On 30 March, Adilei was walking on the brown trail at the back of the wetland with Finn from Denmark, Heather Mandow and Jorge with Cornelia when he saw two birds glide into a fruiting tree. He had a hunch as to their identity and asked everyone to hush up and follow him. Quietly they stalked the birds and and came across a pair of Blue-bellied Parrots feeding on some fruits. They looked in awe as this is the first time they have been seen so low, just 38m above sea level, and he was able to take these photos with his new lens. He did return the following day to try for a better image but alas they were no longer present. The Blue-bellied Parrot is an Atlantic rainforest endemic with a very unlike parrot call and in Brazil they call this bird “Sabia cica” as if it was a thrush. So the next time you hear a thrush in the forest, take a close look as it might be this near-threatened species.

