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Southeastern Brazil is a land of birding treasure. This region of South America has more species of birds restricted to it than any other, and many of them are among the rarest birds on the continent. The northern hemisphere fall--which is springtime in southern Brazil--is the best time of year to bird there, and our start date has been carefully tweaked over many years to optimize our probability of picking up all migrants returning to breed as well as our chances of having good weather: On average, we're not too early, not too late; not too dry nor too wet. And our guides are, shall we say, pretty "in-touch" with things down there; nobody else has our local network and depth of experience.

Starting back in 2009, we split our traditional 26-day adventure into two slightly expanded tours at the Tropic of Capricorn (about 23 degrees south latitude), the official division between the Tropics and the South Temperate Zone. These tours are perfectly complementary whether taken separately or in tandem. Part One, NORTH OF THE TROPIC, at 18 days (including travel to and from Brazil), takes you through the tiny but mighty (birdy, that is!) states of Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro plus far northern Sao Paulo. Part Two, SOUTH OF THE CAPRICORN, picks up from Sao Paulo and runs for another 17 days south through the gaucho country of Rio Grande do Sul, a region settled by Italian and German immigrants and so culturally different from the north that you may wonder if we are truly still in Brazil! Thus, you can keep the legend alive with nearly a month in the field. So be sure your seat back's up and tray table stowed, and come on down! Below you'll find a description of each part's highlights from the tour's itinerary PDF, available from the "Key Info" tab above.

PART ONE: NORTH OF THE TROPIC includes birding areas from the state of Espirito Santo south to northern Sao Paulo. We will discuss birding areas on a state-by-state basis, which will allow an understanding of the type of habitat and general terrain we will visit on each segment of the tour.

Espirito Santo--From the state of Paraiba in the northeast to extreme northern Rio Grande do Sul in the south, the coastal plain of Brazil was once almost completely covered in tall, luxuriant rainforest called "Atlantic Forest." Atlantic Forest as a habitat or biome is "endemic" to this region of Brazil, adjacent eastern Paraguay, and northern Misiones Province in Argentina, sheltering a flora and fauna quite distinct from any other. As recently as the 1950s, however, a massive logging campaign, mostly clear-cutting concentrated in the tiny state of Espirito Santo, drastically reduced the extent of Atlantic Forest. Today less than five percent (many say less than two percent) of the lowland Atlantic Forest remains, and this is in a highly fragmented condition. Some of South America's rarest birds maintain small populations in the beautiful forest reserves of Espirito Santo, and we will spend the first week of our tour here in search of such exciting birds as Solitary Tinamou, Rusty-margined Guan, Red-billed Curassow, White-necked Hawk, Ochre-marked and Maroon-faced parakeets, Red-browed Parrot, Minute Hermit, Frilled Coquette, Crescent-chested Puffbird, Black-headed Berryeater, White-winged and Banded cotingas, Bare-throated Bellbird, Wied's Tyrant-Manakin, Oustalet's Tyrannulet, and Rufous-brown Solitaire, plus a host of antbirds, flycatchers, other hummers--and the ultra-rare Cherry-throated Tanager. We'll also want to do some night birding in hopes of Tawny-browed Owl, Mottled Owl, Variable (Black-capped) Screech-Owl, Long-tailed Potoo, Long-trained Nightjar, and Ocellated Poorwill.

Rio de Janeiro--Although it is one of the smallest states in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro boasts one of the richest avifaunas. The second week of our tour will find us birding a diverse array of habitats in Rio de Janeiro, ranging from Atlantic Forest to remnant semi-arid woodland to cloud forest at Pico de Caledonia, and grassland above treeline in the Serra da Mantiqueira along the highest-elevation road in all of Brazil (approximately 7800 feet).

We'll be based in lovely Itatiaia National Park for three days, allowing ourselves plenty of time to explore the range of forest habitats from 1700 feet to the elfin forests and grasslands below Agulhas Negras (the "Black Needles"). The climate in these parts is generally just about perfect, but like the coastal mountains of Sao Paulo, Itatiaia can be quite wet even during this relatively dry season. Mention of just a few of the Rio de Janeiro specialties must include Mantled Hawk, Three-toed Jacamar, Green-crowned Plovercrest, Giant, Large-tailed, and White-bearded antshrikes along with lots of other antbirds, the bizarre Slaty Bristlefront, Black-and-gold and Swallow-tailed cotingas, the mysterious Gray-winged Cotinga, Hangnest Tody-Tyrant, and numerous dazzling hummers and tanagers.

Sao Paulo--In far southern Sao Paulo state, around Ubatuba, the Serra do Mar, with its steep, forest-cloaked mountains extends practically to the coast. Although weather is often clear and spring-like, it is also quite likely that we'll hit some rain spawned by moist, Atlantic sea breezes rising against the wall of the serra. Field work in this beautiful region, with its clearwater streams and shining white beaches, has revealed the presence of some of the most distinctive of southeastern Brazil's endemics, such as Buff-bellied Puffbird, Saw-billed Hermit, Squamate and Scaled antbirds, Salvadori's Antwren, Black-cheeked Gnateater, Spotted Bamboowren, Fork-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant, Sao Paulo Tyrannulet, and Buff-throated Purpletuft. The highly endangered Black-hooded Antwren maintains a precarious existence in a small area of far southern Rio de Janeiro state, and we'll wrap up with a search for the handsome Marsh (Sao Paulo) Antwren, this distinctive subspecies of which was described to science only in 2014.

PART TWO: SOUTH OF THE CAPRICORN includes birding areas from southern Sao Paulo south to Brazil's southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul. We will discuss birding areas on a state-by-state basis, which will allow an understanding of the type of habitat and general terrain we will visit on each segment of the tour.

Sao Paulo--As one moves south in the Atlantic Forest of the southeast, especially through Sao Paulo state, there is a significant change in the birdlife as numerous species are replaced by their southern, sister-species/subspecies. The Serra do Mar of southern Sao Paulo, with its steep, forest-cloaked mountains, offers some of the most pristine montane forest left in Brazil. Endemics to seek here, particularly in beautiful Intervales State Park, include the rare Black-fronted Piping-Guan, Red-and-white Crake, Mantled and White-necked hawks, Long-trained Nightjar, Tawny-browed and Rusty-barred owls, Crescent-chested and Buff-bellied puffbirds, Red-breasted Toucan, Saffron and Spot-billed toucanets, the very rare Helmeted Woodpecker and the huge Robust Woodpecker, White-throated Woodcreeper, Black-billed Scythebill, Orange-breasted Thornbird (Phacellodomus ferrugineigula, split from the more northerly Orange-throated, formerly called Red-eyed), Saw-billed Hermit, White-collared and White-browed foliage-gleaners, Giant, Spot-backed, Tufted, Large-tailed, and White-bearded antshrikes, Squamate Antbird, Rufous Gnateater, Mouse-colored Tapaculo, Spotted Bamboowren, an undescribed species of bristlefront(!), Bare-throated Bellbird, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Swallow-tailed Cotinga, Shear-tailed Gray-Tyrant, Oustalet's and Bay-ringed tyrannulets, and the little-known Black-legged Dacnis.

The southern coast of Sao Paulo features a series of barrier islands covered with a dense, low-stature woodland called restinga, which is habitat for the endangered (and beautiful!) Red-tailed Parrot, Restinga Tyrannulet, Fuscous Flycatcher (nominate subspecies endemic to the Atlantic Forest), Small-headed Elaenia (recently split from Highland), the impressive Long-billed Wren, and it's just possible we could connect with a gorgeous Black-backed Tanager.

Parana--Neighboring Sao Paulo to the south is Parana. We'll get our first taste of temperate southeastern Brazil in the highlands here (still, with highs in the mid-70s). Bizarre Araucaria ("Monkey Puzzle") trees lend a most distinctive aspect to the landscape, and we'll note an almost completely different appearance to the forest in general. At elevations of about 1900 to 3300 feet we will seek such fascinating birds as Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail, Violet-crowned Plovercrest, White-spotted Woodpecker, Pale-browed Treehunter (C. l. holti, a sure split from northern C. l. leucophrus), Sharp-billed Treehunter, Hooded Berryeater, Azure Jay, Brown Tanager, Red-necked and Brassy-breasted tanagers, Glaucous-blue Grosbeak, and, especially, the secretive Canebrake Groundcreeper. We've ensured that we'll have sufficient time to search for Parana Antwren (aka Marsh Antbird), Kaempfer's Tody-Tyrant, the strange Sickle-winged Nightjar (rare and local but we stand an excellent chance of success), and--with some patience and lots of luck--maybe even a Wetland Tapaculo (yet another recently described species).

Rio Grande do Sul--Brazil's southernmost state neighbors both Uruguay and Argentina. So different is Rio Grande do Sul from the rest of southeastern Brazil that it feels like a different country. Quaint little towns seem to have been transported straight out of eastern Germany! Rolling, green grasslands and Araucaria-dominated woodland here and in the highlands of neighboring Santa Catarina state form a quilt-work on the land, and the far-carrying cries of Red-winged Tinamous and Red-legged Seriemas come from remnant native campos. In open areas and marshy swales we'll seek Long-tailed Cinclodes, Straight-billed Reedhaunter, Firewood-gatherer, Bearded Tachuri, Sharp-tailed Tyrant, Long-tailed Reed-Finch, Lesser (Gray-cheeked) Grass-Finch, Grassland Yellow-Finch, Great Pampa-Finch, Black-and-rufous Warbling-Finch, several rare seedeaters, Yellow-rumped Marshbirds, and small groups of rare Saffron-cowled Blackbirds accompanied by satellite pairs of handsome Black-and-white Monjitas. With luck, we'll also see Giant and South American snipes, Plumbeous and Blackish rails, and Rufous-sided Crake. Forested areas harbor many other special birds, such as Vinaceous Parrot, the very rare Red-spectacled Parrot, the bizarre Blue-bellied Parrot, the rarely seen Mottled Piculet, Rufous-breasted Leaftosser, Scalloped Woodcreeper, Short-tailed Antthrush, Speckle-breasted Antpitta (soon to be named as a new species), Olive Spinetail, Araucaria and Striolated tit-spinetails, Greenish Tyrannulet, Chestnut-backed and Chestnut-headed tanagers, and the distinctive Green-throated Euphonia. Wow!

Select the KEY INFO tab or click here for our itinerary plus space requests, status, fees, limits, and guides for any departure.