Guyana - Birding Tour
Tour Overview:
Guyana is a small nation in northern South America, about the size of the US state of Kansas. Around 70% of the country is forested, and it has largely escaped the rampant deforestation that many other tropical countries have suffered. These vast rainforests will be a prime focus of our tour, and they are home to a brilliant array of birds restricted to northern South America including amazing cotingas like the fabulous Guianan Cock-of-the Rock, bizarre Capuchinbird, the very local Guianan Red-Cotinga, and the impressive Crimson Fruitcrow, which looks a bit like enormous Scarlet Tanager. Great parrots, antbirds, and raptors also feature heavily, with a good possibility of seeing Harpy Eagle. We will also spend several days in the Rupununi Savanna of the southwestern part of Guyana, for a very different set of species; we will make special efforts to see some high endangered regional specialties like Red Siskin, Hoary-throated Spinetail, Rio Branco Antbird, and the gorgeous Sun Parakeet. Guyana is the only South American country with English as its official language, and culturally is very heterogeneous, with strong Caribbean, Asian, African, Amerindian, and Brazilian influences. This trip is not about luxury lodges, it is about experiencing fantastic wilderness areas that are still almost pristine. Our lodges are simple, clean, and have great food and service; however away from Georgetown, they do not have hot water or air conditioning, and the internet is very limited.