Northern Argentina: A Birding Bonanza

Strange-tailed Tyrant © Hernan Goni

A brand-new tour to Argentina brings broad exposure to its northern tier. From bird-rich deserts to towering Andes and golden puna, and to the vast wetlands and Iguazu Falls of the Northeast, our time in this amazing country will leave first-time visitors enthralled.

Argentina is a huge, friendly, and fascinating country offering naturalists a wealth of exceptional birding and wildlife viewing opportunities. The recent publication of the superb Birds of Argentina field guide has enhanced the appeal of a visit to this magical country. This exciting new tour is timed for the best of early summer birding and weather. Our carefully planned itinerary includes visits to the top birding locations covering four major biomes in this, the most bird-diverse part of the country. From north-central to northwest, and finally to northeast Argentina, we’ll see an extraordinary range of birds, wildlife, and scenery. Among the expected widespread species, we’ll have opportunities to observe many range-restricted endemics and near-endemics as well. We begin in the Chaco, a broad desert-like region stretching from southeastern Bolivia across western Paraguay and into the heart of northwest Argentina. The Chaco avifauna is particularly rich, and the vast majority of Chaco birds are not well known to naturalists. To those who have visited or lived in the Sonoran Desert of the American Southwest, much of the Chaco will have a familiar feel, home to a splendid avifauna represented by Spot-winged Falconet, Chaco Owl, Black-bodied Woodpecker, Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, Salinas Monjita, and Olive-crowned and Chaco crescentchests. The majority of the tour will be devoted to exploring Andean habitats in the country’s Northwest for a suite of special birds. Nearly all visitors to this region are surprised by the richness of the avifauna and its scenic beauty. From Yungas forests in the foothills near Salta to craggy canyons and the broad sweep of the altiplano (high elevation plateau), a splendid palette of birds and other wildlife awaits the inquiring naturalist. This is a region well-stocked with interesting furnariids—spinetails, thornbirds, canasteros, earthcreepers, miners, cinclodes, and foliage-gleaners—Red-tailed Comet (among the most dazzling hummingbirds of all), and, on altiplano lagoons, a spectacular assortment of flamingos and waterfowl that stretch away into shimmering mirages of pink. Rare Vicuñas and Lesser (Puna) Rheas still roam the wilder puna (high elevation grassland) regions, while flocks of yellow-finches, shy Mountain Parakeets, and startlingly bold siskins add flecks and swirls of color to a landscape of golden grass under magnificent cyan skies. A mouthwatering selection of birds should include Red-faced Guan, Black-and-chestnut Eagle, Tucuman Parrot, Blue-capped Puffleg, Buff-fronted Owl, Tucuman Mountain Finch, Rufous-bellied Mountain Tanager (Saltator), Rust-and-Yellow Tanager, Yellow-striped Brushfinch, Citron-headed Yellow-Finch, and the extremely localized Rufous-throated Dipper, to name a few. The magical Iberá Wetlands of northeast Argentina are recognized among the most important freshwater ecosystems in South America. In size, they are second only to the Pantanal region of southwest Brazil. The Iberá Wetlands are remarkable not only for the high diversity and sheer numbers of birds that occur there, but also for their number of range-restricted species. These include the endangered Strange-tailed Tyrant, stunning Saffron-cowled Blackbird, and Sharp-tailed Tyrant to name a few. Our tour will finish on a high at majestic Iguazu Falls, by any standard among the most spectacular falls on the planet. With its tropical setting, this corner of Argentina contains the most diverse avifauna in the country, boasting many furnariids, antbirds, toucans, flycatchers, and tanagers.

Good to excellent accommodations; wonderful cuisine and famous wine; tour moderately paced with easy birding throughout; most birding along roadsides or forest trails; relaxed boat trips in the Iberá marshes; physical demands light to moderate with easy walking on varied terrain, but some hills in the Andes will require walking on rolling terrain; we will reach altitudes of 12,000 feet on two days, but we plan no hikes at this altitude; early summer weather conditions mostly sunny and pleasant but with considerable variances depending on location (from hot and dry in the Chaco to cool, cold, and windy at higher elevations in the Andes and Altiplano).

Spot-billed Toucanet © Andrew Whittaker