Thursday 3rd July 2025: Cruising the Cuiaba river, Pantanal, Brazil Day 5

We set out after breakfast for another day of birding by boat along the river. We had barely left the flotel before we encountered a mixed feeding flock working its way through the trees and vegetation lining the bank. We had pulled in close to check a White-winged Swallow, when Dave spotted a Chestnut-vented Conebill in the tree, and suddenly it was chaos, with birds darting everywhere, different people calling and directing us to different birds, and lots of angst struggling to locate birds, or getting distracted by other birds. Who would have thought birding could be so stressful?!

Here we had in the bush a Southern-bearded Tyrannulet, a rather drab bird, then in branches close to the water a pair of Rusty backed Spinetail, soon ignored for a grey-tinged White-lored Spinetail nearby. In the high trees a Blue-crowned Trogon was called, but I struggled to find this in the canopy. I did see a Solitary Cacique and several Silver-billed Tanagers amongst the foliage, and a pair of Nunbirds rested on a branch. A pair of Blue Dacnis, the male with stunning blue plumage and the female a lovely, shade of lime-green flew into the bush in front of us. Little Woodpecker and Olivaceous Woodcreeper were both called, but I couldn’t find either of these skulking high in the treetops. I eventually managed to get onto the Blue-crowned Trogon, although it had its back to us, but his cherry-red breast flashed clearly as it flew. Later the female also appeared. A Great Antshrike showed surprisingly well, skulking in a tangle of branches, with pristine white and black plumage and a striking red eye. 

Rusty-backed Spinetail

Great Antshrike (Sam's photo)

A Chivi Vireo eluded me, but I did see the Fawn-breasted Wren, diminutive White-wedged Piculet and a Masked Tityra with prominent red bill, all new birds for me. Also in the melee were Yellow-rumped Cacique, Palm Tanager, Masked Gnatcatcher, Squirrel Cuckoo and Short-crested Flycatcher. A tiny hummingbird was eventually identified as a Fork-tailed Woodnymph.

After this storm of birds. we continued along the river, birding at a more sedate pace. On the water, numerous Ringed Kingfishers called loudly, and we observed plenty of nest holes in the banks of the river. A Southern Rough-winged Swallow landed on a branch, posing well for photographs and a Boat-billed Flycatcher was perched up in a low-lying riverside bush.

                                                        Southern Rough-winged Swallow

A tiny Buff-bellied Hermit nectared on some purple flowers, and a Greyish Saltator sang briefly from a branch as we passed, possibly our best views so far of this species. A Blue-crowned Parakeet overhead was called by Roberto, but it was too fast for me to be tickable! An immature Rusty-collared Seedeater popped up on the vegetation. then we found a pair of huge Great Black Hawks sat on a riverside shrub  eating fish. One bird opened its mouth and appeared to gag several times before puking out a spray of liquid with a shake of its head - gross but fascinating!

Great Black Hawk

Also seen here were Amazon Kingfisher, a perched Yellow-chevroned Parakeet and several Wood Stork, whilst Turquoise-fronted Parrots flew over, identified by their red wings and distinct call. At another productive spot we found Rufous-tailed Jacamar, then a Pale Hornero creeping furtively amongst a tangle of roots along the bank and a Hooded Tanager in the canopy above, both new birds for most of the group. Another Fork-tailed Woodnymph dashed amongst some yellow flowers in the canopy high above us.

Amazon Kingfisher

A Yellow-billed Tern tracked down the river, then we passed a cluster of Large-billed Terns perched on an overhanging branch, completely unperturbed by our prescence. Returning upstream to our flotel for lunch a perched immature Aplomado Falcon was another great find to finish a fantastic morning’s birding. 

Large-billed Terns

After lunch we set out again, noting a rufous female Great Antshrike. A call for a Jaguar soon came through, so we sped off, reaching a top speed of 42mph to arrive at our destination. The pair from yesterday had been refound, but were less easy to see, then a report of another cat hunting was radioed through, so off we went again. We had several glimpses as it prowled the bank, tracking its progress by observing the moving grasses and flurry of birds put up by its presence. This included a Little Cuckoo, several Black-capped Donocobious and a group of Smooth-billed Anis. Twice the Jaguar stopped to peer out at us through the vegetation, and at an open gap we saw it prowling past majestically, before disappearing with a flick of its tail. Our final observation was spotting it swim across the water behind us, then haul itself up the bank before melting into the forest. 

Jaguar

Then we went birding! It was much quieter than this morning, but a pair of Golden-Green Woodpeckers and Chestnut eared Aracaris were new additions to our ever increasing tally. The highlight of the afternoon however, was a magical encounter with a family of giant Otters, who entertained us with their antics as they swam in front of the boat like dancing dolphins, then clambering up vines to scent the muddy bank where they had their holt,  and crunching noisily on large fish. It was a rewarding and memorable experience.

Giant Otter

With the appearance of our first Band-tailed Nighthawk, we knew it was time to return to the boat.