Paraguay offers birders a remarkable contrast of habitats within a compact and little-visited country. In the west lies the Gran Chaco, one of South America’s great remaining wildernesses: a vast, little-visited mosaic of thorn forest, palm savannah, dry woodland, seasonal wetlands and open grassland. Whilst in the east, the Mbaracayú Forest Nature Reserve protects one of the country’s last substantial blocks of Atlantic Forest. Together, these contrasting landscapes support an exceptional diversity of birds, with a compelling suite of dry-country and Chaco specialities found nowhere else in South America, and a wealth of Atlantic Rainforest species, many of which are scarce, localised or difficult to see elsewhere.
During a recent visit in May 2026, Naturetrek staff member James explored both the Paraguayan Chaco and Mbaracayú, encountering the distinctive birdlife of these very different environments. Inspired by the diversity, quality and relative lack of birding tourism in the area, we have developed a new tour designed to reveal the best of this fascinating and often-overlooked corner of South America in combination with some of the finest birding in the world, the Atlantic Rainforest.
Below we present a small selection of photographs taken by James during his May visit to the Paraguayan Chaco and the Mbaracayú Forest Nature Reserve. These images offer a taste of the contrasting habitats and distinctive birdlife that can be expected on our new Paraguay – From the Gran Chaco to the Atlantic Forest tour. To view the images larger, please click on the crosshairs in the centre of each image.
“Firstly, I visited the Paraguayan Chaco for its unusual mix of birds, many of which I had never heard of before. During my time here, I saw a whole host of regional specialities, including Many-coloured Chaco Finch, Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, Black-capped Warbling Finch, Crested Hornero, Cinereous Tyrant, Greater Wagtail-Tyrant, Chaco Chachalaca and Chaco Puffbird. The highlights, however, have to be two of the ‘Chaco Big Six’: Black-legged Seriema and Crested Gallito.”
“Next, I visited the Mbaracayú Forest, Paraguay’s last great tract of Atlantic Rainforest, which supports a very different selection of birds. Despite visiting outside the key season, I was lucky enough to see a number of this habitat’s iconic species, including Spot-billed Toucanet, Buff-bellied Puffbird, Blonde-crested Woodpecker, Green-headed Tanager, White-bearded Manakin, Toco Toucan and Blue-crowned Trogon. Amongst the incredible birdlife the forest is alive with colourful butterflies, while the possibility of encountering one of its rarer mammal residents adds an extra sense of excitement to any visit"
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