A little Brasil birding

When I arrived at our hotel in Salvador, Brasil, my eyes were immediately drawn to a "Birds of Brazil" tome on the bookshelf in the lobby and knew I would have to peruse it.  Outside, I was immediately stuck by the constant presence and sometime huge numbers of Black Vultures everywhere in Brasil.  I do mean everywhere, even in downtown Rio, you can rarely go more than a minute without seeing at least one soaring overhead or perched on a high up spot, and often it was many, dozens, often interspersed with Frigate birds (especially above Copacabana Beach in Rio) and occasionally a couple of Turkey Vultures.

My first chance to look at and utilize the book was sitting out by the pool when what appeared to be a Caracara-like bird flew over the hotel.  I thought I had seen something similar previously and now I had the time so I ran inside to grab the book and brought it out to my chair.  I flipped through it was amazed at all the colors and different birds that can be seen in this huge and diverse country.  The raptor section was many pages and I was fascinated by all the varieties of hawks, falcons, kites, eagles, harriers and others, including numerous caracaras, although none appeared to be my rather plain sighting, which could have either been a juvenile of some sort, or maybe just a Black Vulture at a strange angle.

A day or so later while walking through the local neighborhood I heard a high-pitched shriek that sounded very raptor-like and looked up to see one, then two, then a third small raptor flying among the trees.  My first impression was something along the lines of a Cooper's or Sharp-shinned, but certainly some interesting new tropical species.  Maybe  a Roadside Hawk or one of the many cool looking smaller accipiters from the book.  I got a decent look at one and immediately grabbed the book upon returning to the hotel.  I scanned all the small hawks, ruling out most and narrowing down the possibilities.  Not a Roadside.  Upon studying all the pictures and descriptions, of the wings, head, tails, habitat, voice, I am 99% I spotted a young family of South American Sharp-shinned hawks, just like the ones I occasionally see near my home.

Otherwise, I did not see a ton of spectacular birds to report.  They were many water fowl, egrets, herons, some smaller colorful LBJs in the bushes and trees, and maybe an Osprey or two flying over the ocean, but this trip was more about the soccer and the minimal birding was just an extra treat.