Paraguay Birding and Wildlife Adventure: Amazing Birds and Wildlife of the Chaco

Although Paraguay is one of the less-frequently visited countries in South America, more adventurous wildlife travelers will certainly find that it has a very exciting array of birds, mammals and other wildlife on offer. Paraguay can in fact be seen as one of the last bastions for a number of rare and threatened bird species, many of which are difficult to find outside of this compact landlocked country. Partly because of its small size (it is slightly smaller than California), Paraguay has a relatively modest 724 bird species (IOC taxonomy, as of July 2021) and no country endemics. But this is compensated for by the sheer quality of the bird and mammal species; Paraguay is the easiest place to see a number of birds including many superb Chaco species as well as range-restricted Atlantic Forest denizens. Paraguay offers outstanding birding and wildlife viewing opportunities. and we are very excited to present this tour to you.

Chaco Owl from our 2022 tour – Paraguay is arguably the most reliable place to find this species

Crested Gallito is one of the targets of this Paraguay birding and wildlife adventure (photo Oscar Rodriguez).

During this birding tour of Paraguay, we spend quite a lot of time exploring the vast Chaco habitat; Paraguay holds the largest intact tracts of this unique and threatened, uniquely South American, habitat. Not only is the Chaco habitat particularly large in Paraguay, but it is also really diverse here and contains Chaco ecotones such as the Dry and Humid Chaco, as well as the transition zone between the two. This diversity equates to a large number of Chaco-adapted bird species, making Paraguay the perfect destination to target all of the Chaco specials. These Chaco specials include some fascinating species such as Black-legged Seriema, Crested Gallito, Spot-winged Falconet, Quebracho Crested Tinamou, Black-bodied Woodpecker, Chaco Owl, and Chaco Eagle.

Strange-tailed Tyrant, one of the five incredible-looking, long-tailed ‘New World’ flycatchers which are all possible on this tour (photo Oscar Rodriguez).

During our eleven days in Paraguay, we will focus on finding all of the Chaco specials, and will also spend time exploring remnant patches of Atlantic Forest, such as those found in the Mbaracayú Reserve. In this forest reserve we will look for the rare Helmeted Woodpecker (one of the rarest woodpeckers on the planet!) together with another woodpecker gem, the aptly named Robust Woodpecker. Paraguay is indeed an amazing country for woodpeckers (with many species possible on this tour), as well as a good assortment of tinamous and all five spectacular, long-tailed, ‘New World’ flycatchers: Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Streamer-tailed Tyrant, Long-tailed Tyrant, Strange-tailed Tyrant, and Cock-tailed Tyrant.

The extensive forest trails at Mbaracayú include such classic Atlantic Forest species as Eared Pygmy Tyrant, Bare-throated Bellbird, Rufous-capped Motmot, Sharpbill, Blond-crested Woodpecker, Surucua Trogon, Saffron Toucanet, Spot-billed Toucanet, Green-billed Toucan, Scaled Pigeon, Riverbank Warbler, Blue Manakin, Rufous Gnateater, and if we are lucky, the rare Black-fronted Piping Guan.

Another highlight of this Paraguay birding and wildlife tour will be searching for the rare and Vulnerable (IUCN) White-winged Nightjar, one of the world’s rarest members of the Caprimulgidae (nightjar) family.

Finally, the wetlands and other water bodies along the mighty Paraguay River will provide a great selection of aquatic species including Jabiru, Roseate Spoonbill, Southern Screamer, Coscoroba Swan, Ringed Teal, White-winged Coot, Rosy-billed Pochard, and South American Snipe. The adjoining grassy vegetation holding secretive species such as Rufous-sided Crake, Ash-throated Crake, Stripe-backed Bittern and the recently described (2016) Iberá Seedeater (although IOC does not yet recognize this taxon). Our Paraguay tour is timed to coincide with the passing of a great selection of migrant seedeaters and we hope to encounter several interesting ones on our trip.

Paraguay is not only about the birding though, and it is one of the best places to view a number of rarely seen and elusive South American mammals. In fact, as a wildlife viewing destination, it is probably only surpassed by the Brazilian Pantanal! While out in the field, we will be on the lookout for unusual animals and will also partake in a few nocturnal drives where we have better chances of finding certain elusive species. Some of the more exciting mammals we stand a chance of finding on this trip include Chacoan Peccary, Lowland Tapir, Crab-eating Fox, Pampas Fox, Capybara, Chacoan Mara, Coypu, the elusive Giant Anteater, and rare felines such as Puma, Jaguar, Jaguarundi and Geoffroy’s Cat.

The Paraguayan Chaco is probably the best place on Earth to see the elusive Geoffroy’s Cat (photo John Sterling).