Chapada dos Guimarães National Park; a small Brazilian surprise

By the time this post is published, I'll be just about on my way out of Australia for the first time in four years, both nervous and excited. Unsurprisingly to many of my readers we'll be heading back to the Neotropics, and specifically to Costa Rica to run a tour that we had to cancel - and didn't we all have to cancel?! - three years ago. Accordingly my mind is on the Neotropics now, so this post will take us back there, which I know won't please everyone, but who can? ☺ Needless to say I'm pretty distracted at present, so this might be shortish, or at least somewhat spare on detail. Hopefully you can enjoy the scenery and birds anyway.

Sandstone outcrops, which are typical of the Chapada dos Guimarães landscape.

Most natural history people who visit Brazil (and it's a fabulous destination, especially now that some of the worst of the ugliness of the past few years has been swept away) are likely to head for the Amazon, Pantanal and Iguazú Falls, and quite rightly. However if you're going to the Pantanal - and you really should! - please build in a couple of days to take in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, just to the north. You're likely to fly into Cuiabá, a surprising high-rise city of over a million people in the plains, and Chapada dos Guimarães is not too far away - in fact they are visible from each other, though about 60km apart.

Cuiabá, capital of Mato Grosso state, bigger than NSW,
in the hazy distance from Chapada dos Guimarães NP.

The nearby pleasant small town of Chapada dos Guimarães is a good base from which to explore both the park and as a jump-off point for the vast wetlands of the Pantanal. The park itself is valuable as one of the very few in the Cerrado, a vast area of moist savanna woodland and grassland in central Brazil, covering more than 20% of the country. It has been vastly undervalued by governments and most of it has been cleared for agriculture, despite its enormous biodiversity values as one of the richest tropical savannas in the world. Doubtless the rugged rocky nature of Chapada dos Guimarães is the major reason for it being spared.

The extent of the Cerrado, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The green
cross marks the Pantanal, and Chapada dos Guimarães is just to the north of it,
in the purple. Bolivia is immediately to the west, and Paraguay to the south.
The Cerrado just extends into both.

My first impression of the rocky wildness of Chapada dos Guimarães reminded me of the Blue Mountains, but on reflection the red sandstone and the tropical climate is more redolent of the Top  End and Kakadu sandstones in the Northern Territory. Here are some more sandstone vistas and features.

Though there are other explanations for the name to be found on the internet (most of them
simply copying each other) chapada in Portuguese means a high plain, or plateau,
according to my dictionary. Guimarães is a historic city in Portugal, perhaps the
home town of the person who named the landscape here; I can find no
reference to this.

And with plateaux like this there are bound to be waterfalls. Here is the most famous and most visited of them.

Véu de Noiva (ie Bridal Veil) Falls, above and below. I'd love to know how many of these
there are in various languages around the world. In Australia I can think of five Bridal Falls
(two in NSW, and one each in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania) and I'm sure there'll be more.

The Cerrado vegetation is by and large tough and scrubby, though in some sheltered situations there are pockets of moister forest. Here are some roadside examples in the park.

The structural resemblances to Australian tropical savannahs are obvious, though the plants are
very different.

Here are few specific plants in flower, some of which I'm reasonably sure I know and a couple that I don't, but which I float here in the hope that someone like you might be able and willing to help me!

Feathery Acacia Senegalia lowei (formerly Acacia plumosa), one of several South American acacias.

Byrsonima crassifolia, Family Malpighiaceae. The small fruits which will form from these
flowers are valued by humans, and doubtless other animals.

Jacaranda decurrens. We were very surprised to see a jacaranda growing as a small shrub.
In Australia we are familiar with the widely-planted tree J. mimosifolia and it didn't occur
to us that there might be other species with other forms. There are in fact 49 species,
all belonging to the tropics and subtropics of America.

This species and the next I'd love your help with, if you're able.
The families look frustratingly familiar, but I can't be sure of that.

The rest of the post consists of a series of birds (and one reptile), with brief comments on each for those who want them. The first two were taken along the road from the Cuiabá airport to our very nice little lodge in Chapada dos Guimarães.

Black-throated Saltator Saltatricula atricollis. This is actually a tanager but until recently
they were included with the cardinal family. There's a lot of that sort of thing in the Neotropics,
as taxonomies are sorted out. This one is virtually a Cerrado endemic.

Narrow-billed Woodcreeper Lepidocolaptes angustirostris. Widespread in drier habitats
of eastern South America, probing bark crevices for insects.

The next few were in the town of Chapada dos Guimarães, mostly either in the grounds of our lodge or on the wires in the street outside.

Barred Antshrike Thamnophilus doliatus on the garden wall. Anything beginning with 'ant' in
South America is likely to be extremely skulking and frustating - but not this one!

Double-collared Seedeaters Sporophila caerulescens (yet another tanager-called-something-else)
and Ruddy Ground Dove Columbina talpacoti on the lodge feeder.

Rufous-bellied Thrush Turdus rufiventris. This is a common and much-loved bird
(mostly for its song) which has been declared the national bird of Brazil.

Pale-vented Pigeon Patagioenas cayennensis, another familiar and widespread species,
including in suburbia as long as there are trees remaining.

Masked Tityra Tityra semifasciata, a member of a small family (45 species) of South
and Central America species, including quite a few formerly regarded as - and still known as -
flycatchers. This one is very widespread.

And the rest of these birds were all in the national park; we didn't spend a lot of time there (much of it is inaccessible, especially to vehicles such as our little bus) but it was time very well spent. These are roughly in taxonomic order.

White-tailed Hawk Geranoaetus albicaudatus. This large and very handsome hawk is found
throughout much of eastern South America and scattered in central America.

Burrowing Owls Athene cunicularia, found in open land in every South American country
and a fair bit of North America, always delight me. I still can't get used to seeing owls
standing sternly at the mouth of a burrow, and in the daytime!

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl Glaucidium brasilianum, a mini-owl only 15cm high, found from the
far south of the US south to most of South America east of the Andes. A fierce little hunter,
it operates by day (taking insects, scorpions, lizards and birds as large as thrushes and doves)
as well in the dusk and dawn.

I love it that it apparently has eyes in the back of its head, presumably to deter
its own predators, and perhaps the many other birds that regularly mob it.

 

Peach-fronted Parakeets Eupsittula aurea roosting and quietly preening in the heat of the day.
A lovely little parrot found in open country throughout north-eastern South America.

White-eared Puffbird Nystalus chacuru, one of 37 species found throughout South and
Central America. They are perch-and-pounce predators with big heads and bills, mostly
patterned in browns or greys or blacks, some with fluffy plumage (hence the group name).
This one is found in the dry forests of the Cerrado, and a little beyond.

As mentioned earlier the antbirds and their kin - ancient South Americans, found
nowhere else (save for some that have spread into Central America) - tend to be
shy and often notoriously hard to see. Fortunately some can be tempted into
the open, such as this female Large-billed Antwren Herpsilochmus longirostris.
A Brazilian endemic, it is largely restricted to the Cerrado.

Male Rusty-backed Antwren Formicivora rufa, a very handsome little bird when seen
up close. Similarly found across the Cerrado, it also crosses the borders of some
neighbouring countries.

Suiriri Flycatcher Suiriri suiriri (though some recognise this subspecies as a separate species,
Chapada Flycatcher). This is a member of the 'other' great group of old South American
passerines, the tyrant flycatchers.

Helmeted Manakin Antilophia galeata. I love manakins, mostly brilliantly coloured
(the males anyway) little Neotropical birds which display in dark forests. This one deserved
a better portrait than this, but this was the best I could do in the conditions. Another Cerrado
endemic, and almost restricted to Brazil.

And the remaining five species I have for you are all tanagers - or in one case, a 'tanager'. And a couple of the real tanagers are actually called 'finches' (based on past misunderstandings). This is my favourite Neotropical bird family, after the hummingbirds, a whirlwind of colour and activity, which readily come to fruit feeders at many lodges. All these however were very much 'in the wild'.

White-rumped Tanagers Cypsnagra hirundinacea prefer grassy areas with few trees,
unlike most of their relatives. Limited to the Cerrado.

Swallow Tanagers Tersina viridis on the other hand are found throughout much of
northern South America - and what stunners they are (shining even through this
dull day)! Tanagers never fail to surprise, and this one, as well as eating fruit like most tanagers,
also catches insects on the wing, hence the name.

The attractive Red Pileated Finch Coryphospingus cucullatus is really a tanager (ie a member
of the Family Thraupidae). It's another bird of the dry forests and shrublands, but ranges
well south of the Cerrado, deep into Argentina. There are also some far-flung outlying
populations, including around Cusco in the Andes of southern Peru!

Coal-crested Finch Charitospiza eucosma, another 'finch' that's really a tanager!
This handsome bird is limited to the Cerrado and I was very happy to see it.

And finally, the 'tanager' which is actually a cardinal. The misunderstandings surrounding tanagers and related families is finally being resolved with the use of more and more sophisticated biochemical tools, but the past confusion leaves a legacy of a web of muddled common names which could hurt your head if you let them. They're all lovely birds though which ultimately is what matters.

Pair of Red Tanagers Piranga flava (male on the right). Flava means yellow, but a glance at
female explains this one at least. (Yet further confusion results from the inclusion of the
species by some people in the very widespread Hepatic Tanager
- another hangover from the past.)

And to wrap up this not-so-brief-after-all introduction to the wild places of Chapada dos Guimarães, a token reptile - not its fault, or even mine, but it was the only one I recall seeing there.

Chaco Spiny Lizard Tropidurus lagunablanca; I'm almost sure this is right, and if
you could either correct me or reassure me, I'd be grateful. Very handsome in any case!

If you get to Brazil - and it's worth it - try and fit in a couple of days at least in Chapada dos Guimarães, you won't regret it. Meantime, thanks for helping me indulge in some nice memories.

I'll be back here in August, with material for another exotic posting or two!

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 10 AUGUST

 

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Red-and-Black; for the bird who really wants to be noticed!

This three-part series, on birds which flaunt red, started here with the focus on feathers, and continued here with a bit of a look at other red body parts. As promised, after a brief hiatus I'm completing the series by looking at birds which highlight their redness - already pretty striking - by contrasting it with black. We should of course never presume that animals such as birds which do see colour, unlike most mammals, see the same palette as we do. In fact we know that they don't. We (and birds) see colour with the cone cells in the retina - that's very simplistic, but it'll do for now. However where we have three colour pigments in the cone cells, birds have four and in some cases five - and moreover they are all different from ours! Obviously we can't know just what a bird sees when it looks at the same subject as us, but it can't be the same. However we must assume that the black and red combination (like black and white, and black and yellow, both popular combinations in nature as well) is striking for them too, given how prevalent it is.

Crimson-breasted Shrike (or Gonolek, or Boubou) Laniarius atrococcineus, Witsand NR,
northern South Africa. A truly stunning bird indeed, seen behind the park visitor centre
as we were about to leave and I blame it for the fact that I left my field guide on the roof
of the car, an oversight that I didn't recognise until it was far too late to remedy it!
It's the national bird of Namibia (though I've also read that it's been demoted because
its appointment was on the basis of the association with the flag colours of Germany,
the former colonial ruler, but I'm finding conflicting information).

I'm not sure if this combination of colours is used because it really is even more striking than red alone would be, or if it's because such profligacy - expending the energy to extract enough carotenoids from its food to dye all its feathers, and storing them in the liver it until the next moult when they're needed again - would put too much strain on the bird. Melanins on the other hand, which produce black, can be manufactured by the bird relatively cheaply and easily.

I've noticed in selecting the photos that in each case the black comes from feathers, while the red can be on various body parts, as illustrated in the previous posts. I'm not sure if this is significant. There are photos in the previous posts that I could have also used in this one - I haven't duplicated, so if you'd like to see more that's another reason to go back to the first two in the series.     

 

Most of the rest of the post will be a sort of photo essay, just admiring some lovely and sometimes dramatic birds. I'll start with those which juxtapose red feathers (as opposed to other body parts) with their black ones, which are the majority of those featured, and set the scene with some Australian examples.Unsurprisingly many of the examples feature male birds only - in fact of the eight Australian species which follow only the females of the pitta, and to some extent the black-cockatoo, exhibit the red and black pattern.

Male Mistletoebird Dicaeum hirundinaceum, Bundjalung NP, north coast NSW.
The black contrasts with the red breast from both below and above.

Rainbow Pitta Pitta iris, Darwin. It seems a somewhat unlikely place for a colour
combination which is surely intended to be seen, but I've read that when displaying
the bird stands erect, either on the ground at the territory boundary (when it bows down
then stretches up again) or on a branch with outspread wings,
which would show the red/black off nicely.

Red-backed Fairywren Malurus melanocephalus, Julatten, north Queensland.
Perhaps the most spectacular of all fairywrens, this little chap really glows even in dim
light. Like other fairywrens most males only retain their bright plumage during
the breeding season, so moult twice a year.

Red-winged Parrots Aprosmictus erythropterus, Gulf Country, north Queensland.
He's the one who needs to catch her attention, so only he wears the full outfit.
Another very impressive bird.

Scarlet Honeyeater Myzomela sanguinolentam, National Botanic Gardens, Canberra.
More usually seen at the coast, but a few come inland to here fairly regularly.

Male Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus banksii, Bourke, northern NSW.
The female's tail panels are orange rather than red..

The next two are more ashy grey than black, especially the Gang-gang, but it's just a question of degree and the principle's the same.

Flame Robin Petroica phoenicea, high in Namadgi NP, above Canberra.
He too glows, in the misty mountains in summer, and in open
country around Canberra in winter.

Male Gang-gang Cockatoo Callocephalon fimbriatum, National Botanic Gardens, Canberra.
This delightful small cockatoo, with its distinctive creaky call and bouncy flight,
is the official bird emblem of the Australian Capital Territory.

And here are some overseas - mostly South American - examples of red/black contrasting feathers, from a range of different families, starting, as many things birdy do in the Neotropics, with some tanagers.

Brazilian Tanager Ramphocelus bresilius, Peruibe, south of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Crimson-collared Tanager Ramphocelus sanguinolentus, central Costa Rica;
found throughout Central America.

Masked Crimson Tanager Ramphocelus nigrogularis, Ecuadorian Amazonia.
This one, closely related to the previous species, is common throughout the Amazon basin.

Yellow-billed Cardinal Paroaria capitata, Pantanal, south-western Brazil.
Despite the name, these 'cardinals' are actually tanagers too!
There's a lot of that sort of thing in the Neotropics...

The manakins form another spectacular family of Neotropical birds, though aren't nearly as easy to see as the tanagers. If you can find a male display post in the darkness of the forest though, you're having a very good day indeed!

Blue Manakin Chiroxiphia caudata, near Peruibe, south-eastern Brazil.
One of many species restricted to the highly threatened Atlantic forests
of this part of Brazil and neighbouring Paraguay and Argentina.

Wire-tailed Manakin Pipra filicauda, Amazon rainforest, north-east Peru.
His courtship dance, where he competes with other males in a lek in lowland
tropical rainforest, is simply amazing. Have a look here.

Another, better-known, Neotropical bird, also competes in leks for the attention of females.

Two males Andean Cocks-of-the-rock Rupicola peruvianus, Manu NP, Peru.
These extraordinary birds compete in leks of 15 or so males, in Andean forests.

The last four examples of black/red-feathered birds are all from different families. 

Long-tailed Meadowlark Leistes loyca, Torres del Paine NP, Chilean Patagonia.
Windblown, as everything is in Patagonia, this male's brown back is edged
with black to provide a contrast with the gorgeous red underside and brows.

Northern Red Bishop Euplectes franciscanus, Murchison Falls NP, Uganda.
One of the many species in the mainly African weaver family, the gorgeous males perform a
display flight to attract females, and build elaborate woven nests to impress her. Once it's
worked though he loses interest in her and his eggs and chicks, and leaves
the rest up to her.

Pale-billed Woodpecker Campephilus guatemalensis, Carara NP, Costa Rica.
Found throughout most of Central America, this is one of a genus of 11 large
New World woodpeckers with red heads contrasting with a black-and-white body.

Darwin's Flycatcher Pyrocephalus nanus, Santa Cruz, Galápagos.
Now recognised as a Galápagos endemic, this was formerly included
in the widespread mainland American Vermilion Flycatcher P. obscurus.
Not many of the New World flycatchers are colourful, and these two
species really stand out from them.

Another seemingly popular option for birds who want to emphasise a red feature against black feathers (the anthropomorphism is ironic by the way!) is to have a red bill, though there is nothing about a red bill which makes it more efficient at its primary purpose. Here are some impressive examples, a couple of which also flaunt red legs. This selection is split evenly between waterbirds and land birds, and ranges across 8 families. I've tried to choose as diverse a range as possible, though in the end I've included two oystercatchers because I wanted an Australian example in this section, and couldn't leave out the other beautiful example.

Blackish Oystercatcher Haematopus ater, Pisagua, northern Chile. Note also
the stand-out red eyes, and those lovely pale pink legs. It is found along much
of the west coast of South America and the far south-east coast.

Sooty Oystercatchers Haematopus fuliginosus, Gooloowah NP, northern NSW.
This is a seriously black oystercatcher, an Australian endemic, which shares the previous
species' bright red bill and eyes.

    

Black Skimmer Rynchops niger, Pantanal, south-west Brazil. One of three skimmer species
(the other two being in Africa and Asia), members of the gull and tern family. They use
their remarkable bill (which itself is black-and-red) to trail the lower mandible in the water
as they fly just above it. It snaps shut when it contacts small prey animals, especially fish.
They can be found throughout South America, either coastally or following inland rivers
(as here) except for the Andes and the far south.

Inca Tern Larosterna inca, surely the world's most beautiful terns, here at Pucusana,
south of Lima, Peru. They are found along much of the continent's west coast,
and I am utterly delighted by them.

Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, Amboseli NP, Kenya.
At 1.5 metres, this is one of the tallest storks in the world. I just love the great
red-black-red beak against the inky black head and neck, and the yellow
saddle on the bill. And the delicate pink knees!
This is a female, with yellow eyes (the male's are black).

The other five red bills featured today are of land birds, each from a different family.

Bateleur (sometimes with 'Eagle' appended, though it's not really) Terathopius ecaudatus,
Serengeti NP, Tanzania. This is another 'beak and legs' (and face) example.
Highly distinctive, 'bateleur' is French for a tumbler or acrobat, which is supposedly
to reflect its slow, rocking hunting flight, though I don't really understand that.
In fact it is often claimed to also mean a tightrope walker, which would
make better sense - except that as far as I'm aware, this is not the French word for that!
This bird is carrying a prey item, but I can't identify it.

Black-throated Grosbeak Saltator fuliginosus in the Atlantic Forests near Sao Paulo,
Brazil. Another tanager which is called something else! Little is known of its
feeding habits in the canopy, though this bill is surely that of a seedeater.

Green Wood Hoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus, Lake Nakuru NP, Kenya.
Not hoopoes, but they are in a related family; there are 9 species of
wood hoopoes and scimitarbills in the family, all African.

Rhinoceros Hornbill Buceros rhinoceros, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
What an extraordinary bird, nearly a metre long, and unsurprisingly the national bird of Malaysia.
Juxtaposing red and yellow is effective too, as evidenced by this and the next species, and
the stork earlier.

And speaking of extraordinary birds... Toco Toucan Ramphastos toco, Pantanal, Brazil
The largest toucan, the bill alone is nearly 25cm long. Note too the bright red vent.
It is notable also in being the only toucan found in open country.

We talked about birds with red skin last time too, and here are some where this skin is directly contrasted with the black plumage.

Brush Turkey Alectura lathami, Cairns, north Queensland.
And yes, the red skin of the bare neck and head is actually narrowly separated from the
black body by the yellow wattle, but the effect is the same, or even enhanced.

Guanay Cormorant Leucocarbo bougainvilliorum, Pucusana, south of Lima, Peru.
Just a ring of red skin around the eye, as we saw in some examples last time,
but this is perhaps rendered even more effective by being alongside black feathers.

Swallow-tailed Gulls Creagrus furcatus, South Plaza, Galápagos.
The world's only nocturnal gull (and indeed only nocturnal seabird as far as I know),
this delightful little gull breeds almost exclusively in the Galápagos.
I well remember my first sight of them when I went up on deck in the night,
and saw one flying alongside, in the glow of the boat's lights.

Wattled Jacana Jacana jacana, Pantanal, Brazil. Here the red skin is in the
form of wattles on the face, which show up well against the sooty head and breast.

Male Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens, North Seymour, Galápagos.
The amazing inflatable red throat pouch is an adapted air sac, part of a bird's
incredible respiratory system, just under the skin. He inflates it to display to
females flying over, and surely it must work!

And finally, a very handsome pair of red legs to set off a black (or at least blackish) ensemble.

Blackish Rail Pardirallus nigricans, Atlantic Forests near Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Like most rails a shy bird, not easy to get a good look at.

Well I've had fun putting together this three-part series, though it's probably not caught as many people's attention as I might have hoped. However, you're reading it and that makes it all worth while! Thank you.

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 29 JUNE

 

I love to receive your comments and in future will be notifying you personally by email when a new posting appears, if you'd like me to. All current subscribers have been added to this mailing list and have already been contacted. This will mean one email every three weeks at the current rate of posting. I promise never to use the list for any other purpose and will never share it.
Should you wish to be added to it, just send me an email at calochilus51@internode.on.net. You can ask to be removed from the list at any time,or could simply mark an email as Spam, so you won't see future ones.