"Fiery-tailed Awlbill observed in the high season at Cristalino!"
By Bradley Davis

The Fiery-tailed Awlbill (Avocettula recurvirostris) is a spectacular and poorly-known species occurring at a handful of sites on the Guianan Shield and in the southern and eastern Brazilian Amazon. Fiery-tailed Awlbill was discovered at Cristalino in October 2005 by Giuliano Bernadon, when he found a pair on the Serra trail on two dates. The species was re-found by Scott Olmstead and a tour group in mid-July of 2006 in the same area, by the new overlook on the Serra trail.
Alexander Lees and Bradley Davis successfully 'twitched' the awlbill on 24 July in the same location. The species has again been seen (and photographed) in August 2007, by Richard Hoyer, a male perching and chasing away other hummingbirds near the clearing on the Manakin trail. The species should be looked for in stunted forest at Cristalino, particularly feeding at the red flowers of terrestrial bromeliads atop the rocky dome of the Serra trail.
Cristalino represents the first known locality for Fiery-tailed Awlbill in the state of Mato Grosso!