MADAGASCAR

This wonderful country is home to some of the world’s most unusual wildlife. Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island, often referred to as the “Eighth Continent” and it is here that we will start our epic journey in search of the many endemic birds and mammals. Madagascar offers unparalleled endemism with over 100 true endemic birds and five endemic bird families, which include the Ground-Rollers, Cuckoo-Roller, Mesites, Asities and Vangas. Lemurs are one of the star attractions and we will find many, both diurnal and nocturnal. Two thirds of the world's Chameleons are found here; we should see many species, from the smallest to the largest, on our visit. Human expansion has impacted heavily on Madagascar and many species are in very real danger of extinction. We will visit some of the top birding sites on the island and, with some luck and good weather, hope to reach our goal of nearly 200 bird species. Our guide, Errol de Beer, has traveled all over Madagascar and is very familiar with all the best sites. Nonetheless, he will also rely on local guides who we will use at many of the sites, taking advantage of impeccable knowledge of their home turf.

The 8th Continent 19 Days / 18 Nights

Masoala Extension

Detailed Itinerary

Day 0: Departure from the US in order to arrive in Antananarivo on Day 1. Most flights come through Johannesburg, although there are some flights into Madagascar through Europe. If you want to arrive in South Africa a day early, we can arrange for a hotel for you near the international airport in Johannesburg for the night prior to day 1 of the tour, and then you can fly from Johannesburg to Antananarivo the next morning. Day 1: Arrival in Antananarivo (Tana), Madagascar. Depending on arrival times, we will visit Lac Alarobia (Parc de Tsarasoatra), a 66-acre bird oasis near the center of the capital, where we will have our first encounters with some of the Malagasy birdlife. Dimorphic Egret, Madagascar Kingfisher and various duck species are common. Squacco Heron and Madagascar Pond Heron occur side by side and makes for easy comparison. We have even recorded Eleanora’s Falcon here. O/N Le Louvre Hotel or similar in Tana (BLD) Day 2: From Tana we have a long drive to Ankarafantsika National Park. The camp offers comfortable chalets and the restaurant serves traditional Malagasy fare. We will encounter our first

campsite residents such as Lesser Vasa Parrots, Crested Drongo, Madagascar Magpie Robin, Sakalava Weaver, Madagascar Hoopoe and Madagascar Green Pigeon, not forgetting the ever present Coquerel’s Sifaka. At Lac Ravelobe, only a stone’s throw from the camp, we will look for the critically endangered Madagascar Fish-Eagle that is known to breed here. White-throated Rails are also commonly found here. O/N Ankarafantsika Lodge or similar (BLD) Day 3: We will have a full day to explore this remarkable area. White-breasted Mesites and Gray-headed Lovebirds are sometimes seen within the camp. We will make good work of exploring the splendid network of trails through the park. Eight species of Lemur can be found around the camp, including Common Brown Lemur as well as the rare Mongoose Lemur. The jewel-like Schlegel’s Asity will be high on our list of priorities as will Van Dam’s Vanga and the two species of Coua found here: Red-capped and Coquerel’s Couas. Vangas are well represented and, other than Van Dam’s, we should also find Rufous, Hook-billed, White-headed, Chabert’s and Red-tailed Vangas. Reptiles are plentiful; fortunately, there are no poisonous snakes on the Island. Oustalet’s Chameleon (the world’s

largest) and Rhinoceros Chameleon are common in the forest. After dinner, we will go on a night walk for some of the nocturnal birds and Lemurs. Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher is often more easily found at night than during the day. O/N Ankarafantsika Lodge or similar (BLD)

Day 4: This morning we will try for any of the birds that we might have missed the previous day, and we'll also be on the look-out for Madagascar Crested Ibis, Madagascar Paradise Flycatcher and Sickle-billed Vanga. Madagascar Green Sunbird breeds in the camp and we will make another visit to Lac Ravelobe where we could find Mascarene Martin, Madagascar Jacana and Purple Heron. On the way to Mahajanga we will stop at Lac Amboromalandy where we might find Humboldt’s Heron, White-faced Whistling Duck, African Pygmy Goose and Hottentot Teal. O/N Hotel La Piscine or similar, Mahajanga (BLD) Day 5: An early morning boat trip up the Betsiboka Delta promises to create much excitement - this is one of the only ways to find the rare Bernier’s Teal and also Madagascar Sacred Ibis. This is a great time to add some waders to our trip list, with Greater Sand Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Terek Sandpiper, Whimbrel and Crab Plover likely. We'll return to Mahajanga after a morning of birding, where we will board our flight back to Tana. Upon our arrival, we will waste no time in departing for Analamazoatra Special Reserve, better known as Perinet. We will arrive at Perinet in the late afternoon, and after checking in, we will discuss our plans for the next day over a hearty dinner. O/N Vakona Forest Lodge or similar (BLD) Day 6: We will spend a full day birding Perinet Reserve. We will be looking for Red-fronted and Blue Coua, Velvet Asity, Madagascar Blue Vanga, Nuthatch Vanga and Red-tailed Vanga. The thrill of birding in Perinet would not be complete without hearing and seeing the world's largest living Lemur, the Indri. The spine-chilling howls of this creature is an experience you will not soon forget. Other birds to be on the lookout for include Madagascar Wood Rail, Madagascar Cuckoo, Madagascar Spinetail, Tylas, Nelicourvi Weaver, Souimanga Sunbird, Common Sunbird-Asity and Madagascar Cuckoo-Roller. What would a visit to Perinet be without a nocturnal outing? After dinner, we will embark on an unforgettable evening in the forest, watching for nocturnal Lemurs and birds. Possibilities include Long-eared Owl, Rainforest Scops Owl and both Madagascar Nightjar and the rare and little-known Collared Nightjar. On the Lemur front, we hope to find the nocturnal Eastern Woolly, Greater Dwarf and the diminutive Brown Mouse lemurs. O/N Vakona Forest Lodge or similar (BLD) Day 7: We will bird Mantadia National Park, which is undoubtedly the finest place to find Ground-Rollers in Madagascar. Four of the five Ground-Rollers are found here, the only exclusion being the Long-tailed Ground-Roller. Some of the more difficult to see specialties at Mantadia include Red-breasted Coua, Madagascar Serpent Eagle (very rare here and better seen at Masoala), and the incredibly scarce Red Owl. More common birds include Greater and Lesser Vasa Parrots, Madagascar Starling, Madagascar Blue-Pigeon, Madagascar Flufftail, Madagascar Little Grebe, Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher, Forest Fody, Ward’s Flycatcher, Crossley’s Babbler, White-throated Oxylabes and many more. The elusive Diademed Sifaka and Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur are present here. O/N Vakona Forest Lodge or similar (BLD)

Day 8: We will spend the morning at one of the two reserves we've birded, depending on our target list. Some time around midday we will depart for Anjozorobe (approx. 244 km, 4-5 hrs.). There is a possibility of finding France’s Sparrowhawk and Madagascar Lark en route. O/N Mananara Lodge or similar (BLD) Day 9: Anjozorobe comprises the largest intact remnants of Madagascar’s highland forest eco-system. Ten of Madagascar’s thirty-three Lemur species are found here and birding is also very diverse. Top birds to be found in the forests are Red-tailed Newtonia, Grey Emutail, Grey-crowned Greenbul, Yellow-browed Oxylabes and Common Sunbird-Asity. At the wetlands, we should look for the rare Meller’s Duck, Madagascar Snipe, Madagascar Little Grebe. Even the super-rare Slender-billed Flufftail has been recorded here. Other good birds that are possible include Henst’s Goshawk, Madagascar Partridge and Madagascar Buttonquail. O/N Mananara Lodge or similar (BLD) Day 10: We have a full morning to bird Anjozorobe for any birds that we might have missed the previous day. We will once again visit some of the marshes in the hope of finding that ultimate Malagasy tick, the Slender-billed Flufftail. We will return to Tana in the afternoon. If we are so lucky to get a few glimpses of the rare Flufftail, we will be sure to have a celebratory toast over dinner in one of Tana’s fine restaurants. O/N Le Louvre Hotel or similar in Tana (BLD) Day 11: We will depart Tana after an early breakfast for today will be mostly a traveling day as our next destination, Ranomafana, is quite a distance away. As we head south over the Horombe Plateau, we could expect to see some of the commoner Malagasy birds but might even be surprised by the likes of Madagascar Buzzard or Madagascar Harrier-Hawk. We will break up this long journey by staying overnight in either Antsirabe or Ambositra. O/N Antsirabe or Ambositra Day 12: We will have a full day to explore Ranomafana. Ranomafana means hot/warm water, which refers to the hot springs in the area. The park was originally proclaimed to protect the Golden Bamboo Lemur, first described to science in 1987. Birds that we will be on the lookout for include the elusive Brown Mesite, Forest Rock Thrush, Wedge-tailed Jery and Pollen’s Vanga. Pitta-like Ground-Roller is also fairly common. The higher elevation forest is home to the localized Yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity, where we may also locate Rufous-headed Ground-Roller, Brown Emutail, Rand’s

Warbler and Cryptic Warbler. O/N Hotel Thermal or similar (BLD) Day 13: Another full day around Ranomafana, one of Madagascar’s largest parks. The morning will be dedicated to forest birding and we should find birds such as Blue Coua, Yellow-browed Oxylabes, Grey-crowned Greenbul and, with huge amounts of luck, we might spot Madagascar Cuckoo Hawk. After lunch we will visit the Vohiparara marsh for Meller’s Duck, Madagascar Harrier, Grey Emutail, Madagascar Snipe and the very rare Slender-billed Flufftail. We will constantly be on the lookout for the 12 known species

of Lemur that occur here as well as a myriad of Chameleons and other reptiles and amphibians. O/N Hotel Thermal or similar (BLD) Day 14: Today we will be driving from Ranomafana to Isalo National Park via the Horombe Plateau, a distance of about 366 kilometers, which will take us about 6 hours of comfortable driving to reach. Our primary target bird here is Benson’s Rock Thrush, but there are many other good birds including Madagascar Sandgrouse, Madagascar Partridge and Madagascar Harrier. We will spend the afternoon birding around our overnight stop at Relais de la Reine, located between the town of Ranohira and Isalo National Park. O/N Isalo Rock Lodge or similar (BLD) Day 15: Depending our success with Benson’s Rock Thrush, we might head straight for the Zombitse Forest where we will search for one of the world’s most localized birds, the Appert’s Greenbul. A variety of other dry, deciduous forest species are present including Giant Coua, Crested Coua, Madagascar Harrier-Hawk, Ashy Cuckoo-Shrike, Long-billed Greenbul and Madagascar Buzzard. The extremely rare and elusive Fosa, Madagascar’s largest predator, has also been reported from here. O/N La Mangrove Hotel or similar in St. Augustine Bay (BLD) Day 16: We have a very early start to our day as we head for the “coral rag scrub” at La Table, here we look for the localized Verreaux’s Coua and the recently discovered Red-shouldered Vanga, before returning for breakfast. After breakfast, we head for the island of Nosy Ve via the Onilahy Delta where we might find Humblot’s Heron and Greater Flamingo. Nosy Ve is an uninhabited islet with a

breeding colony of Red-tailed Tropicbird that are very confiding. Other attractions include Crab Plovers and numerous waders. Snorkeling is another famous pastime here and we might opt for this if the group would like to spend a bit of time in the water. Back on the mainland we will stop at Anakoa for Littoral Rock Thrush, which is regularly recorded here. O/N La Mangrove or similar (BLD) Day 17: We will depart St. Augustine and head for Tulear where we will bird the mudflats around Tulear before lunch. Species that we might see include Saunder’s Tern, Lesser

Crested Tern, Lesser Sand Plover, and Bar-tailed Godwit. Both Greater and Lesser Frigatebirds are seen here from time to time. On the way to Ifaty we will stop to bird some wetlands where Greater Painted Snipe, Baillon’s Crake and Little Bittern has been reported. We'll spend the afternoon birding

in the Spiny Desert around Ifaty for Long-tailed Ground-Roller. O/N Ifaty, Les Dunes Hotel or similar (BLD) Day 18: We'll do some early morning birding in the Spiny Desert, with specialties such as Sub-desert Mesite, Lafresnaye’s Vanga, Archbold’s Newtonia, Thamnornis Warbler, Banded Kestrel, Sub-desert Brush Warbler, and Running and Green-capped Couas. The Spiny desert is home to numerous reptiles. We should see the fairly common Three-eyed Lizards and may be lucky enough to find a beautiful Spider Tortoise or rare Dumeril’s Boa. After breakfast, we head back to Tulear where we will catch our flight to Antananarivo. Depending on the exact time of the flight we might pay a visit to Tzimbazaza Zoo or perhaps another visit to Lac Alarobia for some last-minute birding. Some participants might opt for late afternoon or evening flights out, while the rest of us will enjoy dinner at a French Restaurant. Day 19: You will be transported to the International Airport for your flight back to the US or continue on to the Masoala extension.

Masoala Extension

Day 1 (Day 19 of Main Tour): Some early morning birding around the hotel where we should find Madagascar Wagtail, a common bird in the city. After breakfast, we will transfer to the Airport for our flight to Maroantsetra, gateway to the famous Masoala NP, home of one of Madagascar’s most enigmatic birds the Helmet Vanga. Upon arrival in Maroantsetra we head down to the docks for our boat ride to Masoala, we might encounter a number of coastal birds during our transfer. Time permitting, we will do our first bit of birding around the Lodge. O/N Masoala Forest Lodge or similar Day 2 & 3 (Days 20-21): We have two full days to indulge ourselves in the avian riches of Masoala, seeing the Helmet Vanga will be high on our list of priorities and is usually the easiest of the Masoala specials to see. We are currently in discussions with the Peregrine fund to see if they can assist us in finding the rare and elusive Madagascar Serpent Eagle, the researchers here are aware of good nesting sites and sometimes take groups out to see this magnificent bird. Another target bird here is the Madagascar Red Owl and hopefully the local guides will have a stakeout

for this beautiful owl. Red-breasted Coua is more common here than at Perinet and it will be nice to tick it early on, other birds such as the rare Bernier’s Vanga will require a bit of luck to find. O/N Masoala Forest Lodge or similar Day 4 (Day 22): Early morning birding in the forest before transferring back to Maroantsetra, time

permitting we might stop at the nearby Tampolo Marine Reserve where Madagascar Pratincole and Mascarene Martin breed annually. We have an afternoon flight out of Maroantsetra to the capital Antananarivo from where participants will connect with their international flights out that evening.

NOTE: This itinerary includes some hiking on hilly and rough terrain and thus requires a moderate level of fitness. It also involves some long drives on roads that can be quite rough. If this seems too difficult for you, please note that we offer a shorter tour for 2018 called “Highlights of Madagascar”, that is not as difficult. We also plan to offer a more leisurely tour in which we will avoid the most difficult trails and the longest drives. Our “Easy-paced” Madagascar tour will be offered in 2019.

2017 Dates and Prices Main Tour October 4 - 22 Masoala Extension, October 22 - 25

Main Tour Price: $6850, Single supplement $350 $950 deposit with registration form, balance due on June

4, 2017.

Extension Price: $1999, Single supplement $135 $250 deposit with registration form, balance due on June

4, 2017.

2018 Dates and Prices Main Tour October 6 – 24 Masoala Extension, October 24 – 27

Main Tour Price: $7350, Single supplement $375 $950 deposit with registration form, balance due on June

6, 2018.

Extension Price: $2150, Single supplement $145 $250 deposit with registration form, balance due on June

6, 2018.

Price includes:

All lodging

All meals from dinner on day 1 through breakfast on day 19 (Day 22 for those on the extension)

Bottled water

All ground transportation, including airport transfers

All park entry fees

Expert local birding guide(s) at a ratio of no more than 6 birders per guide

Pre-trip gift package

Post-trip electronic version of final checklist

Price does not include:

International airfare

Airport transfers if you arrive on a day other than the scheduled start date or the day before

Items of a personal nature such as laundry, phone calls, extra snacks and/or beverages, etc.

Gratuities