Saffron Toucanet at Atlantic Rainforest

The Atlantic Rainforest — Brazil's Mata Atlântica — once ran almost unbroken along the eastern seaboard, climbing from the coast into steep, mist-shrouded escarpments, and it's within these surviving forest fragments that the Saffron Toucanet can still be found. Its bright yellow plumage stands out beautifully against the greens of the canopy, making May visits with the Birds of Brazil holiday a rewarding time to search for it. Photographers should expect the terrain to reflect that inland, elevated character of the escarpment forest, so patience and a keen eye upward into the canopy will serve well. Capturing this toucanet here is as much about honouring a fragmented but resilient habitat as it is about the bird itself.