January 13-30, 2026 with Marcelo Barreiros & Bret Whitney & Daniel ( Fernando de Noronha pre-tour extension) (ext. from Jan. 11)
The Field Guides 2026 Nowhere but Northeast Brazil tour was yet another rewarding birding adventure that took us through a tremendous diversity of habitats with a long list of special birds found only in this corner of Brazil. Everyone assembled in the bustling city of Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco. Marcelo took five participants to the Fernando de Noronha archipelago of volcanic islands, some 350 km out into the tropical Atlantic Ocean. They had a great time for a couple of days, enjoying the spectacular scenery while seeing and photographing the many species of breeding seabirds, including Red-footed, Masked, and Brown boobies; White-tailed and Red-billed tropicbirds; Brown and Black noddies; Atlantic White-Tern, and, of course, the two distinctive endemic landbirds, Noronha Elaenia and Noronha Vireo. They then met up with the rest of us back in Recife, and it was “off to the races”!
Without a doubt, the most critical birding day of the tour is our first full day afield, when we visit two important reserves: Frei Caneca and Pedra D’Antas. Weather has to have been reasonably dry, as the maze of dirt roads through sugarcane fields, after just a day or two of rain, can become impassable even for the 4WD vehicles we hire for the day. Odds are in our favor in mid-late January, and (whew!) this year proved to be easy going – at least on the way in! It was a rather dark, drizzly early morning but Alagoas Tyrannulet, Golden-spangled Piculet, Red-headed Manakin, Black-cheeked Gnateater, and Plain-winged Woodcreeper (highly distinctive, endemic subspecies taunayi) showed very nicely. Another stop was great for Orange-bellied Antwren, Rusty-winged Antwren, and the pernambucensis subspecies of Variable Antshrike… but then rain set in in earnest. Lunch was fabulous, perfectly organized by the reserve staff, and a little time watching feeders as the rain abated produced fantastic views of Black Jacobin, Rufous-breasted Hermit, Black-eared Fairy, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Sombre Hummingbird, Blue-chinned Sapphire and, especially, the rare Long-tailed Woodnymph. Ripe bananas attracted several gorgeous Seven-colored Tanagers (Yayy!), Burnished-buff Tanagers, and Violaceous Euphonias. As skies cleared, we even picked up a Black Hawk-Eagle soaring low over the forest canopy.
Later that afternoon we transferred to the coastal town of Tamandaré to move into our lovely resort hotel on the beach. It was the perfect spot for access to mangroves, where we picked up Plain-bellied Emerald and Bicolored Conebill, and nearby mixed marshlands with scattered palms for beautiful Jandaya Parakeets (good spotting, Sharon!) and, happily, rare Forbes’s Blackbirds. Remnant Atlantic Forest patches surrounded by sugarcane are also important habitats, and yielded fly-over Red-shouldered Macaws and Blue-headed Parrots (endemic subspecies reichnowi), Southern White-fringed Antwren, Willis’s Antbird, Pinto’s Spinetail, Smoky-fronted Tody-Flycatcher, and Yellow-faced Siskin, but unfortunately, we got rained out of our only good chance for White-collared Kite.
The northern state of Ceará was our next destination, and we birded three distinct habitats on our north-to-south route. First was the Serra de Baturité, a small, isolated mountain range that protects a significant area of humid, evergreen (most trees never lose their leaves) woodland. Excellent sightings there included Gray-breasted Parakeet (officially known only from these mountains), Gould’s Toucanet (endemic subspecies baturitensis), Gray-headed Spinetail, Rufous-breasted Leaftosser, Olivaceous Woodcreeper (distinctive subspecies reiseri), Ceara Woodcreeper, Black-capped Antwren, Ceara Gnateater, Buff-throated Tody-Tyrant, Band-tailed Manakin, flashy Red-necked Tanagers, and our first Red-cowled Cardinals. We were also fortunate to get good views of the unnamed Short-tailed Antthrush in the Baturité, which has a very distinctive song.
Next came the much drier, lower-elevation woodland around Quixadá. The town is set in an austere landscape of ancient (Paleoproterozoic, ~2.2 billion years old) massive metamorphic plugs. The woodland there was remarkably dry, almost entirely leafless. Although birding was generally quiet, we easily located the specialties we hoped to find there, particularly Pygmy Nightjar (adults with a half-grown chick!) and White-browed Guan (the dry conditions helped by keeping them close to the little water that was available), and we saw our first Cactus Parakeets, Spot-backed Puffbird, a Blue-crowned Trogon, Ochre-backed Woodpecker, a surprise pair of Golden-green Woodpeckers, a nice male Ochraceous Piculet, a male Great Antshrike of the fancy subspecies stagurus, lots of flashy White-naped Jays, several Campo Troupials – and even a group of Scarlet-throated Tanagers, which can be difficult to find anywhere on the tour route. Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles and Harris’s Hawks also graced our scopes.
The long drive south to the Chapada do Araripe paid off grandly over the next couple of days, with fine views of the recently described Northern Silvery-cheeked Antshrike, Planalto Slaty-Antshrike, the handsome Stripe-backed Antbird, Caatinga Antwren, White-browed Antpitta, Red-shouldered Spinetail, Great Xenops (Wow!), Pale-bellied Tyrant-Manakin, Gray-eyed Greenlet, Cinnamon Tanager, and the star of the show, Araripe Manakin! At our picnic dinner spot on the chapada, we pulled up a male Bearded Bellbird, which we had not even heard on the tour for a few years and also had close encounters with singing Rufous Nightjars. Continuing our way south, we birded at a couple of ephemeral ponds that concentrated lots of birds, including a bunch of Southern Pochards and a Masked Duck. A highly efficient afternoon stop in remnant caatinga woodland was fantastic for Black-bellied Antwrens, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Ash-throated Casiornis, White-naped Xenopsaris, and Long-billed Wren.
Based in a fine hotel in Petrolina, on the banks of the great Rio São Francisco (the largest river in eastern Brazil), we were in the heart of the caatinga, which is a Tupí-Guaraní Indian word for “white forest”, in reference to the appearance of the original, deciduous forest when it becomes leafless during the dry season. Our first morning in caatinga scrub was really fun, as lots of species came in close around us, including Glittering-bellied Emerald, Spotted Piculet, Caatinga Cachalote, Southern Scrub-Flycatcher, Suiriri Flycatcher, Mouse-colored Tyrannulet, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Swainson’s and Brown-crested flycatchers, and the endemic White-throated Seedeater. Especially good was getting back-to-back comparisons of Greater and Bahia wagtail-tyrants! We also had a great view of a Red-legged Seriema, and kicked up a couple of Least Nighthawks that performed nicely in flight. After an excellent lunch accompanied by nesting Fork-tailed Palm-Swifts and a siesta back at the hotel, we reemerged for some late-afternoon birding at a marsh where we found Rusty-backed Spinetail and Greater Thornbird, both very local species on the São Francisco, and we even spotted a couple of Comb Ducks.
Next morning we crossed the São Francisco from Petrolina to Juazeiro, in the state of Bahia, and made our way southeast to the rather remote town of Canudos. A late-afternoon outing near town was fantastic for Broad-tipped Hermit, Stripe-breasted Starthroat, Ruby Topaz Hummingbirds, Barred Antshrike (the caatinga-based subspecies capistratus, with red eyes and spot-barred plumage) and Ultramarine Grosbeak. Canudos is the gateway to the Raso de Catarina, where the Canudos Biological Station protects the red-rock canyons that are the nesting sites of Indigo (Lear’s) Macaws. Almost the entire world population, now numbering some 2300, breeds here, using crevices and cavities in these steep-walled canyons. We arrived at the main canyon at first light, and we could soon hear the first macaws waking up. What an incredibly exciting moment! The day dawned quickly, and soon we were seeing pairs and trios of macaws flying overhead, en route to their feeding grounds 20+ miles away. We then made our way down to the rim of the canyon, and settled in for 2-3 hours of spectacular viewing of these very rare macaws as they came by on all sides, entered their nest cavities in the cliffs, and perched on the canyon rim or even on columnar cacti, unconcerned with our presence. Seeing these very blue macaws against those pinkish-red cliffs, especially in bright morning sunlight, is an absolutely gorgeous, thrilling experience. Also present were multiple pairs of Blue-crowned Parakeets and a few Turquoise-fronted Amazons, and both Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle and King Vulture were spotted in the distance.
We made our way east from Canudos on a long travel day, stopping for a fine view of increasingly rare Pectoral Antwrens and a bonus White Monjita before pulling into the town of Catú for the night. Fringe-backed Fire-eye was in our sights, and we were lucky to find a pair of these rare and local antbirds quickly this year, leaving us time for good views of Golden-capped Parakeets, Sooretama Slaty-Antshrike, Bahia Antwren, Rufous-margined Antwren, and Eared Pygmy-Tyrant -- and also time for a stop at the edge of a cattail marsh where we had unbelievably close and prolonged views of a family of five Rufous-sided Crakes and a pair of Blackish Rails! Following a hearty churrascaria lunch, we relaxed in our comfortable bus and devoted the balance of the day to the drive to Mucugê, a small, colonial town in the Chapada Diamantina. The drive is very worthwhile, as Mucugê offers access to several distinct habitats, including both types of cerrado savannas: campo limpo (essentially grassland with a low shrub layer), campo rupestre (savanna with rocky substrate and shrubs), and mata-de-cipó, which is a stunted woodland with a dense, vine-rich understory. We did very well around Mucugê, with especially good sightings of the recently described Diamantina Tapaculo (drop-dead amazing, check out the video!), Collared Crescentchest, Rufous-capped Antshrike, Southern Silvery-cheeked Antshrike, Sincora Antwren, Rusty-backed Antwren, Narrow-billed Antwren, Rufous-sided Scrub-Tyrant, Stripe-tailed and Grassland yellow-finches, and Hepatic and White-banded tanagers. Hummers were also excellent, especially a couple of close, perched male Hooded Visorbearers, Brown Violetear, and a Horned Sungem practically at our feet! One late afternoon, Pete spotted a Short-eared Owl hunting low over the cerrado, a rare sighting in this region. Our final birding destination was Chapada Diamantina National Park, near the old diamond-mining town of Lençóis. Weather was unusually damp and windy, but we managed excellent views of duetting Pale-throated Pampa-Finches and good comparisons of Plain-crested, Lesser, and Small-headed elaenias. Fortunately, the flight from Lençóis to Salvador operated right on time, saving us the 6-hour drive we had to do last year!
Amigos, this was my final tour of Northeast Brazil. It’s been a wonderful run, as I led this trip almost every year since its inception in 1993, which marked the starting point for birding tourism in the Nordeste of Brazil. I retire happily, knowing that Marcelo will very ably carry it forward for many, many years to come! Thanks to all of you for joining us this year. We had a really fun time, and we look forward to seeing you again, soon.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/474627
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplistneb26TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Bret