Brazil; ESEC Murici - Day 5

  Today was, for all intents and purposes, a day off. Lia and I got up before first light so we could bird the trail before breakfast, and while there were many species, most were commoner forest inhabitants and there was nothing particularly different or notable. For the first time, I was able to observe the lek of the Blue-backed Manakin near the campsite, where two males would display on a perch with one replacing the other every second, while the other fluttered above the perch by about 30cm. After this one male departed and a female arrived. The remaining male jumped around various surrounding branches near the perched female, rapidly beating his wings, while the female bounced from side to side, but remaining on the same perch where the lek had been previously. It was pretty fantastic to observe.

  With the forest already warming up and bird activity slowing down, I decided to head to the forest border and look for raptors. This worked out nicely as there was a fantastic Mantled Hawk that flew low over the border right above me. There were also brilliant views of Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture among the commoner species. Whilst I was there I could hear Ash-throated Crake and Red-winged Tinamou in the adjacent fields, but I was unable to observe them.

  Since it had been so successful I decided to take the scope back to the border and spend the rest of the looking. Raptor-wise, the only addition was a nice Zone-tailed Hawk, although it was good to see the Mantled Hawk again in the evening. Perhaps the best bird was a White-winged Cotinga which I spotted perched on an emergent tree very distantly. Perched it was nothing special, but when it took flight you could see the striking white wings and they were really something. After dark, we returned to this area and had nice views of a Pauraque, our first nightjar at the forest. 

-White-bellied Tody-Tyrant

-Mantled Hawk

-Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture

-Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift

-Pauraque

-Nymphidium acherois

-White Witch Moth

Species List:
ESEC Murici: Solitary Tinamou, White-tipped Dove, Pauraque, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, Black Jacobin, Long-tailed Woodnymph, Ash-throated Crake, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Mantled Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Golden-spangled Piculet, Red-stained Woodpecker, Crested Caracara, Red-shouldered Macaw, Rufous-winged Antshrike, Plain Antvireo, Rusty-winged Antwren, East Amazonian Fire-eye, Scalloped Antbird, Black-cheeked Gnateater, Ceara Woodcreeper, Plain Xenops, Pernambuco Foliage-gleaner, Blue-backed Manakin, Red-headed Manakin, Screaming Piha, White-winged Cotinga, Brown-winged Schiffornis, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, White-bellied Tody-Tyrant, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Bright-rumped Attila, Greyish Mourner, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Chivi Vireo, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, White-winged Swallow, Trilling Gnatwren, Moustached Wren, Pale-breasted Thrush, Violaceous Euphonia, Flame-crested Tanager, Palm Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Bananaquit, Buff-throated Saltator,