... Birds ...
by Infocostarica Staff

With approximately 850 recorded bird species, the Costa Rica have one-tenth of the world's total . More than 630 are resident species ; the remainder are occasionals who fly in for the winter. Birds that have all but disappeared inn other areas still find tenuous safety in protected lands in Costa Rica, though many species face extinction from deforestation . The nation offers hope for such rare jewels of the bird world as the quetzal and the scarlet macaw, both endangered species yet commonly seen in protected reserves.

It may surprise anyone that in a land with so many exotic species the national bird is the relatively drab yiguirro, or clay colored robin, a brown and buff bird with brick red eyes. You may hear the male singing during the March through May breeding season when, according to campesino folklore, he is calling the rain. Otherwise both sexes are mum.

Fortunately, Costa Rica's birds are not shy. Seeing them is relatively easily. Depending on season, location, and luck, you can expect to see many dozens of species on any one day. The deep heart of the jungle is not the best place to look for birds : you cannot see well amid the complex, disorganized patterns cast by shadow and light. For best results find a large clearing on the fringe of the forest, or a water course where birds are sure to be found in abundance.

The four mayor avi-faunal zones roughly correspond to the mayor geographic subdivisions of the country : the northern pacific lowlands, the southern pacific lowlands, the Caribbean lowlands, and the interior highlands. Guanacaste's dry habitats share relatively few species with other parts of the country.

The southern Pacific lowland region is home to many South American neotropical species, such as jamacars, antbirds, and of course, parrots. The bright-billed toucans are particular delight to watch.

In fact many birds are easily heard but not seen. The three-wattled bellbird, which inhabits the cloud forests, is rarely spotted in the mist-shrouded treetops, though the male's eerie call, described like a hammer clanging on an anvil, haunts the jungle as long as the sun is up. And the lunatic laugher that goes on compulsively at dusk in lowland jungles is the laughing falcon.

Other birds you might to see include the boobies, the rare harpy eagle, pelicans, parakeets, oropendolas, woodpeckers, and a host of birds you may not recognize but whose names you will never forget : scarlet-thighted dacnis, violaceouse trogons, tody motmots, lameolated monlets, lineated foliage-gleaners, and blackcapped pygmy tyrants.