Distrito Federal
I have not birded in Brasilia myself and am grateful to Marcelo Monteiro and Rodrigo D’Alessandro for the following notes.
The best time of year to see birds in Brasilia is June – August. For forest birds the best place is the Brasilia National Park, around the Piscina Velha (Old Swimming Pool) and on the Trilha da Capivara (Capivara Trail). Here you can see Russet-mantled Foliage-gleaner Syndactyla dimidiata, Helmeted Manakin Antilophia galeata, Black-goggled Tanager Trichothraupis melanops, White-striped, White-bellied and Flavescent Warbler Basileuterus leucophrys, B. hypoleucus and B. flaveolus and Saffron-billed Sparrow Arremon flavirostris. In the swimming pool car park there are some thorn trees which fruit in March and April and attract many birds. The park opens at 08:00 am. It is very crowded at weekends.
For cerrado species visit the Parque Ecológico Dom Bosco, also known as the Ermida Dom Bosco, at the end of the Lago Sul (Southern Lake), which opens at 07:00 am. Here you will find White-eared and Spot-backed Puffbird Nystalus chacuru and N. maculatus, Rufous-winged Antshrike Thamnophilus torquatus, Black-throated Saltator Saltatricula atricollis, White-rumped Tanager Cypsnagra hirundinacea, etc.
Other options are the Jardim Botânico de Brasília (Brasilia Botanical Garden) which has some cerrado and opens at 6:30 am., the Parque Olhos D’Água, at the end of the Asa Norte (Northern Wing), and the Parque da Cidade (City Park). At these sites you will find common birds, like Buff-breasted Wren Cantorchilus leucotis and Blackish Rail Pardirallus nigricans (Parque Olhos D’Água – early in the morning) but occasionally something more interesting turns up such as Whistling Heron Sirygma sibilatrix, Buff-necked Ibis Theristicus caudatus, Aplomado Falcon Falco femoralis or Curl-crested Jay Cyanocorax cristatellus.
