Photo Gallery
Rich Hoyer
We start our tour near Santa Cruz, in a very distinctive habitat of dunes and seasonal wetlands.
One of the characteristic birds of this area is the Spot-backed Puffbird.
We could also see White-barred Piculet, a tiny woodpecker.
To the south we enter the Chaco region of seasonally dry tropical scrub and forest.
The distinctive shape of the kapok trees imparts an exotic feel to the Chaco.
One of the most sought-after birds in this region is the Black-legged Seriema, and we have a good chance at this and Red-legged—the only members of the newly created order Cariamiformes.
Cinereous Tyrant is another charming inhabitant of the Chaco region.
Always a delight to see, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls are typically found in drier regions.
Feeling like the Land of the Lost, our lodging at Refugio Los Volcanes is in the transition zone between the humid Amazon basin and the interior valleys.
What at first appear to be grassy clumps in the rocky stream here are the gorgeous orchid Phragmipedium caricinum.
Heading inland to the interior valleys of Bolivia’s Valle region, we discover a habitat and landscape full of beauty.
Broad river valleys and north-south ridges dominate the views.
This is where the gorgeous endemic Red-fronted Macaw lives.
Photo: Anthony Collerton
Some of the lower, hotter valleys have an almost desert-like habitat….
…the habitat of the White-fronted Woodpecker, whose scientific name means that it belongs to cacti.
Photo: Anthony Collerton
Down in the moister draws, a tropical deciduous forest with colorful blooming trees hosts more diversity…
…such as this Rufous-capped Antshrike.
Photo: Anthony Collerton
In brushy areas we have a good chance of seeing the lovely Olive-crowned Crescentchest, one of only four members of the recently created family Melanopareiidae.
Photo: Anthony Collerton
Our home base for two nights is the small town of Comarapa, viewed here from the road to Siberia, a region of lovely cloud forest.
Our hotel in Comarapa is surprisingly nice for such a small town.
We’ll experience a change of scenery—and an increase in butterfly life—as we work our way around to the Amazonian side of the mountains.
We’ll be ferried across this foothill river by a park guard…
…to visit this Oilbird cave, one of the most accessible in the entire Andean chain.
We’ll ascend the Chapare road into lush cloud forest.
The Ocellated Woodcreeper occurs at some of the lower elevations…
Photo: Anthony Collerton
…Bolivian Tyrannulet is a little higher up…
…Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager occurs in more stunted cloud forest near treeline…
…while at the very treeline is the lovely endemic Black-hooded Sunbeam.
A trout farm is a nice place to stop for lunch…
…but there’s nothing nicer than a picnic in the cloud forest.
Even at these high elevations there are some interesting butterflies, such as this firetip skipper.
Near Cochambamba we stay in a hotel with lushly planted gardens.
We work our way up the Cerro Tunari Road, where many exciting birds await us.
Andean Parakeets occur where there are groves of Polylepis trees…
…while Gray-hooded Parakeets feed like sparrows on roadside weeds.
Above treeline is the wren-like Scribble-tailed Canastero, here showing the seldom-seen scribbles.
Puna Tapaculo is one of the few members of its genus to occasionally perch out in the open.
We’ll work our way to the high puna habitat of Cerro Tunari for some regional specialties.
This is the habitat of the handsome Andean Flicker.