Brazilian Ecotourism: Ornithology

Bird watching is a pass time practiced by millions of people around the world. Tourists who leave their home countries, attracted by the challenge of sighting and identifying exotic bird species.

With exuberant tropical forests, Brazil offers exceptional conditions for bird watchers and ornithologists, studies whose interest are the birds. The Country is home to about 1,677 bird species, almost 18% of the world’s bird diversity.

For those wishing to contemplate these fine animals while also appreciating nature, the National parks are excellent options. they are environmental protection areas, with structure for visiting, and which provide specific outings for those interest – including in the company of specialized guides.

In the North of Brazil stands out the Amazon, globally known for its biodiversity, sheltering already endangered species such as the king-vulture and the royal-hawk, in addition to macaws, parrots, parquets, mutuns, jacupembas, maguaris, colheiros and many others.

In the Northeast, the State of Bahia offers exceptional destinations such as the Abrolhos National Marine Park, known for its abundance in marine birds. They are benedicts, brown-atobás, grazinas, frigates and pilots; and migrating birds such as the stone-turner, which use as a stop for resting and feeding. In the Serra da Capivara National Park, in the State of Piauí, the attraction goes to a peculiar national phenomenon: everyday, in late afternoon, an enormous number of andorinhas come down from the “Baixão das Andorinhas”, making noise and aerial maneuvers, and then goes into a cavern – from they leave only at dawn. In addition, in the Northeast of the Country, in the State of Maranhão, there is the National Park of Lençõis Maranhenses, where some migratory birds stop to rest from their long trip, such as the maçarico-rasteirinho, the trinta-réis-boreal, and the blue-wing-marreca – from the United States.

In the heart of Brazil, the Mid-West also offers good opportunities for bird watching lovers. Among them, the National Park of Pantanal Mato-grossense, which holds species such as the tuiuiú, hawk and socó, in addition to large collective nests filled with egrets, guarás, dry-heads and colhereiros; the National Park of Emas, in the State of Goiás, with a large quantity of emus, owls, seriemus, codornas, perdizes, curicacas, canindé-macaws and tucans; and Chapada dos Veadeiros, in the same State, where it is possible to practically find the same species of the previous Park, in addition to hawks, gralhas-do-campo and the king-vulture, an endangered species.



The State of Rio Grande do Sul offers the National Park of Aparados da Serra, with gralhas-azuis, purple-chest-parrots, inhambus-guaçus, jacus, many species of hummingbird and green-beak tucans; The Lagoa do Peixe park, which presents 180 already identified species, among resident and migratory, and where it is possible to see flamingos, maçaricos, batuíras, trinta-réis-boreal, piru-piru, egrets-mouras, seagulls, joão-de-barro, anús, saracuras and owls; and that of Serra Geral, home to endangered species such as the gray hawk, the purple-chest parrot, in addition to curicacas, gralhas-azuis and quero-queros. In the State of Paraná, in the famous National Park of Foz do Iguaçu, beauty and variety are guaranteed from beginning to end with jandaias, guaxo, yellow-belly-surucuá, green-beak toucan, flautim, saíra-sete-cores, big-dove-hawk, and endangered species such as the monkey-hunter-hawk, red-chest falcon and jacutinga, among others.

Finally, in the Southeast Region, it is worth visiting Serra da Canastra, in the State of Minas Gerais, where seriemus, earth-canaries, emus, perdizes, codornas, tucanuçus, martins-pescadores, diver-ducks and egrets stroll close to the waterways. In the State of Rio de Janeiro, the most recommended points for bird watching are Serra dos Órgãos, abundant in species such as the saíras, hummingbirds, purple-chest parrots, bicudo and jacutinga – the last three endangered species; the National Park of Tijuca, with toucans, araçaris, saracuras, arapongas, hawks, green-parquets, saíras, juritis and the gorgeous hummingbirds; and the National Park of Itatiaia, which is home to a large variety of hummingbird species, in addition to the green-beak toucan, saíras and guachos.

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2014 World Cup
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Brazilian Portuguese Language
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