Brazil: Atlantic Forest Getaway

Only two hours from Rio de Janeiro, in that exciting zone of endemism known as the Atlantic Forest, lies 113,000-acre Tres Picos State Park. Situated within this enormous park–itself less than an hour from “The Finger of God,” jutting skyward out of Serra dos Orgaos National Park–is a lovely lodge nestled between steep forested mountains at about 3000 feet on a transformed family fazenda, the perfect location to immerse ourselves in the fanstastic avifauna of southeastern Brazil.

The lodge will be our base from which we’ll bird for more than a week, exploring a range of elevations (up to about 7000 feet) and habitats (from lowland forest to foothill bamboo and high-altitude grassland). This translates into the possibility for a plethora of exciting endemics, from Saw-billed Hermit and Black-billed Scythebill to White-bearded Antshrike and Black-cheeked Gnateater, from Black-and-gold Cotinga and Itatiaia Spinetail to Three-toed Jacamar and Gray-winged Cotinga! Should we miss a few of these, there will be bellbirds and berryeaters, antshrikes and antvireos, tanagers and toucans, puffbirds and plovercrests aplenty to pleasantly appease us–and tongue-tie us, you bet!