CENTRAL PERU ENDEMICS TOUR

Another brand new Zoothera tour will see us searching the Andes of central Peru for an impressive list of endemics, near-endemics, rare and extremely localised species.  There's around 50 endemics to be found on this tour, but what makes this tour even more exciting is there are several as yet undescribed species and quite a few soon-to-be-split species. it is also a tour to an area of Peru that relatively few travelling birders have visited. Combine that with some of the most impressive scenery of any bird tour and you can see why we are so excited about it!

We begin at the coastal reserve of Lomas de Lachay searching for our first endemics including Cactus Canastero, Thick-billed and Coastal Miners and Raimondi's Yellow Finch before heading north to the Patavilca Valley. Here we will be looking for specialties such as Russet-bellied Spinetail, Streak-backed and Cordilleran Canasteros, Great Inca-Finch and the localised Bay-crowned Brush-Finch. Patches of bird-rich Polylepis forest in the shadow of the magnificent Cordillera Blanca are home to the endemic White-cheeked Cotinga, and there's plenty of other great birds to get our teeth into such as Stripe-headed Antpitta, Ancash Tapaculo, Black Metaltail, Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail, Line-cheeked Spinetail,  Rufous-eared Brush-Finch and Plain-tailed Warbling-Finch, whilst we could also pick up Giant Conebill and Jelski's Chat-Tyrant. Possibly the highlight of the tour will be our time spent in Huascaran National Park and Bosque Unchog home to some of the rarest birds on the planet. We will have a few days to find a whole host of endemics such as he stunning Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager, as well as Spot-throated Hummingbird, Coppery Metaltail, Bay-vented Cotinga, Bay and Chestnut Antpittas, Pale-tailed Canastero, Inca Flycatcher, Neblina and Large-footed Tapaculo, Rufous-browed Hemispingus, Pardusco, and the list goes on...!

Lake Junin and it's namesake grebe are next up, with Black (Junin) Rail also here, whilst some lower elevation birding gives us a chance at the rare Creamy-bellied Antwren and Masked Fruiteater. Moving on to the incredible Satipo Road we'll bird an elevation range of 1000m-3600m and an extremely diverse range of species that usually associate in large mixed feeding flocks and we also visit the Andamarca Valley which gives us chances of  Koepcke’s Screech-Owl, Fiery-throated Metaltail, “Mantaro” Thornbird (undescribed), Eye-ringed Thistletail, Striated Earthcreeper, Creamy-crested Spinetail, Marcapata Spinetail weskei race, an unsdescribed form of Azara’s Spinetail, “Milpo” Tapaculo (undescribed), Junin Tapaculo, “Mantaro” Wren (undescribed), and possibly the biggest prize of the lot, Black-spectacled Brush Finch (E). As if that isn't enough there's also the incomparable Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, which can be found at its favourite bog, along with the endemic Black-breasted Hillstar, superb White-bellied Cinclodes, Dark-winged Miner, Junin Canastero and Striated Earthcreeper. And we will finish in the Santa Eulalia Valley home to some great endemics: Bronze-tailed Comet, Black-necked Woodpecker, Canyon Canastero, Rusty-bellied Brush-Finch and Great Inca-Finch.

This is a side to Peru that has traditionally gone unnoticed but there's just so many truly great species to find here. It is a tour that requires some effort as we are birding at high altitudes but the rewards are definitely worthwhile. So why not join us on this exciting Andean adventure?

Friday 8th - Monday 25th August 2025   

KEY SPECIES

Here are just a few of the key species we will be targetting on this tour:

  • Ornate Tinamou
  • Andean Tinamou
  • Curve-billed Tinamou
  • Puna Tinamou
  • Junin Grebe
  • Black Rail
  • Diademed Sandpiper-Plover
  • Tawny-throated Dotterel
  • Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe
  • Grey-breasted Seedsnipe
  • Least Seedsnipe
  • Jameson's Snipe
  • Puna Snipe
  • Black-winged Parrot
  • Koepcke's Screech-Owl
  • Cloud-forest Screech-Owl
  • Lesser Horned Owl
  • Yungas Pygmy Owl
  • Peruvian Pygmy Owl
  • Swallow-tailed Nightjar
  • Spot-throated Hummingbird
  • Black-breasted Hillstar
  • Bronze-tailed Comet
  • Fiery-throated Metaltail
  • Black Metaltail
  • Lanceolated Monklet
  • Black-throated Toucanet
  • Black-necked Woodpecker
  • Slender-billed Miner
  • Greyish Miner
  • Coastal Miner
  • Dark-winged Miner
  • Buff-breasted Earthcreeper
  • Striated Earthcreeper
  • White-bellied Cinclodes
  • Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail
  • Eye-ringed Thistletail
  • Canyon Canastero
  • Streak-throated Canastero
  • Pale-tailed Canastero
  • Line-fronted Canastero
  • Junin Canastero
  • Cactus Canastero
  • Russet-bellied Spinetail
  • Marcapata Spinetail
  • Creamy-crested Spinetail
  • Line-cheeked Spinetail
  • "Mantaro' Thornbird
  • Peruvian Treehunter
  • Creamy-bellied Antwren
  • Stripe-headed Antpitta
  • Bay Antpitta
  • Chestnut Antpitta
  • Millpo Tapaculo
  • Rufous-vented Tapaculo
  • Tschudi's Tapaculo
  • Ancash Tapaculo
  • Neblina Tapaculo
  • Junin Tapaculo
  • Large-footed Tapaculo
  • Black-crested Tit-Tyrant
  • Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant
  • Peruvian Tyrannulet
  • Inca Flycatcher
  • Ochraceous-breasted Flycatcher
  • Jelski's Black Tyrant
  • Kalinowski's Chat-Tyrant
  • Jelski's Chat-Tyrant
  • White-cheeked Cotinga
  • Bay-vented Cotinga
  • Masked Fruiteater
  • Peruvian Wren
  • 'Mantaro' Wren
  • Peruvian Pipit
  • Rufous-eared Brushfinch
  • Black-spectacled Brushfinch
  • Bay-crowned Brushfinch
  • Rusty-bellied Brushfinch
  • Rufous-browed Hemispingus
  • Brown-flanked Tanager
  • Pardusco
  • Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager
  • Golden-collared Tanager
  • Yellow-scarfed Tanager
  • Tit-Like Dacnis
  • Great Inca-Finch
  • Rufous-backed Inca-Finch
  • Plain-tailed Warbling-Finch
  • Rufous-breasted Warbling-Finch
  • Raimondi's Yellow-Finch
diademed sandpiper-plover
Diademed Sandpiper-Plover

Leader: Nick Bray and local guides

Ground Price: £tba - Lima/Lima

Airfare: £800.00 - £1150.00 (Approx) - UK/UK

Single Supplement: £tba

Deposit: £500.00

Group size: Minimum for tour to go ahead 4 and a maximum of 10.

Included in cost: Accommodation in twin rooms mostly en-suite, all meals including picnic lunches where necessary, bottled water, all entrance fees, transport throughout, and services of local guides and leaders.

Not included: International airfare, insurance, departure tax, drinks, tips, and items of a personal nature.

Accommodation: The hotels used during this tour range from good to standard, most with en-suite facilities. We will stay in the best available lodges/hotels which are as close to the birding sites as possible in order for us to maximise our time in the field.

Tour Code: This is a relatively intenseand demanding  tour as we make early starts and have long days in the field. Some long drives are necessary but the roads are mainly paved now and our transport is comfortable and well maintained. We are visiting in the dry season but please be aware that we could get some rain in the afternoons. Expect it to be warm along the coast, but cold and wet in higher areas, with some snow possible. Please note that this tour will focus on finding many of Central Peru specialities and endemics, but a wider variety of species will be seen as well.

Altitude sickness is a possibility as we will be birding in high-altitude areas - especially upon over-exertion after arriving from sea level, so it is important to remember to take it easy and move very slowly..On this tour we’ll work our way up slowly for the first couple of days, but we will be birding mostly above 2500m and will reach elevations of 4800m. A serious search for the White-cheeked Cotinga or the Bay-vented Cotinga can involve climbing (slowly!) several hundred feet off the trail (or road) at elevations of 3660m to 4100m. At Bosque Unchog we’ll be birding at 3660m, and the tour culminates with a hike to see White-bellied Cinclodes after two weeks of mountain birding that will help us acclimate. For the cinclodes we’ll walk down a road from 4570m for several hundred metres and then walk back up, which can feel rather tough.