EL TOCTO near OLMOS 
PERU

LAMBAYEQUE (Compass)

Lat:00^o00´S/00^o00´W ha topography msl 
Protected/registered status 
Best Time for visit (17th-18th March, 2006)

Birding Site Guide

El Tocto is a site for the critically endangered White-winged Guan. It is fairly easily accessed from Olmos if you have your transport and requires a long, hot walk if you don't. Olmos is a medium-sized town with a few places to stay, eat and also has internet. I stayed at 'El Remanso' for 20s. Colectivos leave Chiclayo for Olmos, take an hour and a half and cost 9s. The Tarapoto bus from Piura can also drop you off on the highway. To visit El Tocto or Limon to see wild guans, it's best first to call in at the captive breeding centre at km103 for more information. The turning for El Tocto is at km105, 2km past the centre. There is also another centre with captive cracids of many different species after the turn that maybe worth a look. To get to the turn, you can take a colectivo or moto with others (2s) or privately (5s). From the turn it is 16km to El Tocto. The road is not in such bad condition but vehicles rarely pass along it and hitching would be difficult. 

Some good birds can be seen along here including Peruvian Thick-knee, Short-tailed Woodstar, Red-masked Parakeet, Parrot-billed Seeteater, Tumbes Sparrow and Cinereous Finch. After about 10km you have to cross a river several times. Here I saw Ringed & Green Kingfishers and Comb Duck. After the last crossing I saw Crimson-breasted Finch. It takes about 4 hours to get to El Tocto. The people here are very friendly and there are a couple of shops selling soft drinks and cookies. It is a very good idea to get a local to show you the spot where the guans are. I didn't do this and hence didn't see the guans. The description of how to get there in 'Valqui' mentions the house of Mr Murante but apparently he died over 10 years ago and his house no longer stands. Everyone knows the spot though. I took a wrong turn on the way up and ended up in a different place but still had lots of good birds such as: Plumbeus-backed Thrush, White-headed Brush-Finch, Elegant Crescentchest, Pale-browed Tinamou, Ochre-bellied Dove and Black-and-white Tanager. I saw 71 species including 10 lifers.

Species seen 

• Pale-browed Tinamou Crypturellus transfasciatus Near-threatened
• Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos Photographed
• Black Vulture Coragyps atratus Photographed
• Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
• Great Black-Hawk Buteogallus urubitinga
• Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
• Peruvian Thick-knee Burhinus superciliaris
• Rock Pigeon Columba livia Introduced species
• Eared Dove Zenaida auriculata
• Pacific Dove Zenaida meloda
• Croaking Ground-Dove Columbina cruziana Photographed
• Blue Ground-Dove Claravis pretiosa
• White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi Photographed
• Ochre-bellied Dove Leptotila ochraceiventris Vulnerable Heard
• Red-masked Parakeet Aratinga erythrogenys Near-threatened Photographed
• Pacific Parrotlet Forpus coelestis
• Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris
• Peruvian Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium peruanum
• Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis
• Amazilia Hummingbird Amazilia amazilia
• Long-billed Starthroat Heliomaster longirostris
• Short-tailed Woodstar Myrmia micrura Photographed
• Ringed Kingfisher Ceryle torquatus
• Green Kingfisher Chloroceryle americana
• Blue-crowned Motmot Momotus momota
• Scarlet-backed Woodpecker Veniliornis callonotus Photographed
• Pale-legged Hornero Furnarius leucopus
• Necklaced Spinetail Synallaxis stictothorax Possibly seen
• Streak-headed Woodcreeper Lepidocolaptes souleyetii
• Collared Antshrike Sakesphorus bernardi
• Elegant Crescent-chest Melanopareia elegans Photographed
• Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet Camptostoma obsoletum
• Mouse-colored Tyrannulet Phaeomyias murina
• Gray-and-white Tyrannulet Pseudelaenia leucospodia
• Rufous-winged Tyrannulet Mecocerculus calopterus
• Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant Euscarthmus meloryphus
• Common Tody-Flycatcher Todirostrum cinereum
• Yellow-olive Flycatcher Tolmomyias sulphurescens
• Vermilion Flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus Photographed
• Short-tailed Field-Tyrant Muscigralla brevicauda Possibly seen
• Baird's Flycatcher Myiodynastes bairdii Photographed
• Gray-breasted Martin Progne chalybea
• Southern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
• Fasciated Wren Campylorhynchus fasciatus
• Speckle-breasted Wren Thryothorus sclateri Heard
• Superciliated Wren Thryothorus superciliaris
• Long-tailed Mockingbird Mimus longicaudatus Photographed
• Plumbeous-backed Thrush Turdus reevei Photographed
• Tropical Gnatcatcher Polioptila plumbea Photographed
• White-tailed Jay Cyanocorax mystacalis
• Tropical Parula Parula pitiayumi
• Gray-and-gold Warbler Basileuterus fraseri
• Bananaquit Coereba flaveola
• Black-and-white Tanager Conothraupis speculigera Near-threatened
• Blue-gray Tanager Thraupis episcopus
• Thick-billed Euphonia Euphonia laniirostris
• Crimson-breasted Finch Rhodospingus cruentus
• Cinereous Finch Piezorhina cinerea Endemic
• Parrot-billed Seedeater Sporophila peruviana Photographed
• Saffron Finch Sicalis flaveola
• White-winged Brush-Finch Atlapetes leucopterus Photographed
• White-headed Brush-Finch Atlapetes albiceps
• Black-capped Sparrow Arremon abeillei
• Tumbes Sparrow Aimophila stolzmanni Photographed
• Rufous-collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis
• Golden-bellied Grosbeak Pheucticus chrysogaster
• Peruvian Meadowlark Sturnella bellicosa Photographed
• Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis
• Yellow-tailed Oriole Icterus mesomelas
• White-edged Oriole Icterus graceannae
• Hooded Siskin Carduelis magellanica Possibly seen

Other Fauna 
A total of -- species of mammals. 

There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles. 

Flora 

Author: Charles Hesse

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