On our 16-day tour to Iguazú Falls, the Pantanal and Chapada dos Guimarães we’ll explore three different ecosystems in Brazil: Atlantic forest, highland savannah, and wetlands. Along the way, we’ll see fabulous bird and mammals and visit some incredible natural sites.

We begin our tour on the Argentine side of Iguazú Falls, which not only provides dramatic scenery, but excellent Atlantic Forest birding. The Iguazu River, where it tumbles over the edge of the Parana Plateau, is often considered the world’s most spectacular waterfall. The falls span over 1.6 miles and are comprised of 275 distinct falls. One of our target birds will be the Great Dusky Swift, which roost on the waterfall cliffs. Our target Atlantic forest birds include Red-rumped Cacique, Toco Toucan, Chestnut-eared Araçari, Blonde-crested Woodpecker, Ochre-collared Piculet, Swallow-tailed Manakin, Southern Antpipit, Eared Pygmy-Tyrant, Chestnut-bellied Euphonia, Green-headed Tanager, Streak-capped Antwren, Surucua Trogon, Rufous-capped Motmot, Greenish Schiffornis, Rufous Gnateater, Dusky-tailed Antbird, and the elusive Black-fronted Piping-Guan.

Our next stop is the world’s largest wetland, the Pantanal, which provides us with the best opportunity on the planet to see Jaguar as well as other charismatic mammals, and of course it hosts a large suite of birds. Target birds include five kinds of kingfishers (Amazon, Ringed, Green, Green-and-rufous and American Pygmy), Red-billed Scythebill, Bare-faced Curassow, and Great Rufous Woodcreeper, Agami Heron, Jabiru, Golden-collared Macaw, Golden-collared Macaw, Black-collared Hawk, Sungrebe, and Gretter Rhea. The Pantanal is also a great place to see mammals; our targets there include Giant Otter, Giant Anteater, Crab-eating Fox, Marsh Deer, Lowland Tapir, and, of course, Jaguar.

Although not as famous as our first two stops, Brazil’s Cerrado region is no less important in terms of the bird and mammal species it supports. The Cerrado is a vast upland savanna—the most biodiverse in the world—and it’s home to five percent of the world’s animals and plants. We’ll be visiting its most famous national park—Chapada dos Guimarães. Chapada is a Brazilian word that means a region of steep cliffs, and the place lives up to its name with its rugged escarpments and dramatic waterfalls. Target birds include Blue-winged Macaw, Red-and-green Macaw, Toco Toucan, Peach-fronted Parakeet, Planalto Hermit, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Red Pileated Finch, Pale-crested Woodpecker, and Flavescent Warbler. We’ll enjoy looking for nightbirds at our comfortable lodge; targets include Nacunda Nighthawk, Common Potoo, Rufous Nightjar, Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Little Nightjar, Pauraque, and Tropical Screech Owl. And finally, we’ll keep our eyes open to the park’s most famous—and elusive—mammal, the maned wolf, a canid that’s not a wolf but rather resembles a long-legged fox and is the only member of its genus, Chrysocyon.…