It may be because lots of our fruit trees are coming into flower, but suddenly there seems to be an explosion of hummingbirds at the farm, and I have been finding new species almost by the day. This tiny example -- barely bigger than a large bumblebee -- was perched on an acerola tree when I returned from a forest walk the other day. It was completely unafraid and sat without flying off as I got closer and closer to get these pictures, which for once did not need to be edited to crop them closer. I realised it was one I had not seen before, and it seems to be a White-throated Hummingbird (Leucochloris albicollis), more commonly found in the mountains. [Please see entry of 15 Oct for correction of this- in fact this is a Festive Coquette]

Among the fruit trees currently flowering is the large lychee we have growing near the guest house. It is absolutely covered in these delicate yellow and white flowers with a faint sweet scent a little like honeysuckle. I can't remember them being so abundant before, and hopefully it is an indication there will be plenty of fruit when the lychees ripen around October/November. This year I will remember to make lychee capirinhas which I had for the first time recently, and are sensational. Anyway, to the point: they were irresistible for this Versicoloured Emerald (Amazilia versicolor), one of the most common hummingbird species here. It's one of the varieties with an irridescence to its back feathers that changes the colour and hue depending on angle and light.

Next, an unexpected bonus to the hummingbird bonanza. I went out onto the bedroom terrace over the weekend to record the call of some White Woodpeckers that were in the trees just below. To my amazement, this Black-eared Fairy (Heliothryx auritus) -- who comes up with these names? -- had become obsessed with a blanket hanging over the railing to air. It kept coming back, also hovering right in front of my face to check me out, as hummingbirds sometimes do. It is one of the most extraordinary birds I have seen here, with its long white wisps of tail fluttering around crazily like paper decorations you cut out for kids. In this recording you can hear the buzz of the Fairy's wings (how many websites can claim that?) and its weak "cheep" in the foreground, with the louder call of the White Woodpecker (Melanerpes candidus), a kind of descending warble, heard more prominently from nearby trees.

Finally, a couple of seasonal notes. First of all, this morning the Yellow-legged Tinamou (Crypturellus noctivagus), a near-threatened endemic ground-bird, began sounding its haunting four-note call across the forest. Since March this has only been an occasional distant sound at dusk. From now on we can expect to hear them calling pretty much throughout the day. In this recording you can also hear the loud call of the Lesser Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus fuscus), another endemic species of the Atlantic Forest. I was also pleased to see the return of the White-necked Hawk (Leucopternis lacernulatus) circling above the forest at the weekend (see photo below). It is one of the five Vulnerable (ie threatened) species identified here, and I had not seen it since February.   

It's a shame that the internet does not (yet) have the facility to post scent-files -- I guess it is only a matter of time. These very delicate white flowers have come out in abundance on a species of shrubby tree that grows prolifically on the forest edge and by the river bank. I have not yet identified it, but by the leaves it seems to be of the Melastomataceae family. Whatever it's called, it sends the most intense scent around the whole farm and forest, especially early morning and in the evening.

Another very characteristic sign of the season is the call of the Bare-throated Bellbird (Procnis nudicollis) which since this last weekend has been sounding almost continuously during the day, echoing around the forest with its distinctive metallic ring. I still haven't spotted one yet, but got this picture during last-year's palmito-fruit season of this brilliant white bird, unfortunately threatened with extinction due partly to trapping for the caged bird trade.

Speaking of palm fruit, I caught this colourful combination of the male Brazilian Tanager in the fruit of the Queen Palm or jerivá just behind the house -- this tall palm goes right through the year in a more or less continuous cycle of fruiting and flowering, a very important food source for birds which will soon be competing to nest in its crown.

One new sound I captured the other day was this agitated singing of a small bird in the undergrowth just at the edge of the forest where the trail to the river begins.l I couldn´t see what was making it, but Bruno correctly identified it as an endemic hummingbird species called the Dusky-throated Hermit (Phaethornis squalidus). I went back the next day and heard the same sound in exactly the same spot, and this time caught a glimpse - confirming this as the ninth hummingbird species identified (so far) at the farm.

Another beautiful tree frog caught on camera here -- this one had somehow got itself on the inside of the kitchen door and I snapped a picture before letting it out. It reminds me that the night life is a bit neglected in this blog, even though it is every bit as varied as the day. So here are a couple of characteristic sounds -- tree frogs singing in the bromelias just after dusk, with the faint warbling of the Black-capped Screech Owl (Megascops atricapilla), which in fact can easily be confused for a frog-song. And here, the unmistakable sound of a night-jar, the Common Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis), whose Portuguese name Curiango nicely describes the call. It can sound for hours on end at intervals of 30 seconds or so. It is the same species you often see flying up in front of car headlights at night, as it seems to like resting on dirt roads, possibly to take advantage of the warmth stored in the dust.

Finally, I got a nice recording of the full cycle of the call of the Dusky-legged Guan (Penelope obscura) from one I came across this morning just in front of the main trail entrance -- it can be difficult to get the build-up to the extraordinary alarm screech, but here you can hear it starting off with the soft "jacu" call that provides its Portuguese name. A Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) is heard flying overhead about halfway through. Warning -- it's about 2MB.

I decided to try an experiment for this post: see what would happen if I just sat with my notebook and camera for an hour at random, between 10am and 11am on a sunny morning, at the table in our barbecue area. As you will see, it was an eventful hour.

10.00-10.10

As I started to log, the bananas hanging in front of the barbecue area were attracting a lot of Red-rumped Caciques (Cacicus haemorrhous), a member of the blackbird family with a tropical twist, a bright red flash that you mainly see in flight. Also some of the most colourful tanagers arrived in the first few minutes, including this Green-headed Tanager (Tangara seledon) and below a Golden-chevroned Tanager (Thraupis ornata), both endemic species.

10.10-10.20

Some papaya I had put on a stump just in front of me soon attracted another endemic species, this Azure-shouldered Tanager (Thraupis cyanoptera), classified as Near Threatened because its preference for well-forested areas makes it vulnerable to deforestation. I confess I still find it tough to distinguish this species from its more common cousin, the Sayaca Tanager (Thraupis sayaca) which is a more uniform bluey-grey. If I have this wrong no doubt I will soon be corrected! Down on the ground, one of the most common birds in Brazil, the Rufous-bellied Thrush (Turdus rufiventris), pictured below, was rummaging around for food among fallen leaves.

10.20-10.30

Another very common species, the Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) arrived to join the Caciques on the bananas. It may be common but I still find it a very striking bird with its bright yellow belly and striped head. Despite being basically a flycatcher (one of the 27 species of this family on our list here) it comes quite often to eat bananas, and I have even seen it fishing on the lake. Back on the papayas, meanwhile, yet another tanager species the Palm Tanager (Thraupis Palmarum), pictured below, joined the feast.

10.30-10.40

Halfway through the hour, a Tropical Parula (Parula pitiayumi), a member of the wood-warbler family, came to take a bath in the big bromelia just above the bananas. This is a common sight -- lots of species take advantage of the pool of water that gathers in the base of bromeliads, as do tree-frogs which sometimes spend their entire lives in this micro-ecosystem. On the bananas themselves, meanwhile, Plain Parakeets (Brotogeris tirica) started to gather in their noisy large groups. Over the forest, the shrill whistle of a Black Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus tyrannus) rang out -- later in the morning I saw a pair of them circling just above the canopy.

10.40-10.50

Now things started to get really interesting. First of all, a Blond-crested Woodpecker (Celeus flavescens) arrived on the scene to feed on a bunch of bananas, much to the annoyance of the Cacique perched there at the time. This one is a female, as it does not have the male´s distinctive red patch on the cheek. Most excitingly, a group of Maroon-bellied Parakeets (Pyrhurra frontalis) appeared on the scene, at first scrapping noisily with their Plain cousins, but then feeding calmly together on the bananas. This was a first for me, as the much more colourful Maroon-bellies normally just pass over the canopy and I had not been able to photograph them close to the house before.

10.50-11.00

Having discovered the bananas, the Maroon-bellied Parakeets seemed to be checking out the local lodgings as well. They spent several minutes exploring the holes drilled in a nearby hollow stump by the Yellow-fronted Woodpeckers (Melanerpes flavifrons) last year, and recently renovated apparently in preparation for nesting. This threat of squatters immediately brought some excited chattering from the owners from across the clearing, and after a couple of minutes ...

... the residents had rushed back to stake their claim.  This is the kind of competitive behaviour one would expect to see in the breeding season which really only starts in September, but it just goes to show that even the winter here can be a great time to observe birdlife.

Having returned to this area, the Yellow-fronted woodpeckers lost no time in discovering the papayas (see below) and close behind them just before the hour was up, the glorious sight of the scarlet-red male Brazilian Tanager (Ramphocelus bresilius) posing in the sun, quickly followed by his more dull-plumaged mate.

And all this without moving from the spot. I think that´s what they call Fat Birdwatching.

Even though it is quite chilly at night and in the early mornings, the winter can be one of the prettiest times of year here, with a special warm tone to the sunlight that makes the bromelias almost glow when lit from behind as in the opening picture taken in the late afternoon. When as now it is dry (there has barely been any rain for a month) the morning mist rises quite early, producing beautiful views across the river valley where it lingers.

Inside the forest, there is no shortage of birdlife, even though  we are between the peak fruiting time of autumn and the  intense competition for nest-space which comes in the spring. I was pleased to get this photo of a Rufous-capped Ant-thrush (Formicarius colma) which can be heard pretty much all the time even from the house, but usually only glimpsed fleetingly in the undergrowth.

Still in the forest, I have been having fun with my new digital recorder. Here is the sound from the entrance to the strange beehive I photographed some time ago inside a large tree near the river. The stingless native jataí bees remain deep inside the trunk at this time of year, but putting your ear (or microphone) to the hole, a constant buzz reverberates through the trumpet-like entrance structure. I am told it closes up like a doorway at night, although I have never seen this.

Near the house, the Yellow-fronted Woodpeckers (Melanerpes flavifrons) seem to be preparing to move back into the hollow trunk just behind the barbeque area. It still bears the holes from their nesting last year, and yesterday I saw them drilling some new ones. They have been showing a lot of interest in the bananas we have hung nearby (as have the other most common woodpecker here, the Blond-crested Woodpecker), so I guess we will be seeing even more of them as the breeding season approaches.

One of the interesting aspects to bird observation is the way species do not always stay where they are supposed to live. These Cliff Flycatchers (Hirundinea ferruginea) are referred to as mountain birds, nesting in rocky crevices, but this pair seems to be pretty much resident in the open area just above the house. One of the 26 species from the flycatcher family that we have (so far) identified here, they have a very distinctive translucent reddish wing pattern which gives them away as they perform acrobatic manouevres to catch insects and return to the same perch on the branch.

Finally, a photo to record the fact that our sighting of a sloth a few weeks back was not a one-off. I saw this one (maybe the same individual) once again immobile high up in an embaúba tree (Cecropia sp.), this time a little further from the entrance track on the other side, but still in the same upper area of forest. Hopefully one of these days I will catch it awake.

The fish lake brings a variety of visitors to the farm, and most mornings now we see this Rufescent Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma lineatum) stalking the banks. It is interesting to contrast its adult plumage, mainly reddish-brown, with the striking stripes of the juvenile which appeared by the lake last year (pictured here). We have no way of knowing if it is the same individual, but I like to think it is.

Walking by the river bank the other morning, I saw this Rufous-thighed Kite (Harpagus diodon) perching on a high branch after displacing one of the resident Green Ibis which flew off noisily. It stayed almost motionless for several minutes and was still there when I returned along the same trail some time afterwards. It is the second time I have photographed this kite species by the river.

I have been meaning for a while to mention a recent trip I made to a great forest reserve called Parque do Zizo, only around 50km from Sítio do Cervo as the crow (or toucan) flies, but near the top of the Serra de Paranapiacaba mountain range at around 650m above sea level. Having got so accustomed to the range of species in the lowland forest, it was very interesting to see the contrast when you move to higher altitudes. Of course there is quite an overlap, but in some cases such as Olive-green Tanagers (Orthogonys chloricterus), gathered around the feeder-sign at the top, and Magpie Tanagers (Cissopis leveriana), above, the sharp drop from the continental plateau is a complete barrier. On the other hand, you do not see some of the species common in the coastal lowlands, such as the brilliant red Brazilian Tanager (Ramphocelus bresilius) and Channel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus) -- pictured frequently including in the last blog entry.

The sounds provide an interesting contrast, as well. Take for example two species of forest falcon of the genus Micrastur -- one, the Barred Forest Falcon (Micrastur ruficollis), recorded here late afternoon at the Zizo mountain park, and its cousin the Collared Forest Falcon (Micrastur semitorquatus), heard here at Sítio do Cervo at dawn.

Finally, a bit of a break from birds. This very cute tree frog was hanging onto the wall of the main house the other evening. No doubt started life as a tadpole in the pools of water that collect at the base of the many bromeliads attched to the trees.

Melanocephala Carpornis, Black-headed Berryeater. Photo: Tasso Leventis, 2008.

I am using this post to show some of the fabulous photos I have received from Tasso Leventis, the distinguished bird conservationist and photographer, who visited Sítio do Cervo briefly in April. This shot of the threatened Black-headed Berryeater, mentioned many times in this blog, was taken just next to the barbeque area beside the house, where it flew into a tree after playback of its distinctive descending-whistle call. It is generally very hard to photograph, because it stays motionless in the inner branches of a tree, usually deep in the forest.

Conopophaga melanops, Black-cheeked Gnateater. Photo: Tasso Leventis, 2008.

The Black-cheeked Gnateater is one of the most commonly-seen of the under-storey species encountered on the trails through the forest. It gives away its presence with a loud call and hops around on low branches, often within two metres or so of where you are, pausing long enough to get great pictures like this one.

Chiroxiphia caudata Swallow-tailed Manakin. Photo: Tasso Leventis 2008.

More usually referred to as Blue Manakin, this endemic species is often heard at the forest edge, with its distinctive sharp call, but is a bit more difficult to see. This is an immature male, not yet with the bright blue plumage of the adult, but distinguishable from the female by its red-orange crown.

Thryothorus longirostris, Long-billed Wren. Tasso Leventis, 2008

The Long-billed Wren is another bird we hear much more than we see. Its melodious voice is used in a variety of different songs and calls, and can be heard almost constantly from dense vegetation in the undergrowth, but it is a challenge to find and photograph.

Melanerpes flavifrons Yellow-fronted Woodpecker. Photo: Tasso Leventis, 2008

This small, endemic woodpecker species is nearly always seen in groups of three or four, moving restlessly around the open areas of the farm, and often feeding on the bananas close to the house. They chatter noisily to one another in a quick, four-syllable call that gives rise to the Portuguese name Benedito, bobbing their heads in a comical manner.

Ramphastos vitellinus Channel-billed Toucan, and (middle) Ramphastos dicolorus Red-breasted Toucan. Photo: Tasso Leventis 2008

In competition for the emblem species of Sítio do Cervo. This great photo shows a typical gathering of these toucans in the upper branches of a tree on the edge of the forest overlooking the farm. The channel-billed species typically gather in groups of 15 or more, their distinctive screeches echoing around the forest, while the red-breasted, sounding a harsher squawk, appear in smaller numbers, often mixed in with their darker-billed cousins.

Quite an exciting discovery for us was spotting this sloth apparently fast asleep in an embaúba tree, just next to the vehicle track near the entrance to the farm. At first sight it almost looked like a large wasp's nest, as it rolls itself up into a ball while sleeping. It is the most common sloth species, the Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatus) which occurs throughout the tropical forests of South and Central America. Interesting that it was in one of the most degraded areas of forest on the property, close to where it borders with cattle pasture, but I guess this is explained by the fact that sloths are particularly associated with trees of the cecropha genus, of which this is one. Being fast-growing pioneer species, by definition they tend to be most abundant in recently-cleared areas where the forest is just starting to regenerate.

Speaking of sloths reminds me of an interesting theory I heard recently regarding one of the most unusual palm tree species we get in the forest interior, known as brejaúva in Portuguese (Astrocaryum aculeatissimum).  Its most distinctive feature is that is has rings of extremely sharp needles running up the whole length of its trunk, which can be very painful if you accidentally grab one of these trees. The theory is that the tree evolved these spines, which don't seem to have an obvious purpose now, as  protection against the megatherium giant ground sloths that roamed these forests until they died out some 10,000 years ago. No idea if it is true, but it is a nice thought.

We are getting better at techniques of encouraging birds close to the house and living areas of the farm so that visitors can appreciate the full variety. One of the more successful ideas was to hang complete bunches of bananas cut from our own banana trees, near the barbecue area.  As winter approaches  and there are fewer native fruits available in the forest, this is bringing out a host of colourful tanagers during the day, such this this female Violaceous Euphonia (Euphonia Violacea) and, below, the ulta-colourful Green-headed Tanager (Tangara seledon).

Another method -- hardly original -- is to put out more of these hummingbird feeders with a sugar mixture which they can access through holes in the base. This one is just by the kitchen door and is proving very popular. One quite comical sight is when you take the feeders down to change the mixture, the hummingbirds will still come to the spot where it usually hangs, hovering for a few seconds looking confused before darting off again.

After a spell of heavy rain at the end of April, we are now in a period of quite chilly nights and mornings as winter approaches. For the last few days there has been the typical phenomenon of thick fog lying over the forest until around 8am, when the sun comes through and the rest of the day is pretty much cloudless. That morning light is a great time to see colourful tanagers from the house terrace -- such as this female Golden-chevroned Tanager (Thraupis ornata). There is still enough native fruit in the trees for them to come of their own accord into this area, but we are starting to put extra fruit out as well so that they will continue to appear during the winter proper from June to August.

I continue to hear new sounds in the forest. On an early morning walk the other day in the area with the tallest trees, between the farm and the river, I heard this distinctive flute-like call high in the canopy. I didn't get a clear view but caught the movement of something very large, and on reviewing the recording it seems likely to be a Black Hawk-eagle, the largest bird of prey you get around here, and which I am pretty sure I have seen flying but never positively identified. Apparently it hangs around the canopy picking off other birds like toucans.

Another sound I caught was the chattering of a Brazilian Squirrel (Sciurus aestuans), which I quite often come across in the forest but have still not managed to photograph. This one stayed for a couple of minutes just a few feet up in a tree making this angry noise.

I'm starting this post with a picture of a bromelia plant growing directly from the ground, by the forest path near a flooded area.  It is unusual to see  bromeliads growing like this here, as opposed to piggy-backing on trees -- though it is a common sight in the nearby coastal sand forests or restingas. The exception of course is the pineapple, a domesticated form of bromelia.

It is nice to see visiting species return to the farm after a long absence. One returning regular is a Ringed Kingfisher (Ceryle torquatus), a huge crow-sized member of the family that arrives every year about this time and stays until spring -- perching in branches five metres or so above the lake and making the occasional dive. Pictured here last September, it announced its return last week with the loud chattering call it makes while circling high above the farm. I guess it spends the summer by the coast.

Another welcome return is that of a Rufescent Tiger-heron (Tigrisoma lineatum), which first visited our lake in March 2007 and has made periodic appearances since then, with no obvious seasonal pattern. As you can see from the  photo taken last year, its markings then were  strikingly stripey, really justifying the tiger name -- but in fact that is the juvenile plumage. When I saw the heron again this morning in exactly the same location, the back of the neck was a much more uniform red-brown, the adult colouring. So it may well be the same individual. It flew up into some trees when I approached so could not get a photo, but hopefully it will stick around long enough to show its new colouring.

One nice seasonal sight now is the simultaneous flowering and seeding of the Urucum, Achiote or Lipstick Tree (Bixa orellana) that grows next to the lake. The red, hairy seed pods, which stay on the tree long after the delicate pink flowers have fallen, contain the strong red dye, also known as Annatto, that is used here as a food colouring and also has a slight aromatic flavour. It grows throughout tropical Americas, and among the many stories I've heard about it is that it was the dye used by Caribbean indigenous people to stain their skins red -- giving rise to the name Redskins. No idea if this is true, but I'll keep telling the story until somebody contradicts it.

Now a confession. A few posts back I remarked on the bright yellow flowers that appear on a leguminous tree species all over the farm and hillsides at the moment, and authoritatively described it as guapurúvu or tower tree. In fact this is completely wrong -- guapurúvu although of the same family has much more delicate leaves that fall in winter, and it is a quick-growing pioneer species. These yellow flowers, now starting to fall, seem in fact to be from Senna multijuga, known in Portuguese as aleluia, part of the genus whose seed pods are famed for their laxative properties.

Finally, a brief update on our bird list . We are now at 147 species, with 42 endemic to the Atlantic Forest, nine near-threatened and five vulnerable (threatened). Among the new discoveries are the vulnerable Buffy-fronted Seedeater (Sporiphila frontalis), an inconspicuous finch recognized in this recording of the dawn chorus posted in September; the Star-throated Antwren - (Myrmotherula gularis), another endemic species of the forest interior recorded here by a stream; and these White-faced Whistling-ducks (Dendrocygna viduata) heard flying in formation high above the farm at dusk -- a common enough species, but first time I've spotted them from here so they go on the list.

One of the nice things about keeping a blog like this is that I have access to all sorts of on-line experts who can help identify some of the impossibly-varied flora and fauna of this ecosystem. The magnificent tree near the river shown here, with strikingly red, smooth bark has always been an embarrassment to me as everyone wants to know what it is and until now I have not been able to tell them. But thanks to forest engineer Rafael Serathiuk from Curitiba, I can now tell them, as if I have know all my life, that it is Eugenia multicostata, a member of the Myrtaceae or myrtle family, that also includes guava, jaboticaba, pitanga and eucalyptus. It does not seem to have a common English name, but its Portuguese name, Pau-alazão, derives from a description of chestnut-coloured horses' coats -- although nothing to do with chestnuts! The trunk of the tree has a kind of luminosity that sometimes gives the illusion of reflecting sunlight through the forest even on a dull day.

The alazão tree is in low-lying area where the main trail winds through to the river bank, and where in the morning there is often lots of interesting bird life, such as in this recording I made yesterday. According to my ornithological adviser Bruno, it includes the call a Unicoloured Antwren Myrmotherula unicolor (the thin, descending whistle) and the  loud cheep of the  Rufous-capped Ant-thrush Formicarius Colma a slightly comical little bird that runs among the undergrowth like a tiny chicken. As their names suggest, they are among the large number of species that gather together to find ants -- seeing the variety in this category makes you understand why conservation biologists pay so much attention to ants when measuring biodiversity.

And finally, another identification. This snake that lay across the trail before slithering away during our bird survey a couple of weeks ago turns out to be Oxyrhopus clathratus or false coral. False because unlike the "true" coral snake, which we also get around here, it is not venomous. I won't stand around working out which one it is though - I tend to assume the worst with snakes and spiders.