Bolivia Day 3; Riberalta

  This would be our final day in Riberalta, and having seen the Masked Antpitta the previous day, we had more liberty to freely bird the forest without any pressure. The mototaxis we had used the previous evening were waiting for us outside the hotel at 06:30, ready to take us to the forest, so we could begin birding not long after sunrise.

  The open areas before the forest were once again very lively with birds. The first new bird of the day was Ashy-headed Greenlet, which never showed well but we saw on three different occasions. We continued to find multiple species of Seedeater in the grasses, including a new species with Wing-barred Seedeater. Also on the forest edge we had new species for our trip list with Blue Grey Saltator and Bran-coloured Flycatcher, while the Russet-crowned Crakes from the previous morning only gave brief views today, refusing to come out into the open.

  Entering the forest we began to find more species we could consider real targets. First we had a nice pair of Purus Jacamar, a range-restricted species we were pleased to find here. Following on, we added Riparian Antbird to our list with a vocal and showy pair, with Plain Inezia and the incredibly diminutive Short-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant added on our way back. The birding remained good throughout, and we enjoyed many other species for our trip list, including Black-tailed Titya, Palm Tanager and a tick for me, but a common Amazonian species, with Little Cuckoo.

  The group of Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys from the previous evening were still around, and I was able to improve a bit on the photos I had taken, although it was not hard to do. The squirrels we had been seeing I was also able to finally clinch today, meaning both diurnal mammals we had seen had now been properly documented.

  At around 11:00 we left the forest, took the mototaxi back to the hotel where we had lunch and freshened up before leaving Riberalta at 14:40. It had been a phenomenally successful couple of days birding, with more targets seen than we could have hoped for, plus generally a very pleasant environment. 

Species List:
Riberalta: Undulated Tinamou, Horned Screamer, Feral Pigeon, Scaled Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Little Cuckoo, Squirrel Cuckoo, Russet-crowned Crake, Black Vulture, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Green-backed Trogon, Blue-crowned Trogon, Chestnut-capped Puffbird, Black-fronted Nunbird, Purus Jacamar, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, White-wedged Piculet, Little Woodpecker, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Lineated Woodpecker, Crested Caracara, Tui Parakeet, Blue-headed Parrot, Dusky-headed Parakeet, Red-bellied Macaw, Great Antshrike, Barred Antshrike, Riparian Antbird, Black-throated Antbird, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Black-tailed Tityra, White-winged Becard, Short-tailed Pygmy Tyrant, Johannes's Tody-Tyrant, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Plain Inezia, Bran-colored Flycatcher, Scarlet Flycatcher, Short-crested Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Ashy-headed Greenlet, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Thrush-like Wren, Moustached Wren, Fawn-breasted Wren, Creamy-bellied Thrush, Black-billed Thrush, White-browed Meadowlark, Shiny Cowbird, Hooded Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, Palm Tanager, Turquoise Tanager, Chestnut-vented Conebill, Blue-black Grassquit, White-bellied Seedeater, Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch, Wing-barred Seedeater, Double-collared Seedeater, Bluish-grey Saltator,