On 11 April, our bird guide, Leonardo Pimentel, was guiding some guests on the Elfin Forest Trail when he heard a call that he immediately recognised as a Fork-tailed Tody-Tyrant Hemitriccus furcatus! After a little playback the bird came in and although it kept to the dense vegetation he managed to get some photos. Fork-tailed Tody-Tyrant, otherwise known as Fork-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant, is a very rare Brazilian Atlantic Forest endemic with a tiny fragmented population, and is classified as Vulnerable by BirdLife International. The nearest populations to REGUA are in southern Rio de Janeiro State and this is the first record for the Serra dos Órgãos region of this distinctive tyrannid (check out the tail pattern).

This record brings the total number of birds recorded at REGUA to an incredible 455, including 62 Brazilian endemics and 118 Atlantic Forest endemics! Well done Leonardo for finding such a fantastic bird!