The beautiful vegetation, diversity of sounds, vibrant colours and abundance of life come together to create one of the most spectacular settings in the Pantanal: the coexistence of hundreds of species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, arthropods and all the flora, inhabiting the same area. By far, the most common vertebrate you will observe in the Pantanal are BIRDS.
In a recent study, researchers reviewed the Pantanal bird list, considering only the flooding plan, and found a total of 463 species, 117 of which are considered threatened in both state and national status, and 09 of them are in the global list of endangered species.
At Caiman Ecological Refuge you can bird-watch with specialised and well equipped naturalist guides, who will lead you where the most impressive birds can be found. Up until now we have observed 359 species, including flagship species, such as the Hyacinth Macaw, Marsh Seedeater, King Vulture and the Yellow-faced Parrot. We will attempt to describe below an example of what would be like a 05 day bird-watching in CER. It is important to remember that the richness in number of species varies according to the season (Dry or Wet Season). To start familiarising guests with some of the most common birds in the area, an introductory walk is taken and during which it is possible to observe some key species, including the area's most symbolic bird such as the Jabiru Stork, Buff-necked Ibis, Plumbeous Ibis, Greater Rhea, Gray-necked Wood-Rail, Southern Lapwing, Chaco Chachalaca, Snail Kite, Road-side Hawk, the amazing Hyacinth Macaw (quite common here), Nanday and Monk Parakeets, Toco Toucan and many more.
With a little more luck it is possible to see Boat-billed Heron, Capped Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Azure Gallinule, Sungrebe, Undulated and Small-billed Tinamous, King Vulture, Fawn-breasted Wren, Laughing Falcon and Gray-headed Kite. Some special birds with pretty restricted distribution like the Mato-Grosso Antbird, Great-rufous Woodcreeper, Blaze-winged Parakeet, Pale-crested Woodpecker and the very special White-fronted Woodpecker can be added to the list.
Other highlight species could be mentioned: Gilded Saphire, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Spectacled Owl, Great Potoo, Blue-crowned Trogon, Green-and-rufous kingfisher, along with the other four species of kingfisher found in South America, Chestnut-eared Acarari, Golden-winged Cacique, etc. A typical five day and four night stay generally allows the chance of observing between 180 and 200 different species of birds.
