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Virua National Park is perhaps the best place in the world to see Crestless Curassow. This one walked right out in front of us while we were birding on the Estrada Perdida. Photo by Micah Riegner.

Three of the ingredients that make for a good tour are good birds, good landscapes, and good food, and Roraima has them all! A few years ago, while studying specimens at the bird collection at INPA (Institute for Amazonian Research) in Manaus, I noticed that many neat birds came from the state of Roraima. I talked to Bret Whitney, aka Kite, we did some research and consequently dreamed up a new itinerary to this part of Brazil. Bret drummed up a group of participants and we ran an invitational scouting tour last year, which was a heck of a lot of fun. This year was also a blast; we had a great group, great weather, and great birds all around. There were numerous highlights including the Orange-breasted Falcons at Tepequem and Caracarai, the majestic mother Harpy incubating her egg—icon of tropical America—the Hoary-throated Spinetails on the Rio Uraricoera and the Crestless Curassow (better known as careless curassow) walking right toward us on the Estrada Perdida. It was a great tour for antbirds; we had range-restricted Rio Branco Antbird, the strikingly gorgeous Ferruginous-backed Antbird, the somewhat less striking Willis’s Antbird and the enigmatic Yapacana Antbird at Virua National Park. Oh, and we mustn’t leave out Capuchinbirds near Boa Vista with their unearthly vocalizations and unearthly appearance, certainly contenders for the strangest birds of the tour. We also did well for mammals, thanks to Tom and his thermal scope. For many of us the Giant Anteater in the savanna below Tepequem was a lifer, as were the Guianan Sakis outside Boa Vista, Crab-eating Fox, Neotropic River Otters and Bare-tailed Woolly Opossums at Virua. That Ferreira’s Spiny Tree-rat sitting on the termite mound while chewing a piece of fruit is worth a mention, too!

As soon as we landed in Boa Vista we were met by Maxswel, our driver, and Helio, our local tour operator. We loaded up into the Sprinter, had a great buffet lunch, checked into the hotel and went out birding. We walked a dirt road that winds through some riverine scrub along the Rio Branco where we had our first encounters with White-bellied Piculet, Pale-tipped Tyrannulet, and the handsome Rio Branco Antbird. A Black Hawk-Eagle stood out for us on a low tree, somewhat of a surprise, given the low stature of the forest. We reached the river and saw a troop of Red Howlers clambering about—also surprising, given our proximity to Boa Vista, the largest city in Roraima!

The next morning, we were off to Serra do Tepequem. From Boa Vista we drove north on the BR174, stopping at some Jabiru-filled puddles before reaching the Rio Uraricoera where we saw the range-restricted Hoary-throated Spinetail! Not only that, we saw it at a nest: a globular twiggy structure nestled within a vine tangle. Another confiding pair of Rio Branco Antbirds came in, as did Brown-crested Flycatcher and Slate-headed Tody-flycatcher. It was getting quite hot, so we continued to our lunch spot before the final stretch to Tepeqeum, stopping briefly to see Crested Bobwhite singing from the top of a mound.

Our time at Tepequem was fruitful. The first afternoon we birded at Mirante da Paiva—an overlook where we had a cooperative Sooty-capped Hermit. This hummer occurs in Venezuela and has recently been found on the mountaintops of Roraima. In fact, it’s such a recent discovery that it’s not even in Birds of Brazil! The next morning we birded trails at Sesc Tepequem. Last year the place was under renovation, and they wouldn’t let us in, so I was excited to check it out for the first time. We piled out of the van and Tom spotted a falcon sitting on a snag. We studied it for several minutes and realized it had all the right features to make it Orange-breasted Falcon: the heavy bill, white throat surrounded by rufous, the coarse white bands on the breast, large feet and Peregrine-esque proportions. Fantastic! While we were watching it, a Collared Forest-falcon blasted past and a flock of Tepui Swifts circled overhead. A few White-collared Swifts were mixed in. The birding trail at the Sesc was superb. We saw both Green-bellied Hummingbird and White-chested Emerald, two other Venezuelan hummers with southern outposts here at Tepequem, the localized Finsch’s Euphonia eating Mistletoe, as euphonias do, and several Blackpoll Warblers in the treetops. These champion migrants must have just arrived from their trans-Atlantic crossing and integrated into the local feeding flocks. Farther down the trail we saw Blue-crowned Manakin and some cooperative Gilded Barbets, two species that occur west of the Rio Branco.

In the afternoon we birded the low scrubby habitat at the top of the plateau. A bit of Pygmy-owl tooting brought in a mob with American Redstarts, both Yellow-bellied and Plain-crested Elaenias, White-fringed Antwrens, Black-faced and Red-shouldered Tanagers. While we were focused on the birds, I felt a critter go up my pant leg… was it a spider, a tarantula wasp, a bullet ant? Thankfully it was just an Amazon Lava Lizard, and thankfully it fell out of my pant-leg without me having to pull my pants down.

After a delicious dinner buffet at Sesc, some of us did a night walk along the main trail. Tom immediately spotted a Crab-eating fox with the heat scope and we were able to get quite close to it without it running away. One of the most surprising finds that night was a Fiery-capped Manakin, also thanks to the heat scope. It looked like a little pink cotton ball sitting on a branch. Amazingly that was a bird we missed during the day. Without the heat scope we would not have seen it at all!

On the way down the mountain the next day, we made several stops before reaching Boa Vista. Our first stop was for a pair of dark morph White-tailed Hawks, one of which was soaring among the vultures. The dark morph of these hawks is a specialty of South America that doesn’t reach the US. We continued to the Rio Amajari and saw Azure Gallinules in the wetland past the river. These opalescent marsh skulkers have a tendency to wander great distances in search of suitable wetlands; however, there remains much to be learned about these movements. A Giant Anteater was another worthwhile stop before lunch. We watched it as it lumbered slowly across the savannah, pausing every 20 yards or so to probe its snout into the ground. After reaching Boa Vista, we spent the afternoon birding around town. We walked another side road that leads down to the Rio Branco and saw a Tropical Screech-Owl roosting in a vine tangle. We then cruised the streets and found two Sun Parakeets just glowing in the afternoon light! These gorgeous birds are now well established here in Boa Vista and can often be seen along the river.

A few months before the tour I received a message from J Pavani, a local guide in Boa Vista, that a pair of Harpy Eagles were copulating and building a nest not far from the city. Of course, it was something we should include in the tour, so I made the arrangements. Things worked out great. We met Pavani at 4:30 in the morning and headed to the Harpy site. We reached the nest, just as it was getting light enough to see, and saw the mother on the nest, certainly a highlight of the tour. We had a picnic breakfast while we watched her incubating her egg. I'm looking forward to seeing her again in April. By then there should be a well-developed chick in or not far from the nest!

As if a Harpy Eagle wasn’t enough for that morning, Pavani took us down a side road for Capuchinbird. We reached the spot, an unassuming piece of forest, and we played the recording. Sure enough, the birds responded, and after a bit more playback they came roaring in right above us. They shifted from branch to branch, searching for the intruder. After satisfying views, we made our way back to Boa Vista and down to Caracarai, gateway to Virua National Park.

Virua is an extensive park that was established in 1998 to protect a number of important ecosystems, notably the campinas in northern Amazonia. It straddles Estrada Perdida, also known as the Lost Road, which was the original path of the BR174. After an attempt to construct the road through the flooded campina, and losing tractor equipment along the way, the project was abandoned. They left a perfectly good dirt road, which has since become popular for birding, much like the Transpantaneira in the Pantanal.

Our first morning on the Estrada Perdida we were stopped by a Crestless Curassow walking across the road. We all got out of the van and the bird came toward us nervously flicking its tail (see my video). When curassows actually walk toward you, you know you’re in a well-protected area. We then followed Paulo, our local guide, to a patch of white-sand forest within the campina to look for Yapacana Antbird—a bird few birders have seen. In order to get there, we had to cross a couple flooded areas, but we came prepared with boots, so it was not a problem. We grouped up within the stunted white sands forest; the visibility was horrendous. Nonetheless, I played the recording via Bluetooth and within a minute the bird was in front of us, pirouetting on a thin diagonal branch, while giving its harsh, raspy song. Miraculously everyone in the group saw it, and some folks managed some fabulous photos. Woohoo! We returned to Caracarai buzzing with joy.

The Rio Branco is the great river that divides Roraima down the middle, separating numerous sister species on its way to join the mighty Rio Negro. In order to fully appreciate the Branco, one must take a boat trip, and that’s exactly what we did. We boarded the Dom Alfredon and met captain Claudio and the crew who generally take fishing groups out on the Rio Branco. We were their first birders and they were both excited and intrigued by what we do. After a delightful breakfast, we loaded up onto the voadeiras (metal boats with outboard motors) and cruised along an exposed sandbar. Tom spotted some White-rumped Sandpipers at the water’s edge, certainly a great record for this part of South America! We also saw numerous Roseate Spoonbills and Black Skimmers lined up on the sand.

After lunch, a storm blew in (our first rain of the tour), so we waited for it to pass before going out again on the voadeiras. This time, we cruised up a narrow channel, where we saw Botos, numerous Hoatzins, the diminutive Klages’s Antwren and an Amazonian Umbrellabird crossing the channel. The next morning we cruised another creek, and saw Varzea Schiffornis, Green-and-rufous Kingfisher, Chestnut-crowned Foliage-gleaner, and Rusty-backed Spinetails. On our way back we saw a number of good raptors, including a Hook-billed Kite, Great Black-Hawk and a juvenile Zone-tailed Hawk soaring over the Branco. One of the neat features of the Rio Branco is that it has disjunct populations of white-water birds that are typically found along the main channel of the Amazon. These include Lesser Wagtail-tyrant and White-bellied Spinetail, both of which we saw on a river island on our way back to Caracarai, although the spinetail didn’t cooperate as well as we would have liked it to.

Our last full day of birding we spent back at Virua, this time birding the terra firme. We caught up with several antbirds including Northern Slaty and Amazonian Antshrikes, Guianan Warbling Antbird, and Ferruginous-backed Antbird, which everyone saw extremely well as it walked around like an oversized pipit. Before heading back to Boa Vista, we made a final stop outside of Caracarai where we had up-close looks at Black-headed Parrots, a satisfying closure to our time in Roraima. Tom and I would like to thank Helio and Maxswel for their great driving, company and assistance on the tour, J Pavani and Paulo for their local expertise and Christine for setting things up for us. We'd also like to thank you all for a fun-filled couple weeks; we had a great time birding with you and look forward to crossing paths again soon!

Micah

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

This Harpy built its nest in an enormous Kapok tree outside of Boa Vista. She sat peacefully while we watched her from a nearby bridge. By the time we return for the next tour in April, there should be a well-grown chick in or near the nest. Photo by Micah Riegner.

Tom Johnson photographed this Crested Bobwhite as it sang in the heat of the day.

Sooty-capped Hermit is a bird of Venezuela that makes it to some of the mountaintops in Roraima, Brazil. Tom Johnson photographed this one while we were birding at Tepequem.

Dark morph White-tailed Hawks are always a treat to see. Gil Ewing photographed this one below Tepequem.

Micah photographed this Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl at Virua National Park.

Gil Ewing photographed this Yapacana Antbird as it sang in front of us at Virua National Park, the best place in Brazil to see this bird. It looks a lot like the widespread Silvered Antbird, but sounds totally different.

Tom Johnson used the x-ray mode on his camera to photograph this Rio Branco Antbird in the middle of a vine tangle.

We couldn't ask for better views of this Point-tailed Palmcreeper along the road to Virua National Park. Photo by Tom Johnson.

Happy Harpy watchers outside of Boa Vista. Photo by Tom Johnson.

Capuchinbirds are one the strangest birds in South America. Micah photographed this one near Boa Vista.

Guianan Bearded Sakis often form large troops that move noisily through the canopy. Micah photographed this one outside of Boa Vista.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Here are some of the lifer foods we enjoyed on the tour:

Tambaqui- Often considered the best fish in the Amazon. We had this vegetarian piranha a couple times at Caracarai.

Pirarucu- One of largest fish in Amazonia. They served it on the boat trip.

Churrasco- Brazilian barbecue. We had it on the boat and at Caracarai.

Farinha- That crunchy manioc flour that was at almost every meal.

Farofa- The toasted manioc flour served with Churrasco.

Vinaigrette- The diced tomato salad often served with the Tambaqui.

Munguza- The corn pudding that Gerusa prepared for us at Virua. She said it was a specialty of Roraima.

Galinhada- The traditional chicken stew that Gerusa prepared for us at Virua.

Caipirinha- No Brazil tour is complete without this.

Cupuacu- The delightful fruit in the chocolate family that they use for juice and desserts. It has a unique flavor unlike anything I've had in the US.

Totals for the tour: 315 bird taxa and 13 mammal taxa