Brazil - The Birds & Mammals of Minas Gerais

We begin with a direct overnight flight to São Paulo and then a drive of three and a half hours to spend our first night in Mococa. Here we will enjoy our first Brazilian birds, such as Red-legged Seriema, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Blond-crested Woodpecker and Curl-crested Jay. Moving on, we will spend three nights in the dramatic landscapes of the Serra da Canastra National Park, where we will explore the reserve's lowland forests, rivers and high open grasslands. King Vulture, Helmeted Manakin, Streamer-tailed Tyrant and Greater Rhea are just some of the avian delights to be found here. We will also search for the critically endangered Brazilian Merganser (less than 250 birds remain). Our main mammalian target here is the wonderful Giant Anteater, but if luck is on our side, we may find Giant Armadillo and Maned Wolf too! Next, we move into the rugged landscape of Serra do Cipó National Park for a further stay of three nights. Specialities here may include Cipó Cinclodes and Cipó Canastero and two beautiful hummingbirds, the Horned and Hyacinth Visorbearer, together with Grey-backed Tachuri and Pale-throated Sierra Finch, among many others. We will also visit the grasslands and Atlantic Forests on the eastern side of Cipó’s plateau, home to the endemic Rock and Marsh Tapaculos.

We will end our tour with two nights at Santuário do Caraça, the beautiful old monastery within the Serra do Caraça Reserve. This is one of the best places in the world to see the stilt-legged Maned Wolf. This spectacular canid often appears at night at the entrance to the monastery, attracted by the kitchen scraps left out by the monks! Birding at Serra do Caraça will be exciting and varied too, with highlights including Swallow-tailed Cotinga, Blackish Rail and Sapphire-spangled Emerald.