Rio Grande do Sul in October 2010! And the mockingbirds were also in the vicinity.)

Continuing with Mr. Sick's description:

"The posture (of the Long-tailed Cinclodes) is erect, its legs strong, it's tail long. 
It nests in Rio Grande do Sul from September to November, and overnights in galleries excavated in embankments. In such holes, the eggs are placed on a lining of grass and feathers.
The species is less dependent on the presence of water than other cinclodes.
The bird walks and runs on the ground, and perches on posts and rocks or stone fences.
It flies well, but it does not migrate."   

Although now isolated, and never coming in contact with other cinclodes, the Long-tailed Cinclodes is most closely related to, and is considered a superspecies with Cinclodes fuscus, the Bar-winged Cinclodes and Cinclodes comechingonus, the Cordoba Cinclodes, a localized species endemic to mountains in north-central Argentina.  

A Long-billed Cinclodes photographed during the 
FONT Brazil Tour in Rio Grande do Sul, in October 2010
(photo by Bob Enever) 

175  CHESTNUT-THROATED SPINETAIL  ______  AF
Synallaxis cherriei



176  CABANIS' SPINETAIL  ______
Synallaxis cabanisi  



177  WHITE-BROWED FOLIAGE-GLEANER  ______  MN  SE
Anabacerthia amaurotis



178  GRAY-THROATED LEAFTOSSER  ______
Sclerurus albigularis



179  LONG-TAILED WOODCREEPER  ______  AF  AM
Deconychura longicauda



180  ZIMMER'S WOODCREEPER  ______  AM
Dendroplex kienerii



181  AZURE JAY  ______  RS  (BRqe)
Cyanocorax caeruleus



182  TOOTH-BILLED WREN  ______  AF
Odontorchillus cinereus



183  CREAMY-BELLIED GNATCATCHER  ______  SE 
Polioptila lactea



184  GREEN-CHINNED EUPHONIA  ______  IG  MN  SE
Euphonia chalybea



185  AZURE-SHOULDERED TANAGER  ______  ES  RS  SE  (BRe)
Thraupis cyanoptera



186  SHRIKE-LIKE TANAGER  ______  BR  MT
Neothraupis fasciata



187  BROWN TANAGER  ______  ES  MN  SE  (BRe)
Orchesticus abeillei



188  BLACK-LEGGED DACNIS  ______
Dacnis nigripes



189  BICOLORED CONEBILL  ______  SE
Conirostrum bicolor



190  BLUE FINCH  ______  MN  MT  (BRqe)
Porphyrosspiza caerulescens



191  DARK-THROATED SEEDEATER  ______  MT
Sporophila ruficollis



192  COAL-CRESTED FINCH  ______  BR  MN  MT
Charitospiza eucosma



193  SERRA FINCH  ______  MN  (BRe)
Embernagra longicauda



194  RED-AND-BLACK GROSBEAK  ______  
Periporphyrus erythromelas 

References:

Threatened Birds of the World (a Birdlife International publication), Lynx Ediciones, 2000, and "recently recategorized species" since then, through 2014.