In Southeastern Brazil,
there's an assortment of avian specialties & rarities,
  including many birds either endemic to Brazil
or nearly so,
and an equally exciting assortment of butterflies,
including those endemic or nearly so. 

The Brassy-breasted Tanager,
in southeastern Brazil, 
is endemic to the country.  
 

September 3-11, 2016

(tour: FON/BR-4, '16)


With the extension 
to Iguazu Falls:

September 11-15, 2016

(tour FON/BR-4A)

   

Tour to be led by Armas Hill, who has birded in Brazil many times,
during 50 visits to the country.

Links:

A 4-Part List, with some Photos, of Brazilian Birds, 
noting those during previous FONT tours:
Part #1:  Tinamous to Doves     Part #2:  Macaws to Flycatchers    
Part #3: Antshrikes to Woodcreepers    Part #4: Vireos to Grosbeaks

List of Birds in Southeast Brazil     Rare & Threatened Birds of Brazil  (with some photos) 

Butterflies of Brazil & Argentina, including those at Iguazu Falls  (with some photos)

Brazilian Mammals & Other Wildlife  (with some photos)  

Highlights of Some Previous FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Brazil

Tour Registration Form

Itinerary  (price follows):

A Yellow-fronted Woodpecker
photographed during a FONT tour in southeast Brazil, 
a colorful bird with more than yellow in its plumage.
(photo during a FONT tour by Rosemary Lloyd)

Sun, Sep 4:  Regua will be a great base for us for this portion of our tour. We'll spend 4 nights there, with 3 full-days in that area.
There will be many species of birds. Among the "better birds" possible in the area, there are these:
Masked Duck, Giant Snipe, Russet-winged Spadebill, Pin-tailed Manakin, Eastern Striped Manakin, Salvadori's Antwren, and Elegant Mourner. (The Elegant Mourner has been called the Shrike-like Cotinga.)  

At the grounds of the lodge, feeders will be attracting tanagers, euphonias, a chlorophonia, and hummingbirds. Many of them.
In the gardens, in addition to parrots, species of birds such as: Crescent-chested Puffbird, Blond-crested Woodpecker, White Woodpecker, Channel-billed Toucan, Chestnut-backed Antshrike, and the Long-billed Wren.
The puffbird and the wren are among the birds endemic to southeast Brazil.
After dark, in addition to the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, these other nocturnal birds: Tropical Screech Owl, Tawny-browed Owl, and Short-tailed Nighthawk.
Also after dark, we'll make an effort to see a good assortment of moths, some which will be big or boldly patterned. Some will be both.
At the lodge, and near there, we'll have local guides with expertise relating to the nature - not just the birds, but also the butterflies and moths, amphibians and reptiles, mammals, and plants.

There will be a major emphasis during this tour on the butterflies. About 600 species of butterflies have been found in the area, and about half of them have been found on accessible land at Regua.

There is a link at the top of this itinerary to a list and photo gallery of butterflies in the area noting, with codes,  those occurring in southeast Brazil and at Iguazu Falls (another butterfly-rich place to be visited during an extension to this tour).
The month of May is one of the best times of the year for butterflies in southeast Brazil.

Overnight at Regua. 

Mon & Tue, Sep 5 & 6:  Two more full-days with birds, butterflies, and other nature, in the areas of the Serra dos Orgaos National Park. the Tres Picos Park, and Regua.
Both overnights at Regua.    

In addition to the nature already mentioned, another hint as to the richness of the local fauna of the area, is that the number of Odonata species in the region, that is the dragonflies and damselflies, is as many as 185, and that is, as well as known, the "world record" for such species in such an area.

264 species of mammals have been found in the area of Regua, many of them bats. But also in the area, in the forest, some larger mammals are Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth, Brown Howler Monkey, and the Brown Capuchin.
Especially noteworthy in the area is the critically endangered Southern Muriqui, about the largest and rarest of the New World Monkeys.
The Northern Muriqui has been seen during FONT tours further north in Brazil, in Minas Gerais. See the Brazil Mammal list, reached by the link at the top of this itinerary.
Mammals after dark that can be outside the lodge at Regua include the Lowland Paca and the Crab-eating Fox.

Below are some photographs of just a couple of the many butterflies that have found at Regua.

These two butterflies are both skippers.
Above, in the subfamily Pyrrhopyginae,
the Epimochia Glory.
Below, in the subfamily Pyriginae,
the Veined White Skipper
(both photos by Jorge Bizarro) 

Wed, Sep 7:  After our last morning at Regua, we'll drive west, about 3 hours, to one of the best birding places in southeastern Brazil, the Itatiaia National Park. 
Birding along the way, and upon arrival at Itatiaia, in the hills in a different region of the Atlantic Forest. 
Again, this area contains a number of birds that are either Brazilian endemics (or nearly so), or specialties of the southeast. The first of two overnights in a nice hotel, nestled in the hills, in the national park of Itatiaia.   

Thu, Sep 8:  Our first morning at Itatiaia lshould be a splash of color, at the feeders with quite an assortment of tanagers and toucanets, euphonias and chlorophonias. And, oh yes, the hummingbirds. And that's just for starters. Throughout the day, in the forest, there will be much more, with trogons, motmots, and various flycatchers, furnariids, and antbirds. Mixed flocks in the forest will provide a number of interesting species. Overnight at Itatiaia.

Tanagers & Chlorophonias photographed at a feeder
during a FONT Tour in Southeast Brazil
(photo by Dan Coleman)
  

Fri, Sep 9:  There's so much birding at Itatiaia that this day will be filled with more. Our overnight will again be at Itatiaia, but at a different hotel "on the other side of the mountain".    

Sat, Sep 10:  This day at Itatiaia we'll be birding on that "other side of the mountain" -- the side, at a higher elevation, with the Black-and-gold Cotinga, two species of warbling-finches, and another cast of avian characters of antbirds, furnariids, and the like. Among the latter, the Itatiaia namesake, the Itatiaia Thistletail. And the Black-and-gold may not be the only Cotinga, as the Red-ruffed Fruitcrow occurs. Overnight again at our second hotel at Itatiaia.

Sun, Sep 11: This morning we'll have another opportunity for birding along the Aguilas Negras Road (where we were the previous day), with early morning giving yet another chance to see some skulkers, such as: 2 species of anthrushes, an antpitta, and a tapaculo.
Later in the day, we'll head to the international airport in Rio de Janeiro, two hours away. 
From there, departure for home will be on an overnight flight, either to North America, or wherever home is. 
(Arrival back in North America would be the morning of Monday, Sep 12.)

Or, for those who wish, an Optional Extension to Iguazu Falls for Birds & Butterflies:

Iguazu Falls, along the Brazil-Argentine border,
is a spectacular place,
and the national parks on both sides of the falls
are great for birds, butterflies, and other nature.

Sun, Sep 11:  After a late-day flight from Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguazu, the first of 4 overnights at Iguazu, at a fine hotel with pleasant grounds, good for enjoying nature, adjacent to the national park.

Mon, Sep 12 thru Wed, Sep 14:   In the area of the spectacular Iguazu Falls, there will be some wonderful nature for us, including birds, butterflies, and mammals, in the national parks on both sides of the river in Argentina & Brazil. 
We'll also, during a portion of one day, visit Paraguay, where there would be a different habitat with some different birds and other nature. 
In the area of Iguazu, numerous birds are to be seen, including toucans, trogons, and tanagers of various sorts. Some notable other birds inhabiting the forest would include the Ruff-ruffed Fruitcrow and Robust Woodpecker. Swarms of Great Dusky Swifts occur at the falls. 
Regarding the butterflies, some to be see are noted in the caption below. Iguazu Falls is one of the best places anywhere for the observation and photography of butterflies.
Three more nights (Sep 12, 13, 14) at Iguazu. 

Some butterflies photographed during 
FONT tour at Iguazu Falls,
above: the Turquoise Emperor
and below:  the Spotlight  Catone
and an "88", Diatheria clymena.

Among butterflies seen at Iguazu Falls,
during previous FONT tours, have been these:
Polydamas Swallowtail, Androgeus Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail,
Southern Dogface, White-angled Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur, Large Orange Sulphur,
Two-spotted Prepona, Small Beauty, Orion Cecropian, Red Rim, Red Cracker,
Florida Purplewing, Ruddy Daggerwing, Spotlight Catone, 
"88" Diatheria clymena, Malachite, Rusty-tipped Page, White Peacock,
Bordered Patch, Gulf Fritillary, Julia Heliconian, Erato Heliconian, Zebra Heliconian,
Variegated Fritillary, Monarch, Morpho anchillides, Magnificent Owl Butterfly

Thu Sep 15:  After a final morning at Iguazu, an afternoon flight to Sao Paulo connecting to the international flights for home.
(Arrival in North America would be the morning of Sunday, Sep 16.) 


Price for the Southeast Brazil Sep 3-11 Tour:  
US $2,395 per person, based upon double-occupancy. 
Single supplement (when applicable): US $295.

Price for the Southeast Brazil Tour with Iguazu Falls, Sep 3-15:
US $2,995 per person, based upon double-occupancy.
Single supplement (when applicable): US $425 

Price for the Iguazu Falls Extension only, Sep 11-15:
US $1,325 per person, based upon double-occupancy.
Single supplement (when applicable): US $225   

Prices include:    
All overnight accommodations.
All meals.
Ground transportation in Brazil.
Admissions to national parks.
Services of the FONT birding tour leader. 

Prices do not include:    
Drinks and any other items of a personal nature. Gratuities.
International flights to/from Brazil. Or flights within Brazil. 
(Within the Southeast Brazil tour there are no Brazilian internal flights)
     

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