on june 12th, a.lees, s.mahood, and myself headed to parts
ornithologically-unkown some 90 kilometres or so S of alta floresta, MT
- brasil, for a day of birding and exploration.
the day was a rousing birthday success for simon, and indeed for us all...
despite dipping on our first target bird, the rufous nightjar, we heard tropical screech-owls and had blackish nightjars on the road as both dawn and the transitional forest on this section of the serra do apiacás neared.
after picking up yellow-chevroned parakeets and a tree full of scaled pigeons in trashy, recently cleared habitat along the road, we headed onward in full daylight to the forested areas along the road.
some nice birds fell into place as we alternated walks along the road with short drives to push further into the unknown areas: cinnamon neopipo, snow-capped manakin, red-headed manakin, fiery-capped manakin, pale-bellied tyrant-manakin, dwarf tyrant-manakin, black manakin (found later in the background of alex's recordings), and blue-backed manakins of an uncertain subspecies or population - with variant vocalizations none of us were familiar with from extensive experience at the rio cristalino and elsewhere around alta floresta, and with red-orange crowns rather than the yellow crown of the expected subspecies, regina. and those were just the manakins!
other good finds included a band of plush-crested jays, several bronzy jacamars seen and heard, innumerable white-crested elaenias, a few pairs of scarlet-shouldered parrotlets, two or three flocks of blue-winged macaws, buff-throated foliage-gleaner, masked tanagers, and unidentified small Penelope guans, most likely rusty-margined.
a good mixed flock included bay-headed, flame-crested, paradise, opal-rumped and turquoise tanagers, pygmy and sclater's antwrens, 3 dacnis species (but not the hoped-for white-bellied), gray-chested greenlet, and others. a male black-eared fairy and a pair of black-bellied thorntails fed at an Inga-ish tree.
around noon as we headed to the car to start back for alta floresta, we ran into another mixed flock... this one we didn't really work through, as the first bird simon clapped eyes on was a small, active, BAM!!! Polioptila paraensis!! Alex got digi-video and a short tape recording of the bird. definitely a species to be perhaps expected in this sandy, nutrient-poor habitat.
bret whitney happened to be in alta floresta when we returned, and we had him confirm the id on the gnatcatcher, just to be sure he believed the record. later he commented on the blue-backed manakin recordings too, saying he didn't think he'd heard the species vocalizing like that before, certainly not around alta floresta. interesting....
it would seem that much remains to be found at "garumbo".... stay tuned for future updates!
the day was a rousing birthday success for simon, and indeed for us all...
despite dipping on our first target bird, the rufous nightjar, we heard tropical screech-owls and had blackish nightjars on the road as both dawn and the transitional forest on this section of the serra do apiacás neared.
after picking up yellow-chevroned parakeets and a tree full of scaled pigeons in trashy, recently cleared habitat along the road, we headed onward in full daylight to the forested areas along the road.
some nice birds fell into place as we alternated walks along the road with short drives to push further into the unknown areas: cinnamon neopipo, snow-capped manakin, red-headed manakin, fiery-capped manakin, pale-bellied tyrant-manakin, dwarf tyrant-manakin, black manakin (found later in the background of alex's recordings), and blue-backed manakins of an uncertain subspecies or population - with variant vocalizations none of us were familiar with from extensive experience at the rio cristalino and elsewhere around alta floresta, and with red-orange crowns rather than the yellow crown of the expected subspecies, regina. and those were just the manakins!
other good finds included a band of plush-crested jays, several bronzy jacamars seen and heard, innumerable white-crested elaenias, a few pairs of scarlet-shouldered parrotlets, two or three flocks of blue-winged macaws, buff-throated foliage-gleaner, masked tanagers, and unidentified small Penelope guans, most likely rusty-margined.
a good mixed flock included bay-headed, flame-crested, paradise, opal-rumped and turquoise tanagers, pygmy and sclater's antwrens, 3 dacnis species (but not the hoped-for white-bellied), gray-chested greenlet, and others. a male black-eared fairy and a pair of black-bellied thorntails fed at an Inga-ish tree.
around noon as we headed to the car to start back for alta floresta, we ran into another mixed flock... this one we didn't really work through, as the first bird simon clapped eyes on was a small, active, BAM!!! Polioptila paraensis!! Alex got digi-video and a short tape recording of the bird. definitely a species to be perhaps expected in this sandy, nutrient-poor habitat.
bret whitney happened to be in alta floresta when we returned, and we had him confirm the id on the gnatcatcher, just to be sure he believed the record. later he commented on the blue-backed manakin recordings too, saying he didn't think he'd heard the species vocalizing like that before, certainly not around alta floresta. interesting....
it would seem that much remains to be found at "garumbo".... stay tuned for future updates!
