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Dawn Chorus: The Traveling Birder in the Bolivian Andes – Part 1 [1]

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Date: 2024-12-22  

Bolivia. Not exactly a tourism hotspot. But having been to Ecuador and Peru three times each for birding, twice each to Brazil and Colombia, and once each to Argentina, Chile, and Guyana, there weren’t many places in South America where I could get a bunch of new birds. So Bolivia it was.

As you’ve come to expect from me, some background on Bolivia. Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America, but interestingly, it wasn’t always landlocked. It lost it coastal access to Chile and a strip on its south to Argentina during the War of the Pacific in the late 1800’s. Additionally, it lost the state of Acre to Brazil in the early 1900’s and a big chunk of territory in its southeast to Paraguay in the Chaco War of the 1930’s. In fact, if it had not lost all that territory, Bolivia would look like this:

However, now it looks like this:

It extends from the Amazon basin on its northeast side to the high Andes on its western side. And that difference defines its birds. Of course, the eastern birds are consistent with the amazonian basin. The eastern edge of the Andes is the Yungas cloud forest (Yungas being the native Quechua / Aymara word for warm Andean slope or cloud forest). Beyond the first ridge of the Andes, is a very dry scrubland, complete with cacti. And further west you reach the Altiplano – the High Plain. In this case, high is very high. The Altiplano averages about 3,750m (12,300 ft), and the La Cumbre pass from the Altiplano to the Yungas is at 4,700m (15,400m).

Our tour took in a transect through the different habitats:

We started in the lowlands of Santa Cruz and climbed through a couple different intermontane valleys up to Cochabamba. We spent a few days around Cochabamba visiting all different altitudes. From there, we flew to La Paz to bird the Altiplano and Lake Titicaca, as well as drive up and down the “Road of Death” northeast of La Paz to the Yungas of La Paz Department.

Because there’s a lot of range (get it?) to cover, I decided to break this diary up into two parts. The first part will cover the lowlands and mid-level Andes from Santa Cruz until our arrival in Cochabamba. The second part will cover the birding around Cochabamba and our time around La Paz and the Altiplano. But if anyone wants a sneak peak at the pictures from Part Two, an eBird trip report for the tour is here.

Our tour started in the grasslands around Santa Cruz. One of the first birds we found was White-bellied Nothura:

White-bellied Nothura — Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Nothuras are a kind of tinamou. They are found in open grasslands, as opposed to true tinamous which are forest birds. Nothuras are all mottled brown and tan like this one so they can hide in the grass. True tinamous are essentially solid colored, either brown, grey, or black.

Elsewhere in the grasslands was this spectacled tyrant:

Spectacled Tyrant — Santa Cruz, Bolivia

This is a bird that I saw for the first time a couple years ago in the Argentine Pampas. They’re actually a kind of flycatcher. My guide in Argentina called it a “spectacular tyrant.” I have to agree.

Nearby we had a flock of Toco Toucans:

Toco Toucans — Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Toco Toucan was the first toucan I ever saw (at Iguassu Falls), going back to before I was a birder. They are the largest species of toucan. Unlike all the other toucans which are forest birds, Toco Toucans like open savannah.

At a nearby lake we saw a few Plush-crested Jays:

Plush-crested Jays — Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Plush-crested Jays are found all the way from the Amazon basin to northern Argentina, but they’re a lowland species. We saw them on the first few days of the trip, but once we got over about 5,000 ft, we didn’t see them anymore.

The Botanical Gardens of Santa Cruz gave us a few surprises, including this Capybara:

Capybara — Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Capybaras are the largest living rodent. They’re about the size of a medium sized dog. I think of them as Amazonian, so it was a surprise to see them in such a dry area like Santa Cruz, but I guess they like the lakes in the area.

We also saw quite a few ibises (ibi?) at the gardens:

Bare-faced Ibises — Santa Cruz, Bolivia

This species used to be called Whispering Ibis, but the name was changed a while back. It’s found throughout lowland South America except for the deepest part of the Amazon Basin. Wikipedia says they’re usually found in large flocks. Y’think?

We also went to a reserve outside Santa Cruz called Lomas de Arena, which means sand dunes. It’s aptly named:

Lomas de Arena, Bolivia

One of the specialty birds of the reserve is the Red-legged Seriema:

Red-legged Seriema — Lomas de Arena, Bolivia

There are two species of seriemas – Red-legged and Black-legged. Both are found in dry scrub, although the Red-legged has a large range throughout eastern South America while the Black-legged is limited to Paraguay and northern Argentina. According to our guide (and Wikipedia), they are thought to be the closest living relatives to the giant “terror-birds” from the Pleistocene Era.

Much less terrifying is the Fork-tailed Flycatcher:

Fork-tailed Flycatcher — Lomas de Arena, Bolivia

I was surprised to see this species…I didn’t realize they ranged so far south. But it turns out they range from Mexico all the way to Argentina. They also occasionally show up in the US. I’ve actually seen one in PA.

Also in the dry scrub was White-eared Puffbird:

White-eared Puffbird — Lomas de Arena, Bolivia

This is a bird I’d seen before in Brazil. It’s nickname there is João Bobo, John the Clown. If you remember my Colombia diary from earlier this year, a puffbird species there was also called John the Clown (Juan Bobo).

We also saw this obliging Burrowing Owl:

Burrowing Owl — Lomas de Arena, Bolivia

Burrowing Owls are widespread in the Americas. I’ve seen them in 6 different countries, including the US. This particular subspecies is found from Bolivia all the way to Tierra del Fuego.

From Santa Cruz we headed up in the foothills to a place called Refugio Los Volcanes, a private reserve set in a basin among sandstone monoliths on the edge of Amboró National Park:

Los Volcanes, Bolivia

You see that tiny little open area way down in the valley? That’s where Los Volcanes is located. It’s a spectacular setting that reminded me of Zion National Park in Utah. But there are no volcanos nearby – it’s all sandstone - so I have no idea why the reserve was named that.

On the way down to the reserve, we saw this Red-necked Woodpecker:

Red-necked Woodpecker — Los Volcanes, Bolivia

The red-necked woodpecker is in the campephilus genus, the genus of large woodpeckers which formerly included the Ivory-billed Woodpecker of North America. Normally, they’re found at fairly low elevation in the Amazon basin, but in Bolivia they’re found up to 2,400m (7,900 ft).

Crested Oropendolas were nesting on the grounds on the lodge:

Crested Oropendola — Los Volcanes, Bolivia

Oropendolas are related to the New World orioles, although they’re generally much larger. They also build hanging nests like orioles, but usually in small colonies. This is a nesting colony in the yard at the reserve:

Oropendola Nests — Los Volcanes, Bolivia

Another more tropical species we saw here is Fork-tailed Woodnymph:

Fork-tailed Woodnymph — Los Volcanes, Bolivia

This is a widespread South American species. They’re found up to 2000m (6,600ft) so Los Volcanes is at about the middle of the species elevation range.

Unfortunately part of our full day was a rain-out, so the pictures of the birds are pretty limited. But I sat out the rain with this little girl:

Chachi — Los Volcanes Reserve

Chachi is the pet of the owners of the reserve. She was a real sweetheart.

On the morning we left, the sky began to clear. It gave us a beautiful view of the area:

Los Volcanes, Bolivia

We next headed to the dry side of the Andes, although still at middle level elevations. Our first stop was a hummingbird garden called El Refugio de Colibris (The Hummingbird Refuge). It’s a garden that’s planted with various kinds of flowers to attract hummingbirds. As far as I know, it’s the only site of its kind in Bolivia.

One of the specialties of this garden is White-vented Violetear:

White-vented Violetear — Refugio de Colibris, Bolivia

This species is widely found in southern Brazil but extends in a very narrow finger into Bolivia and Argentina. In fact, our guide, Dan, who’d been to Bolivia over ten times had only seen it for the first time in Bolivia on last year’s trip.

Another less ornate hummer species is White-bellied Hummingbird:

White-bellied Hummingbird — Refugio de Colibris, Bolivia

This species is found on the east slope of the Andes from Peru to northern Argentina. I’d seen it before in Peru, also coming to feeders.

In addition to hummingbirds, there were some birds coming to seed feeders. One of the prettiest was Red-crested Finch:

Red-crested Finch — Refugio de Colibris, Bolivia

It’s widespread in the dry habitats of central South America, with a couple isolated pockets in the savannas of northern Peru and Guyana. This is another of the many finches that DNA analysis has determined to actually be a kind of tanager.

Another bird that was found to be a tanager by DNA is Green-winged Saltator:

Green-winged Saltator — Refugio de Colibris, Bolivia

When I first saw this species in Brazil, it was a cardinal. Now it’s a tanager. Ironically, as I explained in a previous diary, the tanagers of North America are now known to be cardinals. Go figure.

And speaking of Brazil, here’s the national bird of Brazil, the Rufous-bellied Thrush:

Rufous-bellied Thrush — Refugio de Colibris, Bolivia

It’s an attractive bird, but not as charismatic as other national birds. For example, the national bird of Bolivia is the Andean Condor. So why is this the national bird of Brazil? Because it’s mentioned in some 19th century nationalist poetry and is very familiar to the ordinary Brazilian like the robin in the USA. To some extent it’s a representation of the common man.

We continued upward through some cloud forest when our driver, Carlos, spotted this bird:

Yungas Guan — Near Comprapa, Bolivia

We have no idea how he spotted it while driving, but we were glad he did. Yungas Guan used to be part of Dusky-legged Guan, but was split in 2020. It’s found only in the Yungas of Bolivia and Argentina and this is the only one we saw on the trip.

And while we were stopped there a pair of Cream-backed Woodpeckers flew in:

Cream-backed Woodpecker — Near Comarapa, Bolivia

This is another of the campephilus species of large woodpeckers. It’s usually found in open savannah, so finding it in a patch of cloud forest was a bit of a surprise. But it’s lucky we did – they were the only ones we saw, and they missed this species on last year’s trip.

Once we made it to the middle elevations we were in drier habitat:

Dry Andean Foothills, Bolivia

so we had a whole new set of species to work with.

One of the coolest was the Giant Antshrike:

Giant Antshrike — Near Comarapa, Bolivia

This is the largest of all the antbirds – up to 14” (35cm) long. They’re found in a large part of southeast Brazil with a separate population in Bolivia and Argentina. The Brazilian birds tend to be in the forest while the Andean birds prefer thorn scrub. Sounds like a possible split, if you ask me. According to our guide, they don’t usually give such clear views. They tend to hide in the brush. But this boy was quite obliging. He was in a scrubby area with several ranches in the mountains above the town of Comarapa.

Nearby was this Great Pampa Finch:

Great Pampa Finch — Near Comarapa, Bolivia

It’s found mostly in the savannas of southeast Brazil into the pampas of Argentina, hence the name, but there’s a small population that extends up the Andean foothills into Bolivia. It’s yet another finch that turned out to be a tanager.

From there it only got drier, but the birds of the scrub didn’t disappoint. We turned up a whole flock of Cliff Parakeets:

Cliff Parakeet — Saipina, Bolivia

Most authorities consider Cliff Parakeet to be a subspecies of Monk Parakeet, but it’s slightly different colored and is only found in the dry valleys of the Bolivian Andes. The rest of the Monk Parakeet subspecies are found in lowland savanna.

Our destination was the Reserva Paraba Frente Roja – The Red-fronted Macaw Reserve.

Red-fronted Macaws — Reserva Paraba Frente Roja, Bolivia

Red-fronted Macaws are only found in Bolivia. They’re critically endangered – the latest population survey estimated only about 1000 individuals. The reserve protects the largest breeding colony of the species. It’s a joint effort between Asociación Armonía, a Bolivian conservation organization, and the local (mainly indigenous) communities.

The key area is this cliff:

Macaw Roost Cliff — Reserva Paraba Frente Roja, Bolivia

The macaws roost on the cliff (and use it as a clay lick). That’s actually a river bed where Dan is standing, but with the ongoing drought in Bolivia, it was completely dry. We figure we saw about 100 macaws at the cliff. They weren’t always perched, either:

Red-fronted Macaws — Reserva Paraba Frente Roja, Bolivia

The reserve also has a few feeders which attract some of the local specialties. One of the most important (to birders) is Bolivian Blackbird:

Bolivian Blackbird — Reserva Paraba Frente Roja, Bolivia

This is another species that’s endemic to the dry Andean valleys of Bolivia. Interestingly, when I looked at pictures of this species in eBird, several of them were on that same exact cactus!

One of the common birds at the reserve was White-fronted Woodpecker:

White-fronted Woodpecker — Reserva Paraba Frente Roja, Bolivia

They’re found from Bolivia through western Paraguay into northeastern Argentina. We’d typically see 5-10 of these at the feeders at any given time. They loved those feeders.

Also at the feeders was this Golden-billed Saltator:

Golden-billed Saltator — Reserva Paraba Frente Roja, Bolivia

They weren’t as common as the woodpeckers, but there were a few. This was a species I saw for the first time at a reserve in Buenos Aires a couple years ago.

Another bird that I first saw in the Pampas of Argentina is Glittering-bellied Emerald:

Glittering-bellied Emerald — Reserva Paraba Frente Roja, Bolivia

It was actually drinking the sap from the tree. In fact, we saw several species drinking the sap. This species is found from Bolivia to the Atlantic coast of South America. The birds I saw in Argentina are at the southern end of their range.

Another sap-drinker was this Sayaca Tanager:

Sayaca Tanager — Reserva Paraba Frente Roja, Bolivia

This species is found in central-eastern South America. It’s name is derived from the Tupi word saí-acú, which means “very lively”. It looks very much like its relative, the Blue-grey Tanager, which is found from Central America to the Amazon Basin.

In one of the nearby villages we found this Spot-backed Puffbird:

Spot-backed Puffbird — Near Reserva Paraba Frente Roja, Bolivia

The species is split into two species by some authorities. Their taxonomy has the Chaco Puffbird found in Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and southwestern Brazil and the Caatinga Puffbird found in the dry habitats of eastern Brazil. However, Clements considers them as one species.

Our long drive to Cochabamba started with some Southern Martins:

Southern Martins — near Saipina, Bolivia

Southern Martins are the South American equivalent of the Purple Martins of North America. Bolivia is the northern end of their breeding range. They’re mostly found in Argentina, and they migrate to the Amazon Basin for the austral winter. This is a species that I missed on several previous trips because I wasn’t in the right place at the right season, so I was actually pretty happy to connect with this one.

After that we added even more dry country species. These are Streak-fronted Thornbirds:



Streak-fronted Thornbirds — near Saipina, Bolivia

Thornbirds are a furnariid, like woodcreepers, foliage-gleaners, and spinetails. They build large basketball sized nests in scrubby thorn bushes, hence the name. Streak-breasted Thornbird is rather range restricted. It’s found from around Cuzco, Peru, through Bolivia, to far northwestern Argentina, but only from about 5,000 to 10,000 feet.

After a long drive, we made it to our first high Andean pass at about 3,650m (12,000 ft.). It was there we found a field full of Puyu Raimondii:

Puyu Raimondi — Juntu Tuyu Pass, Bolivia

Puyu raimondii are the world’s largest bromeliad. They can grow up to 50 ft (15m) tall. They’re also known as Queen of the Andes.

Up at that altitude we had our first Chilean Flamingos of the trip:

Chilean Flamingos — Juntu Tuyu Pass, Bolivia

They like the high Andean saline lakes. We actually saw three species of flamingos on the tour, but that’s for part two of the Chorus.

Up at that elevation, there are still flycatchers, such as this Rufous-webbed Bush-tyrant:

Rufous-webbed Bush-tyrant — Juntu Tuyu Pass, Bolivia

This species is found in high-elevation scrub in the Andes from Peru to Argentina. Its range is 3,000-4,300 meters (9,800-14,000 ft).

After that first experience with high elevation, we came down into the mighty metropolis of Cochabamba:

Cochabamba, Bolivia

Cochabamba is at an elevation of 2,600m (8,600 ft). It’s the fourth-largest city in Bolivia with a population of about 630,000. We’d spend 3½ days there making day-trips into the surrounding mountains.

But that wraps up Part One of the Bolivia tour diary. Stay tuned for a future diary for the rest of the tour, including our visit to the Camino de la Muerte.

Bienvenidos al Camino de la Muerte — Bolivia

So what’s up in your neighborhood this week?

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