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 birding...

         Paraguay

 







Orange-backed Troupial Icterus croconotus ©Paul Smith http://www.faunaparaguay.com

Sandwiched between the giants of the continent, Argentina to the south, Brazil to the east and Bolivia to the north, Paraguay has become “South America’s forgotten corner”. Centuries of political instability, poor infrastructure and a general fear of the unknown have led to the country becoming seriously under-watched in ornithological terms, a trend that has continued into the modern day, even though the country is now one of the friendliest, cheapest, safest and most traditional on the continent. Ironically, this neglect at the hands of birders and researchers alike today renders Paraguay amongst the most exciting places to bird in the South America. Little is known about the country’s avifauna, and regular birders are so few in numbers that every trip brings with it the promise of new and exciting discoveries.

Located in the heart of the continent where five major biomes meet, this compact country offers the possibility to rack up a large list in a short trip and without having to spend hours on the road. Though there are no country endemics, Paraguay is packed with regional endemics. This is the place to go to see threatened local specialities such as White-winged Nightjar, Ochre-breasted Pipit, Vinaceous Amazon, Black-fronted Piping-Guan and Saffron-cowled Blackbird which have all but disappeared from the rest of their respective ranges.

For many visitors the desolate Chaco is the big draw, a thorny, dusty region that remains the best place to see large mammals on the continent – everything from Jaguar and Tapir to the ‘living fossil’ Chaco Peccary, a creature known only from fossil remains until its remarkable discovery in the Paraguayan Chaco in 1976! The eastern part of the Chaco is a humid region that actually forms part of the Pantanal, difficult to get to but unlike the Brazilian Pantanal unspoilt by the excesses of tourism. Famed for vast flocks of water-birds that gather in the flooded palm savannas here, it is also one of the world’s most reliable sites for the elusive Giant Otter.

Most of the human population lives in eastern Paraguay – the Orient – where infrastructure is rather better. However more people means more pressure on natural habitats and Paraguay is no different from anywhere else in South America when it comes to loss of habitat. That said eastern Paraguay still harbours large blocks of largely unexplored Atlantic Forest, amongst the most endangered habitats on earth and with extraordinarily high levels of regional endemism. The Bare-necked Bellbird, Paraguay’s national bird remains numerous here, and other spectacular and rare Atlantic Forest endemics that can be surprisingly easy to find include Saffron and Spot-billed Toucanets and Helmeted Woodpecker – a bird so little known that it was until recently considered South America’s equivalent of the legendary Ivory-billed Woodpecker!

The northern Orient constitutes the southern extension of the vast Cerrado region, the great South American savannas. This is a great place to seek out mysterious local specialities such as Cock-tailed Tyrant (still common in many areas), Reiser’s Tyrannulet, Planalto Foliage-Gleaner and Paraguay’s biggest draw the endangered White-winged Nightjar. Of the three known localities for this species on earth, two are found within the country’s boundaries making it the best and easiest place to see this sought after species.

Travel around Paraguay can be difficult, public transport links the major urban areas but off the beaten track you will need your own 4x4 vehicle to get around. Furthermore much of the country’s territory is in private hands requiring prior written permission to visit. With so few tourists accommodation, away from the major cities, is basic whilst the chances of bumping into another tourist away from the capital city are extremely slim – which all adds up to an adventurous and exciting experience. To get the most out of your visit it is recommended that you visit with an expert guide. However with a modern English-language field guide now in production and more and more people beginning to see Paraguay as a new and exciting eco-tourism destination, the future looks bright both for Paraguay and its spectacular wildlife!

  contributor

 

Paul Smith
(Encarnacion, Paraguay)
http://www.faunaparaguay.com

  numbers

 
Number of bird species:704
National bird - Bare-throated Bellbird Procnias nudicollis

  numbers

 

  useful reading

 

Atlas de las Aves del Paraguay

Hugo del Castillo and Robert P Clay 212 pages, distribution maps. GUYRA Paraguay Distributed by NHBS
ISBN: 170431
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Guía Para la Identificación de las Aves de Paraguay

Tito Narosky and Dario Yzurieta - 239 pages, colour illus, distribution maps. GUYRA Paraguay Distributed by NHBS
ISBN: 9879132130
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Lista Comentada de las Aves de Paraguay

Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Paraguay Hugo del Castillo and Robert P Clay 200 pages, 2 maps. GUYRA Paraguay 2004
ISBN: 9992586818
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Status, Distribution and Biogeography of the Birds of Paraguay

Monographs Floyd E. Hayes Paperback - 230 pages (1995) American Birding Association Incorporated
ISBN: 1878788302
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Where to Watch Birds in South America

Nigel Wheatley Paperback - 336 pages (27 October, 1994) Christopher Helm
ISBN: 0713639091
Buy this book from NHBS.com

  clubs

 

Fundacion Moises Bertoni

http://www.mbertoni.org.py
[English version was offline on my last visit] Procer Carlos Arguello 208, e Meal. L6pez y Boggiani, Asunci6n Paraguay. +595 21 608740 ayanosky@pla.net.py
In January 1988, citizens concerned about the alarming disappearance of Paraguayan fauna and flora and its grave impact on the future generations of the Paraguayan society, formed a group dedicated to the creation of a foundation in whose main focus is to promote the conservation of nature. This foundation, The Moisés Bertoni Foundation (FMB); was formed to combat the ongoing destruction of the environment, thus building a foundation to protect the rich biodiversity of Paraguay...

Guyra

http://www.guyra.org.py/
The BirdLife partner in Paraguay.

  museums

 

Museo Mariposas del Mundo

http://www.mariposasdelmundo.com
The current panorama is not very encouraging, neither in the world environment, nor in the national environment: effect hothouse, destruction of the ozone layer, increase of the forest fires, shortage and contamination of the hydric resources, climatic changes, bad distribution of alimentary resourses, extinction of vegetable and animal species, etc. Logically, all these phenomenons impact in a direct or indirect way, but negatively, on thediversity or biodiversity biological (word very useful at the moment) of our planet...

  reserves

 

Paraguay`s National Parks

http://www.uninet.com.py/paraguay/parques_nac_info.html
Names & Locations

Parque Nacional San Rafael

http://www.pla.net.py/sanrafael/
Dawn in the forest. The whistles of a Solitary Tkiamou are replaced by the trills of Russet-winged Spadebills. A gap in the forest reveals verdant forest hugging steep slopes shrouded in mist...

Ramsar Wetlands in Paraguay

http://www.wetlands.org/
Searchable database...

  trip reports

 

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you can’t find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page… give them a try!

  local guides

 

Birding Pal

http://birdingpal.org/Paraguy.htm
Local birders willing to show visiting birders around their area...

Cardinal Tours

http://www.cardinal-tours.com
The tour heads south to beautiful Bonito before heading in to Paraguay (to take in some duty free shopping as well as the wildlife). The tour ends at Iguazu` before flying back to London via Sao Paulo. The second tour spends a whole week on a farm on the Pantanal before spending one week at Bonito...

Fauna Paraguay

http://www.faunaparaguay.com/
FAUNA Paraguay, the biggest information archive on Paraguayan Natural History on the web. We offer Wildlife and Birdwatching Tours in Paraguay, a huge image gallery of Paraguayan animals, volunteer schemes in Paraguay, and a mountain of information about Paraguay the country. If its birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians or insects that you are interested in then check out what Paraguay has to offer! You won´t be dissappointed...

Focus Tours

http://www.focustours.com/background.html
We invite you to take some time to browse through this site, and keep in mind that the schedule of tours does not cover all of what we will be offering; be sure to check back with us once you know when you would like to travel. and feel free to contact us to let us know what we can do for you in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile or Paraguay...

  mailing lists

 

AvesParaguay

http://ar.groups.yahoo.com/group/AVESPARAGUAY/
To post to list:AVESPARAGUAY@gruposyahoo.com.ar
List contact:AVESPARAGUAY-owner@gruposyahoo.com.ar
To subscribe to list:AVESPARAGUAY-subscribe@gruposyahoo.com.ar
FAUNA Paraguay runs an online listserver (AVESPARAGUAY) dealing specifically with Paraguayan ornithology that allows you to keep up to date with all the latest happenings in the field. Subsciption is free and easy...

  other links

 

Fauna Paraguay

http://www.faunaparaguay.com
Complete online guide to Paraguayan fauna..

Paraguay Birding

http://www.mbertoni.org.py/

  artists

 

Gallery - Fauna Paraguay

http://www.faunaparaguay.com/
Growing picture 'database' for ALL the fauna of Paraguay and ambitious and exciting project...

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