Birds of Brasilia
Dexter Hinckley (dhinckley@igc.org)
Sat, 08 May 1999 11:03:27 -0400
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A report on an 8 day stay in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.
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BIRDS OF BRASILIA
Dex Hinckley
When I told fellow birders I was going to Brasilia, the capital
of Brazil, they said I would not see anything interesting. They were
wrong! To be sure, Brasilia is far from the Amazon amidst a
"distinctive type of dense grass cover with scattered gnarled
trees, a type of savanna that is called cerrado." However,
Brasilia is surrounded by well-vegetated parks, including the
Brasilia National Park (32,600 ha; 654 ha open to the public,
with springs and a fenced nature trail), the Botanical Garden
(600 ha, with labeled trees and an "ecological trail"), and the
Zoo (420 ha, with ponds, islands, aviaries, and 1000 species of
South American animals).
Every day during my 8 day stay, I encountered birds I had never
seen before. Right in the residential area, I saw great
Kiskadee, White-throated Kingbird, Common Ground Dove, Swallow-
tailed Hummingbird, Blue & White Swallow, Chopi Blackbird, and
Bananaquit. At the Presidential Palace, a Greater Rhea was
grazing on the lawn! New birds in parks included Neotropical
Cormorant, Crested Caracara, Crested Seriema, Pied Lapwing,
Burrowing Owl, Rufous Hornero (called "ovenbird" locally because
of its mud nests), Gray Monjita Flycatcher, Plumbeous Pigeon, and
Tropical Mockingbird. Of course, it was good to encounter old
friends such as Great Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, American
Kestrel, and House Wren, although I could have done without all
the pigeons and English sparrows in the city.
To make my identifications, I used "Aves Brasileiras" published
by Johan Dalgas Frisch in 1981, with illustrations by his father,
Svend Frisch. The book is no Peterson guide, written in
Portuguese (an English addendum was published in 1982), and out
of print but I was able to borrow a copy from a local birder.
If anyone wants more information, feel free to contact me at
dhinckley@igc.org or 703-354-1342.