A key feature of the lodge is the 100 foot tower that spirals up beside a huge ceiba tree into the canopy. At the top is a platform from which you can see across the treetops. Many birds come to the ceiba itself and perch surprisingly close to us. A naughty band of captive-bred young Scarlet Macaws land on the platform and even nibble on our shoes! Highlights include Gilded and Lemon-throated Barbets, Chestnut-eared Aracaris, Fasciated Antshrike, Bare-necked Fruitcrow, Spangled and Purple-throated Cotingas, and a pair of Striolated Puffbirds. A pair of White-lored Euphonias build a nest just 10 feet from us on a branch!

View of the canopy from the top of the tower.

Many of the special birds of Manu Wildlife Center are bamboo specialists. There are large groves of bamboo along the river, accessible by boat. We take a special journey to see the Peruvian Recurvebill, a funny-looking guy with a bill designed to split giant bamboo stalks to look for insects. We chase his sound all over, but fail to see him. In the process, however, we see an amazing Rufous-headed Woodpecker, with a yellow-and-black tiger-striped body, and a rich, chestnut head. We also see the very odd Emperor Tamarin monkeys, who with their long, curly moustaches look like a troupe of Loraxes.

Monkeys of many species abound at Manu Wildlife Center. One of our favorites is the Black Spider Monkey, who swings through trees on his long arms like Tarzan. The tiny Dusky Titi-Monkeys travel in large troupes. In the bamboo, we see a large band of Common Squirrel Monkeys, who have a funny habit of following each other as the jump across streams. They all line up on the same branches, trusting that if their brother and sisters ahead of them made it, then it must be the best way to go.

On our way home by boat one day, we see a Capybara, the world's largest rodent. It looks like a gerbil on steroids. You can't tell from this picture, but he is the size of a medium dog.

One morning, we take a trip to Cocha Comungo in search of Giant Otters. This place is an oxbow lake, an old cut-off loop of the river. We board a flat boat in the blazing sun, and cook for an hour in the hot, still air. Andy sees the rare Pale-eyed Blackbird and a Troupial, and we are all entertained by several treesful of Hoatzins. Finally, near the end, as we are well-done, a group of otters appears! They are very curious, and stick their long necks up to gaze at us. But they evade the cameras and are soon gone.

South America has some amazing large birds. The Horned Screamer is a turkey-sized bird, often found along riverbanks. Its call is loud and eerie. The Pale-winged Trumpeter is a strange rotund-looking bird, most often seen running away down a trail. He looks like a black bird who sat in a bucket of white paint. There are various Tinamous whose calls echo through the forest, and tend to show up only in the "heard" column at the end of the day.

This same morning, we also search for the locally special Purus Jacamar, a beautiful reddish-chestnut insect-eater. We spend a long time looking, seeing a Slate-colored Hawk, several Plumbeous Kites, and Masked Tityras. Finally, someone says, "There it is!" We all take long looks in the scope.