Tour to be led by Armas Hill.

This tour can be done in conjunction with tours FON/3A & 3B (or just 3B) preceding it.
Those tours in the Mato Grosso Region of Brazil (the Pantanal etc: 3A)
and the areas of Alta Floresta & the Rio Cristalino (3B). 

Sun: Aug 26 Arrival in Sao Paulo, Brazil, (following an overnight flight from North America, or elsewhere, departing on Sat. Aug 25). From the Sao Paulo airport, travel east to the Itatiaia National Park. Birding along the way. Overnight in the Itatiaia Park, at the Hotel do Ype.

Mon–Thu, Aug 27-30: At the Itatiaia National Park, a superb place for birding, in fact, one of the best places for birding anywhere in the world. Habitats include subtropical and temperate forests, large stands of bamboo, and grasslands on the slopes of some of Brazil's highest mountains. Mount Itatiaia rises to 8,490 feet. In each of these habitats, a number of super birds — endemics and specialties. Endemics include: the Itatiaia Thistletail, Black-and-gold Cotinga, and Bay-chested Warbling-Finch. 
Specialties include: Slaty Bristlefront, Swallow-tailed Cotinga, Black-capped Manakin, and Diademed Tanager. Over 150 species of birds can be found during our stay at Iodide, as we visit the various habitats. During 3 days we'll have time to do so. For these overnights we'll be at the Hotel do Ype, an extremely pleasant place to stay. A list of birds occurring at Itatiaia either follows the itinerary, or can be obtained from FONT.

Fri: Aug 31: Travel from Itatiaia toward the coast. As a number of highland specialties occur in and near Itatiaia, there's also a good selection of rare and restricted endemics in the remnant lowland portions of the Atlantic Forest (the "Mata Atlantica"). Many in the eastern part of Sao Paulo State and the adjacent western part of Rio de Janeiro State. Endemic birds of the lowland forests include: Red-eyed Thornbird, Black-hooded Antwren (a rarity, rediscovered in 1987), Squamate Antbird, Buff-throated Purpletuft, Fork-tailed Tody-Tyrant, and Black-legged Dacnis. Birds such as these will be sought during the rest of the tour. On this, our first day away from Itatiaia, we won't, however, go that far. But we will bird in an area where, during our previous tours, we've seen Streamer-tailed Tyrants, and other nice birds. Overnight at Hotel Porto da Bocaina, near Sao Jose do Barreiro.

Sat: Sep 1: After some morning birding, travel to Angra dos Reis, located along a scenic stretch of the Atlantic Coast. Overnight near Angra dos Reis, to be in good position for hopefully some fine birding in the morning.

Sun: Sep 2: The morning birding to be in a good area of lowland forest, near the sea. Later, throughout the day, in other habitats along the coast, including areas of mangroves between Angra dos Reis and Parati. Some of the bird specialties include: Unicolored and Black-hooded Antwrens, the Red-eyed Thornbird, and Black-legged Dacnis. The Black-hooded Antwren, in addition to being a recently rediscovered bird, is also a striking one, with a black head and body and a brilliant rusty back. We'll have a good chance to see this rare bird. Later, this morning, we'll be at place, nearby, that can be good for seeing another special bird, the Bare-throated Bellbird. Our day will end further south along the coast in Ubatuba where we'll spend the night.

Mon & Tue, Sep 3 & 4: Two full-days of fine birding in the Ubatuba area. During our previous tours, we've had excellent times at the Ubatuba Experimental Station, with Brazilian Tanager, Gray-hooded Attila, Buff-throated Purpletuft, and Spot-backed Antshrike, just some of the many birds seen. During one of our tours in this area, a Striped Owl was seen well. We'll also visit the grounds and forest of the nearby Fazenda (plantation) Capricornio, now a reserve, and actually located nearly right on the Tropic of Capricorn. Some bamboo specialties may be found there, and there's another chance for the local, little endemic cotinga called the purpletuft. Another night in Ubatuba.

Wed: Sep 5: A last morning of birding in the Ubatuba area, followed by travel in the afternoon to Sao Paulo. Departure, late in the evening, from Sao Paulo, on overnight flight home from Brazil.

Thu: Sep 6: For those returning to North America, arrival home.

Includes:
All overnight accommodations.
All meals. 
Ground transportation within Brazil.

"Focus On Nature Tours" can arrange air travel, and would seek the best available fare.