The Red pileated Finch (Coryphospingus cucullatus), also known as the Red-crested Finch, is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae.
They have a huge range in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, and Peru, on the eastern side of the Andes. I saw them in Chapada do Guimaraes which seems to be a hot spot for them.
This looks like a wild bird that someone is putting food out for.
The Yellow-chevroned Parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri) also known as the canary-winged parakeet, is native to tropical South America south of the Amazon River basin from central Brazil to southern Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina.
I spotted this little cutie in one of the large trees at Pousada Piuval, but they are easily seen in most of the Pantanal. Their range extends throughout most of Brazil and Bolivia, into Argentina and Paraguay.
This little guy can’t figure out why he is the centre of attention!
And this one is hungry and wants everyone to know it!
After leaving Curicara Lodge and starting back towards Pocone & Cuiaba, we were birding the Transpantaneira and saw the turn-off to Pousada Piuval.
Just for fun, we turned in for a look. At the time, they didn’t have a day visit package (they do now) so we had coffee and a snack at the restaurant.
They have a really nice little gift shop and I ended up buying a few things.
Best of all – the garden is full of birds!
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Quaker Parrot
Vermilion flycatcher
Saffron Finch 
Blue-crowned Parakeet
It’s a shame we didn’t have more time (and money) as this place looked really nice, but there is hopefully a next time! For now, we were bound for Chapada dos Guimarães!
The bare-faced curassow (Crax fasciolata) is a species of bird in the Cracidae family, the chachalacas, guans, curassows, etc. Males and females are quite different as you can see in these pics I took in the Pantanal.
Male
Female
They have quite a large range throughout Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia. Probably the easiest place to see them is in Brazil’s Pantanal.
Sadly I couldn’t find a video of them in the wild but this clip of captive birds shows the sounds they make.
I had absolutely no information about this hidden gem before we showed up, but Curicaca Lodge delivered some fantastic and easy birding. Before the sun actually rose, we could hear the resident Hyacinth Macaws calling while some monkeys and Blue-fronted Amazons looked on.
As the sun rose, the light got better so better pics!
Some gorgeous little hummingbirds, not sure of exact species.
Blue-headed Parrot
Woodpecker
As you can see there are plenty of birds to keep you busy at Curicaca!
Curicara Lodge has a stunning location along the Transpantaneria in the northern Panatanal fo Brazil. They don’t seem to have a website of their own, but there is good information here.
We were there in Sept, 2012 so things may have changed. The one thing that needed improvement was the access road which was very bumpy! Hopefully they have fixed it up since then.
Once you get to the lodge, it is beautiful and natural with lots of bird-attracting habitat so you don’t even have to leave the grounds to find birds.
This was our cottage – very cute!
Monkey keeping an eye on us.
This is the dining room – most rates will include full board and you need this because there are no other places to eat except at other lodges.
Take a stroll down to the river and look for caiman.
Of course I will save the best for the next post – birding the grounds of Curicaca Lodge!
The Chestnut-eared Aracari (Pteroglossus castanotis), is a bird native to central and south-eastern South America. It belongs to the toucan and aracari family (Ramphastidae).
With such a huge range in South America you are likely to see them in any of the national reserves of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia & Paraguay. I took these pics at Araras Eco-Lodge along the Transpantaneira.
This video taken in the Pantanal shows the bird’s calls and how they eat.
The Blue-crowned Parakeet aka Blue-crowned Conure, (Psittacara acuticaudatus) is a small green Neotropical parrot with a blue head and pale beak native to large parts of South America, from eastern Colombia in the north to northern Argentina in the south. They inhabit savanna-like habitats, woodland and forest margins, but avoid dense humid forest such as the Amazon.
They have a large range in South America with the Pantanal being one of the easiest places to see them. I took the above photos in the Transpantaneira region. They are also commonly seen in Bolivia and Colombia with some feral populations in Florida.
Lovely close-up of the birds in Colombia.
Nesting pair in Florida, check out the affectionate behaviour!
When I was doing the planning for this trip, I really wanted to stay here but it’s just so difficult to book it if you aren’t on some kind of package tour. Their website doesn’t even have prices or a booking page! I decided to take a chance they may have unbooked roooms when we arrived and we could get a good last minute deal. It wasn’t to be, when I called the day before, I found out that they were fully booked. They did offer day visits in which one of their guides takes you around the property and shows you the wildlife. In 2012 it was around $25-ish per person and we ended up having a late lunch there too.
Driving into the property
A Chestnut-eared Aracari welcomed us in.
Gift shop and dining room where we had a very late lunch.
Rooms
Swimming pool
Red Capped Cardinals bathing
Now the Chestnut-eared Aracari has a friend
Red Capped Cardinals eating 
Quakers foraging in the grass and in trees above
Blue Crowned Conure 
Capybaras 
Caimans
Why are these capybaras swimming in the same pond with the caimans?
Coati
Quakers, Peach-fronted Conures and other birds foraging on the lawn
All this in just a couple hours in the late afternoon at Araras Eco-Lodge!
If you want to self-drive the Trans-Pantaniera in a rental car, the first step is to get from Cuiaba to Pocone. Pocone is a small town where you can grab something to eat and then head to the Trans-Pantaniera which is a well-maintained dirt road through some prime birding territory.
Transpantaneira in blue, it’s not that long when compared to the entire Pantanal region but the birds are amazing!
Well-maintained dirt road.
This map from the German language Pantanal Portal shows the exact position of the various eco-lodges along the Transpantaniera. For our trip, we stayed at Curicara Eco-Lodge and made a day visit to Araras Eco-Lodge. On the last day, we called into Pousada Piuval for a mid-morning snack and to see some more birds in their lush grounds.
For descriptions of the various lodges, this website has a good list in English, also check the latest reviews on Trip Advisor, paying most attention to people with several reviews who seem unbiased.
Here’s a few pics from our drive from the entrance to Araras Eco-Lodge where we made a day visit.
Quaker Parrots (Monk Parakeets) were everywhere – check out those humongous communal nests!
Divided road.
