web analytics
Categories
bird finding in Costa Rica bird identification birds to watch for in Costa Rica preparing for your trip

Quail-Dove Identification in Costa Rica

Quail-doves seem to herald from the realm of birding dreams. The plump birds aren’t quails but you could be excused for believing it. They are indeed doves but are a far cry from those everyday, easy-peasy Mournings.

Instead of sitting in the open or easing on down the middle of a road, quail-doves lurk in the shadows. Shy by nature, quail-doves are careful. I can’t blame them. I mean if I had to walk the same forest floor as hungry Ocelots, boas, and other animals that couldn’t wait to devour me, I’d be pretty darn timid too!

Most forest floor birds are careful but quail-doves take it to another level of caution. They have to because unlike somberly plumaged wrens, antbirds, and Swainson’s Warblers, quail-doves are downright fancy.

They got cool little face patterns and patches of iridescence that transform them into beautiful little birds. Quail-doves can still sort of blend in but not if they take bold steps, and definitely not in open habitats.

All of that cautious behavior makes quail-doves somewhat more challenging to see than other birds. You can still find them, sightings can happen (!) but only if you get lucky, or play by quail-dove rules.

Those would be:

  • Walking slow and careful like a quail-dove.
  • Keeping silence. Forget talking, better to not even whisper.
  • Keep an eye on the forest floor in mature forest, especially below fruiting trees.
  • Listen for and track down calling quail-doves.

Yeah, that’s especially challenging in group birding situations and requires a high degree of patience but what are you gonna do? Thems are the quail-doves rules!

Now that you have a fair idea of how to look for quail-doves, here’s some tips to identify them in Costa Rica. The two main problematic species are the first ones mentioned, I’ll mostly focus on them.

Buff-fronted Quail-Dove vs. Purplish-backed Quail-Dove

The Monteverde parking lot Buff-fronted Quail-Dove (aka “Super Friendly”)
Purplish-backed Quail Dove on the trail at Pocosol- a rough picture but it does reflect how they are often seen.

Way back when, in more ecologically healthy times, ancestors of these two species took two different paths. One preferred the high road, and the other, the not so high road. After long years of separation, one became the Buff-fronted and the other the Purplish-backed.

Despite their names, these two species can look a lot more similar than you think, especially when they give you typical, few second, quail-dove views The heavily shaded, understory conditions don’t help either!

Both have a similarly patterned, mostly gray head, dark back, and gray underparts. If you know what to look for, separating the two isn’t all that problematic. Confusion stems from the color of the back, and expecting to only see Buff-fronteds at high elevations.

Regarding their back, the Buff-fronted’s is maroon-brown, maybe with a hint of burgundy; a color that can easily make you wonder if it might actually be some shade of purple. Focus on that tint, especially if the quail-dove is in middle elevation cloud forest, and it’s easy to enter it into eBird as a Purplish-backed.

If you see a quail-dove like this at high elevations, yes, without a doubt, Buff-fronted. Purplish-backeds only typically range up to around 1,200 meters or so. But what about the adventurous Purplish-backeds that walk a bit higher? What about Buff-fronteds that commonly range down to 1.200 meters or even lower?

Oh yeah, they can overlap! Buff-fronteds stroll at lower elevations than you think. Perhaps they are limited to old second growth in such elevations? Maybe other odd situations such as the feeders at Cinchona?

Whatever the case, you CAN see these two birds in the same area. That just means that in places where foothill rainforest transitions to cloud forest, you can’t assume identification based on elevation.

Instead, if you see a quail-dove at Cinchona or other spot with similar elevation, focus on these main field marks:

  • See if the bird has a buff or just pale gray front- The Buff-fronted lives up to its name. The Purplish-backed has a pale gray front.
  • Look at the back- If the bird has a green nape, and the back and wings are the same maroon-brown color, it’s a Buff-fronted. If the bird has a distinct amethyst purple patch on its back that contrasts with duller brown wings, hello Purplish-backed!
A much nicer picture of a Purplish-backed Quail-Dove from the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app. This picture was taken by Josh Beck.

Ruddy Quail-Dove vs. Violaceous Quail-Dove vs. White-tipped Dove

A Ruddy Quail-Dove from Luna Lodge, Costa Rica, a place where it is common.

In general, these are pretty easy. Both Ruddy and the rare Violaceous have reddish beaks but Ruddy is more brownish or red-brown with pattern on its head while Violaceous has a more uniform grayish head and contrasting white underparts.

Based on its general plumage pattern, the Violaceous might remind you of a White-tipped Dove. However, if that “White-tipped” has a red beak , grayish head, and rufous tail, it’s a Violaceous Quail-Dove.

Chiriqui Quail-Dove

This hefty quail-dove is pretty easy. No other quail-dove in Costa Rica is brown with a gray cap.

Olive-backed Quail-Dove

Another easy quail-dove, at least to identify. It’s the only one that has mostly dark gray plumage and a white mark on its face.

Quail-doves are some of the tougher birds to see in Costa Rica. They require a special type of patience and can be especially tough on group birding tours. However, play by their rules and you can see them!

Maybe not the Violaceous but if you go to the right places, the other quail-doves for sure! Learn more about seeing quail-doves and other birds in Costa Rica with “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. Use it to get ready for your birding trip to Costa Rica and see hundreds of bird species. I hope to see you here!

Categories
bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica high elevations

Quality Costa Rica Birding at Irazu Volcano

Costa Rica birding covers a wide range of avian experiences. There are dry lowlands with Turquoise-browed Motmots and Double-striped Thick-Knees, backyard Blue-gray Tanagers, and toucans yelping from the tree tops.

This is a thick-knee. I know, what an odd, orthopedic sounding name for a bird!

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There’s a whole lot of birds up in here, even uncommon species or ones that are hard to find no matter where you bring the binos. That’s what this post is about and although I’ve written a similar thing or two about birding on Irazu Volcano, here we go again.

Irazu is the name of this 11,000 foot volcano that rocks its way up the east side of the Central Valley. If you find yourself looking over that way while watching Crimson-fronted Parakeets, notice the big hulking mountain with distant antennas on top.

That’s Irazu and way up there on that natural behemoth, you can bet there are some quality birds. Here’s how things went on a recent Sunday morning of birding on Irazu.

Maroon-chested Ground-Doves

Irazu continues to be a reliable spot for this little mega dove. You will probably have to trudge uphill for it but don’t be fooled, the birds are there.

Often, I hear them as soon as I arrive at the Nochebuena but not this past Sunday. Things were actually a bit quiet for morning birding. Maybe the birds were feeling cold too? Could be, once the mist burned off and the sun came out, they eventually started calling.

Two, maybe three ground-doves hooted or cooed from the dense foliage. That’s par for the course for this pretty little dove. It vocalizes from a tree and if it thinks you see it, the bird pulls a shy woodpecker and moves to the other side of the trunk!

We kept watching and eventually got some brief looks of a perched male. Better views were had of two males in flight, one of which zipped low over the ground. I can still picture its dark, wine-colored chest contrasting with the dove’s ghost-pale head.

Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl and Buff-crowned Wood-Partridge

While we looked for the doves, another Irazu specialty called; the Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl. They are up there and it’s a good spot for them! However, they don’t always come out to play.

Sometimes, like this past Sunday, you only hear them from a distance.

What the Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl looks like when you see it.

Quiet often, that’s also the case for the wood-partridge. However, on Sunday, after hearing their hoarse calls echoing around us, we got brief but nice views of a couple creeping through the undergrowth!

Resplendent Quetzals

What do you know, Irazu is also good for quetzals. Seriously, I see Resplendent Quetzal on pretty much every visit. On this recent trip, I wasn’t hearing them, I wondered if I would finally miss the spectacular birds while birding Irazu.

But nope, they still showed up, at least four different birds including one wildly displaying male and another male that perched and called between bouts of feeding on avocados.

Long-tailed Weasel!

No, not a bird but Mustelids are mega too! Irazu seems to be a good place for wildlife, and I mean even on the side of the road. I have seen Coyotes several times, Gray Fox, and, on Sunday, we had perfect looks at a Long-tailed Weasel.

The elusive mammal bounded across the road in front of us, it was a treat!

Peg-billed Finch and Timberline Wren

After an early morning at the Nochebuena, we drove up to the paramo area just next to the national park. It was sunny, it was a bit windy, and it was bird quiet.

However, we still saw a pair of Timberline Wrens, one Peg-billed Finch, and other species easier to see. We did not see the junco but we weren’t really looking for it. They are around, hang out long enough up that way and you’ll probably see them.

Lots of Hummingbirds at the Nochebuena

Back at the Nochebuena, we stopped for lunch and enjoyed close views of the four expected hummingbird species. These are Volcano Hummingbird, Talamanca Hummingbird, Lesser Violetear, and Fiery-throated Hummingbird.

Lesser Violetears are never lesser.

We had also see them on the trails but close, leisurely looks were even nicer!

An Irazu Sunday also Means People

Oh yeah, and we saw a lot of humans. Irazu is a big Sunday destination for locals. The Tierra de Suenos restaurant and other places were jam packed. That didn’t affect us because I’m partial to the Nochebuena anyways. Good food, nice people who support birds and birders…yeah, I’ll be dining at the Nochebuena.

Other people sightings included roadside picnics and selfie shots against spectacular above-cloud backdrops, a line of determined hikers walking up a high-elevation hill, a few cyclists, and too many motorcycles, a few of which were pulling wheelies while riding uphill.

If you aren’t into watching people, you might opt for another day to visit Irazu. However, if you gotta do the trip on Sunday, you’ll still see birds!

Birding in Costa Rica on Irazu is pretty easy but it’s still worth knowing where to go. If you’d like more details on where to go birding in Costa Rica on Irazu and pretty much anywhere else in this small birdy nation, get “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

You’ll also be supporting this blog while learning how to see tinamous, more trogons, and all the other birds in Costa Rica. I hope to see you here!

Categories
bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica planning for a birding trip to Costa Rica where to find birds in Costa Rica Where to see birds in Costa Rica

Highlights from a Day of Birding in Costa Rica: Lowlands to the Highlands

Birding in Costa Rica can be a pretty hotel garden with easy-going saltators and chattering flocks of parakeets. It can also be focused birding in lowland rainforests as you search for dancing manakins and hidden woodcreepers.

Oh yeah, and birding in Costa Rica can certainly be watching mixed flocks and fluttering quetzals in cloud forest. Yes, fluttering quetzals. Fancy that!

The male avian deity messengers do their iridescent fluttering while cackling and displaying above the forest. If a big, shining emerald and red velvet bird fluttering and calling in plain sight sounds like too much to handle, it sort of is! The quetzal moves truly are one of your high level, mind-blowing birding experiences.

Recently, I had some of that deep Costa Rica bird flavor. A day of birding from the humid lowlands all the way into highland cloud forest promised an interesting selection of birds. It usually does and the other day was no exception.

This would be a day that went from low areas and up and over the mountains to San Jose. We didn’t have very much time for each birding stop but the activity was tops, we did quite well.

What to expect? Read on to check out some highlights and quips from that fine day of birding in Costa Rica.

Lowland Rainforest 1

The day began in the Caribbean lowlands, way down in the classic birding area known as “Sarapiqui”. Beginning at the edge of La Selva, lots of birds were calling, so much it was almost tough to know where to look first.

Among the guttural dino-sounds of a Green Ibis, yells of kiskakee-type flycatchers and whistling tinamous, I heard a set of soft, tooting whistles. Hello Central American Pygmy-Owl!

I whistled back to it, I hoped the mini-owl would fly in, but alas, it didn’t want to play. However, my calls did bring in Cinnamon Becards, honeycreepers, tanagers, White-ringed Flycatcher, and other small birds.

In the meantime, trogons and jacamars vocalized, Great Green Macaws sounded off, and swifts came flying in. “Good” swifts too. Cloudy mornings in the Sarapiqui area are often reliable for Spot-fronted Swifts. They were present along with small Gray-rumpeds and svelte Lesser Swallow-taileds.

After enjoying some of those cool, waterfall dwelling birds, distant scanning revealed a suspicious pale chook perched right at the top of a wide crown of a big bare tree. Yep, sure enough, female Snowy Cotinga!

She was far off but she was certain. As a reminder that familiar birds from the north have amazing bird encounters during the winter, a beautiful male Baltimore Oriole perched next to her for a moment. If only migrant birds could talk, what stories they could tell!

As a bonus, while leaving, we had nice looks at a Laughing Falcon.

Lowland Rainforest 2

Birding at the edge of La Selva was good but it was just a brief interlude. After picking up morning coffee at the local Musmani bakery, I figured we might as well bird another good spot. There was a lot more to see, might as well bird the area for another two hours and see what happens.

I drove back on the road behind Chilamate. Given that the bridge at the end of the road is still out, the one that leads you back to the main road near Tirimbina, it was surprising to see several cars. Where could they be going? Wasn’t this a birders only road? No, but it seems like it should be.

Back there in the forest, as I had hoped, we found a mixed flock of larger birds that I usually run into there. It typically consists of a bunch of Chestnut-headed Oropendolas, woodpeckers, Black-striped Woodcreeper, Rufous Mourner, and other species.

The best of those other species are White-fronted Nunbirds. We enjoyed excellent views of the coral-billed birds while watching the other regulars. A pair of Black-crowned Antshrike also showed, Slaty-breasted Tinamous gave its low call from the forest, and other birds sounded off.

The birding was good and complete with a sweet send off- a shrieking White Hawk soaring low and transluscent. Oh yeah, and as another daily bird bonus, we had two more Snowy Cotingas; distant, shining white spots high in the canopy.

Lunch Highlights

We could have stayed longer in the lowlands. Heck, the avian rich area merits days of birding. But we had places to be, one of those being Cinchona.

The good old Cafe Colibri was a perfect stop for an early lunch accompanied by birds. This classic site wasn’t as active as other days and the birds were very nervous. We didn’t see it but some raptor must have been recently stalking the area. The way the birds were acting, it probably caught something too!

Even so, we still saw most of the usual good stuff. Both barbets, toucanet, tanagers, Black-bellied Hummingbird, and Coppery-headed Emerald. It was still good but since we seemed to have seen everything, we only stayed for an hour.

Cloud Forest Highlights

The next stop for this birdy day was upper cloud forest habitats near Varablanca. Perhaps thanks to cloud cover and recent rain, bird activity was good there too.

Collared Redstart showed, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatchers perched up, and other cloud forest birds appeared. One of the best was one we didn’t see but heard loud and clear. Bellbird!

There’s a small population of Three-wattled Bellbirds in and near that area, likely a remnant of a much larger population from much more forested times. I hear about reports but, when birding Varablanca, I never seem to catch up with those extra special cotingas. It was nice to finally hear one there, I’m eager to return and see if it’s still around.

The bellbird was a bonus but the prize must go to the quetzals. I see Resplendent Quetzals in that area quite often. However, they move around and are kind of shy. I might find 6 one day and then none on the next visit!

Luckily, the other day, there were at least four quetzals, looked like two males and two females. The major birds were calling, gave some good looks, and the males did their fluttering flight displays a couple of times. Can’t ask for better than that!

That was our last stop and it wasn’t even 2 in the afternoon. The drive back was fog, some rain, and then traffic in the Central Valley. As a bonus, while waiting in a line of cars near the City Mall, we had a flyover Yellow-naped Parrot.

That critically endangered species was a nice end to another fine day of birding in Costa Rica. Check out the eBird trip report. To learn about the sites we visited, search this blog and get “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”, a 900 plus page ebook bird finding guide for Costa Rica and more. I hope you see some fluttering quetzals, and hope to see you here!

Categories
bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica

Highlights from Birding Costa Rica, 2023

Birding in Costa Rica in 2023 was 12 months of tanagers, quetzals, puffbirds, and more. Always much more.

Living and birding in a nation jam-packed with biodiversity promises good birding, pretty much all the time. To define “good birding”, I would say it’s having a fair chance of watching a healthy variety of birds with little effort. If you are headed to Costa Rica soon, consider yourself lucky because when you are birding in Costa Rica, good birding is the norm.

For me, this past year was stamped with a number of birding highlights including the following. I hope they give you an idea of local birding delights, where to go birding in Costa Rica, and expectations for this special tropical place.

American Bittern

This rare winter for Costa Rica was a major highlight for local birders. In Costa Rica, we have two main bitterns and three pseudo-bitterns. The two main ones, Least and Pinnated are local and only regular in a few spots. The psuedo-bittern tiger-herons aren’t that tough but since they aren’t really bitterns, I guess we have to leave them in their own vicious heron category anyways.

A juvenile Fasciated Tiger-Heron from Quebrada Gonzalez.

The other bittern possible in Costa Rica is the American Bittern, that water pumping bird of northern marshes. With only a few documented sightings, it’s not exactly regular. This winter, one came on down and picked a small marsh right next to a public road.

Ideal!

Even better, the bird stayed long enough for most local birders to see it! It’s so nice when a twitchable bird stays twitchable for more than a month. A shame the avocet didn’t follow suit but an American Bittern is pretty good compensation for birding in Costa Rica.

Owls

No matter when or where, every owl is a birding highlight. This year, I saw all regular owls except the “Puntarenas Screech-Owl” and that tiny bird of cold mountain nights, the Unspotted Saw-whet Owl. That’s no surprise, I mean I’m not even sure if I even tried for it. Maybe just once. I might still go for it before the year ends although it is kind of cold and desolate up there on Irazu and the high Talamancas.

black-and-white-owl

The other owls were cool though! The last ones Marilen and I saw were a pair of roosting Black-and-white Owls at the Bogarin Trail. They should still be there, ask about them at the entrance.

All 6 Motmots

Motmots are such cool birds. Long weird tails, some jade green, splash of turquoise, these birds are exotic! In Costa Rica, we can also see four of them pretty easily. Those nice birds would be the Lesson’s, Turquoise-browed, Rufous, and Broad-billed.

The other two are a bit more on the tricky side of birding. However, if you know where they live, you can see the Tody Motmot and Keel-billed Motmot too. We got our year Keel-billed at the Bogarin trail just before we saw the owls.

Bare-necked Umbrellabirds

This year, I did alright with the big, rare, crow-like cotinga. I only saw two of them but even seeing one is special as sponge candy. The first was a female spotted by my friend Alec Humann right from the deck of the Arenal Observatory Lodge. The second was a young male that swooped into view on the road to Manuel Brenes.

Major birds! Right now, there should be a few at those sites, Centro Manu, and lowland rainforests like La Selva and Tirimbina.

Major Winter Birds

This year has been pretty exciting for winter birding in Costa Rica. In addition to the afore-mentioned American Bittern, local birders have also found a couple Lincoln’s Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, American Avocet, American White Pelican, and some other rare species for Costa Rica. One of those choice birds was Costa Rica’s first documented Greater Scaup!

Rarest of all was a Short-eared Owl that showed up at a house in Cartago. As far as megas in Costa Rica go, this would be a triple threat mega, a Steller’s Sea Eagle level mega! Other than this adventurous bird, no Short-eared Owls have been documented in Costa Rica for like more than a century.

It also happened to fly away from that house, there’s a chance it’s wintering in some fields near there… The many pastures and sedge fields of Cartago would seem to be good habitat for it. Hopefully, this star owl has survived and is doing well (and will be found by local birders).

Interestingly enough, both the bittern and the owl can winter in similar habitats. Maybe a few other odd birds are out there. Would a Swamp Sparrow be too much to ask for?

Puntarenas Seabirding

I tell you, the birding is exciting at Puntarenas. At least for me, the seawatching is. Scan back and forth and something eventually flies into view, unexpected and pelagic birds that fly close enough to identify.

This past year, us and other local birders were treated to views of local mega Heerman’s Gull, and rare Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. One fine day, we also scoped a Sabine’s Gull beating the warm humid air with its patterned wings.

Other highlights included Pacific Golden-Plover (maybe the same bird as the previous year?), more than 200 Least Terns, and Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels. Oh, there was also those mega Peruvian Boobies and Sooty Shearwater too! I wonder what’s on those waters right now?

New Birds for Costa Rica

Really, there’s too many highlights to mention. However, I have to note new birds documented for Costa Rica in 2023. These are Dark-billed Cuckoo and Lesser Kiskadee near Ciudad Neily, a crazy Common Pochard at Lago Angostura, and an anticipated Cattle Tyrant currently being seen at la Gamba!

The year is coming to an end but it’s not over yet! There’s always more birds to see and with the interesting migrants that have occurred, who knows what will show up next? Happy holidays, I hope to meet you while birding in Costa Rica in 2024!

Categories
bird finding in Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica

Costa Rica Birds- Endemic, Near Endemic, and Other Target Species

Costa Rica birds include everything from majestic macaws to surreal Snowcaps and Ornate Hawk-Eagles. These and hundreds of other bird species exist in the diverse habitats of Costa Rica but the ones you see the most will be the common species.

Common birds are fancy too- check out this Lesson’s Motmot!

By definition, common birds like Blue-gray Tanagers, saltators, and kiskadee-type flycatchers are the familiar ones. There’s nothing wrong with seeing those birds, watching them is good for the soul too and if it’s your first trip to the tropics, they’ll be in that precious lifer category.

However, we can also see widely distributed birds in other places, some of them even in southern Texas, many on hundreds of hotel grounds in a myriad of places. It’s not that such birds aren’t special (they are) but if you can only see certain birds in any given place, those are the ones to target.

Even if you say, “As long as I see birds, I don’t care which ones I see”, you really still should go after those target birds. Who knows, maybe at some future time, you’ll wish you would have seen that Coppery-headed Emerald in Costa Rica. Maybe you’ll wish you would have spent more time looking for Wrenthrush than focusing on yet another flitting flowerpiercer?

It’s sort of like visiting Rome without seeing the Trevi Fountain, going to New York without visiting the Bronx Zoo or eating a serious slice of pizza (the main reasons for visiting NYC of course). It should go without saying. when birding in Costa Rica, “make efforts to see those endemics”. After all, you can’t see them anywhere else.

However, I’ll take it one step further and say that not only should you focus on country and regional endemics, you should also watch for the future endemics.

Those would be the birds that might be split, the cryptic taxa with a good chance of “attaining” species level status. The “new” Howell and Dyer field guide does a fair job of bringing a lot of those cases to light. In the Costa Rica Field Guide app, I have also tried to bring attention to such birds (although I need to edit the text for several more), and lists of endemics and possible future splits are also included in “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica” (although I have to edit that too!). Some of these taxa are also mentioned or hinted at in eBird but not all of them.

In any case, I figured it would be useful to have a list of country and regional endemics, as well as good candidate birds for those categories. I hope these lists help!

List of Bird Species Endemic to Costa Rica

8 country endemics, three of which are restricted to Cocos Island.

The Mangrove Hummingbird and Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager may have been recently seen in Panama, very close to the border. Also, Guanacaste Hummingbird is a mystery species awaiting rediscovery.

Cocos Cuckoo (Cocos Island)
Coppery-headed Emerald
Mangrove Hummingbird
Cocos Flycatcher (Cocos Island)
Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager
Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow
Cocos Finch (Cocos Island)
Guanacaste Hummingbird (also known as Alfaro’s Hummingbird and only known from one specimen)

List of Bird Species Only Found in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama (as well as the border area of the Darien in Colombia).


These are 110 bird species and likely species that only occur in the countries listed above. Many are easier to see in Costa Rica because the habitats in which they occur tend to be more accessible.

Black Guan
Black-breasted Wood-Quail
Black-eared Wood-Quail
Chiriquí Quail-Dove
Purplish-backed Quail-Dove
Buff-fronted Quail-Dove
Middle American Screech-Owl (birds that live in northwestern Costa Rica)
Dusky Nightjar
Costa Rican Swift
Veraguan Mango
White-crested Coquette
Talamanca Hummingbird
Fiery-throated Hummingbird
White-bellied Mountain-gem
Purple-throated Mountain-gem
White-throated Mountain-gem
Magenta-throated Woodstar
Volcano Hummingbird (three distinct subspecies in Costa Rica, perhaps there are two or three species involved?)

birding Costa Rica

Scintillant Hummingbird
Garden Emerald
Snowcap
White-tailed Emerald
Black-bellied Hummingbird
Blue-vented Hummingbird
Blue-tailed Hummingbird
Charming Hummingbird
Snowy-bellied Hummingbird
Bare-shanked Screech-Owl
Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl
“Puntarenas” Screech-Owl- the undescribed Megascops that lives in southern Costa Rica and adjacent western Panama.


Baird’s Trogon
Collared Trogon (Orange-bellied Trogon)
Lattice-tailed Trogon
Northern Black-throated Trogon
Prong-billed Barbet
Fiery-billed Aracari
Golden-naped Woodpecker
Hoffmann’s Woodpecker
Rufous-winged Woodpecker
Sulfur-winged Parakeet
Crimson-fronted Parakeet
Red-fronted Parrotlet
Orange-collared Manakin
Velvety Manakin
Turquoise Cotinga
Yellow-billed Cotinga
Snowy Cotinga
Bare-necked Umbrellabird
Three-wattled Bellbird
Gray-headed Piprites
Olive-streaked Flycatcher
Tawny-chested Flycatcher
Dark Pewee
Ochraceous Pewee
Black-capped Flycatcher
Black-hooded Antshrike
Streak-crowned Antvireo
Dull-mantled Antbird
Streak-chested Antpitta (it is very likely that two species are involved- one from Honduras to the Carribean slope of Costa Rica and Panama, and another that ranges from southern Costa Rica to western Ecuador).

Thicket Antpitta (it is very likely that at least two species are involved- one in Costa Rica and western Panama, and another that ranges from the Darien to western Ecuador)


Black-headed Antthrush (it is very likely that at least two species are involved- one in Costa Rica and western Panama, and another that ranges from the Darien to western Ecuador)

Black-crowned Antpitta
Silvery-fronted Tapaculo
Spot-crowned Woodcreeper (it is very likely that the taxon in Costa Rica and Panama are a valid species)

Ruddy Treerunner
Buffy Tuftedcheek
Chiriqui Foliage-gleaner
Streak-breasted Treehunter
Yellow-winged Vireo
Silvery-throated Jay
Azure-hooded Jay (studies have shown it probably be split soon)
Black-and-yellow Silky-Flycatcher
Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher
Black-throated Wren
Riverside Wren
Stripe-breasted Wren
Ochraceous Wren
Timberline Wren
Isthmus Wren
Canebrake Wren
Black-faced Solitaire
Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush
Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush (studies have shown it probably be split soon)

Sooty Robin
Yellow-crowned Euphonia
Spot-crowned Euphonia
Golden-browed Chlorophonia
Tawny-capped Euphonia
Flame-throated Warbler
Sooty-capped Chlorospingus
Volcano Junco
Sooty-faced Finch
Yellow-thighed Brushfinch
Large-footed Finch
Costa Rican Brushfinch
Wrenthrush
Nicaraguan Grackle
Collared Redstart
Black-cheeked Warbler
Costa Rican Warbler
Black-thighed Grosbeak
Carmiol’s Tanager
Blue-and-gold Tanager
Black-and-yellow Tanager
White-throated Shrike-Tanager
Sulphur-rumped Tanager
Spangle-cheeked Tanager
Nicaraguan Seed-Finch
Peg-billed Finch
Slaty Flowerpiercer

Isolated Subspecies that Live in Costa Rica and Panama that may or may not be separate species

These are various bird species with isolated populations in Costa Rica and Panama. Studies could end up splitting some. Always good to see in any case!

Highland Tinamou
Buffy-crowned Wood-Partridge
Marbled Wood-Quail
Spotted Wood-Quail
Band-tailed Pigeon
Middle American Screech-Owl (birds that live in northwestern Costa Rica)
Hairy Woodpecker
Resplendent Quetzal
Northern Emerald Toucanet
White-crowned Manakin
Sharpbill
Mountain Elaenia (birds in Central America sound different from birds in South America)
Nutting’s Flycatcher
Black-crowned Antpitta (the subspecies that occurs in Costa Rica and western Panama looks and sounds a bit different from birds in central-west Panama)
Ochre-breasted Antpitta


Gray-throated Leaftosser
Black-banded Woodcreeper
Strong-billed Woodcreeper
Streaked Xenops
Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner
Brown-throated Parakeet
Rosy Thrush-Tanager
White-eared Ground-Sparrow
Green Shrike-Vireo (different subspecies on each side of the mountains)
Scaly-breasted Wren
Black-bellied Wren
Bay Wren
White-breasted Wood-Wren
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush (the taxon from southern Costa Rica and western Panama)
Olive-crowned (Chiriqui) Yellowthroat
Ashy-throated Chlorospingus
Orange-billed Sparrow (subspecies on each side of the mountains sing quite differently)
Cherries´s (Scarlet-rumped) Tanager
Variable Seedeater

To make the birding in Costa Rica even more exciting, some species in the cloud forests of northern Costa Rica are distinct subspecies that may end up warranting species status too!

Those include subspecies of Silvery-throated Tapaculo, Fiery-throated Hummingbird*, Black-and-Yellow Silky-Flycatcher, and other birds. It seems like the more we look, the more biodiverse our planet is.

So, there’s a nice list of birds to think about when you go birding in Costa Rica! Seem overwhelming? You won’t be alone. With well over 900 species to keep in mind, birdwatching in Costa Rica is naturally mindboggling.

Even so, it’s always good to know about endemics, and birds to look for. While looking for these, you’ll also see lots more. Happy birding, I hope to see you here!

Learn about the best places to see these birds in my bird finding guide for Costa Rica. To learn about itineraries that can target these birds, contact me at [email protected].

*Thanks to local birder Tyler Wenzel for reminding me about that.

Here’s a downloadable PDF version of these lists:

Categories
bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica

Highlights from Two Days of Birding in Costa Rica

What can you see in two days of birding in Costa Rica? Like anywhere, experience is a function of location. In the birding way of things, we also need to factor in weather, time, and local birding knowledge. Beyond that, what we see depends on how those birds want to roll.

In Costa Rica, how the birds roll is where a mixed flock happens to move (will it cross your path?), if birds feed within your field of view, and if the skulkers opt to come out and play.

During the past seven days, I was birding in the Poas and Cinchona area one day and at sites near San Ramon the next. There was some overlap but we saw a good bunch of birds. No surprise there, it happens when you visit quality habitats in Costa Rica.

In addition to sharing birds with a wonderful bunch of people, these were some of the other highlights.

Wrenthrush

Wren what? Thrush? Wren? What’s going on with that funny little bird! Wrenthrush is certainly unique but personally, I prefer using the one and only name for its genus, “Zeledonia”.

Wrenthrush.

It’s a snappy sounding name, a one of a kind word for a one of a kind bird. It really is one of a kind too, I mean, has its own familia and everything. Yeah, what used to be an aberrant warbler is the only member of a bird family endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and Panama.

And we had perfect looks at one on the road to Poas.

the bird’s not rare, I often hear them along that road and many other suitable spots but whether they let you see them or not, yeah, that’s another birding story.

Luckily, we had wonderful close looks at the orange-crowned, stub-tailed bird known as the Wrenthrush. I look forward to subsequent trips to wet highland forest where I can experience more of this special little bird.

Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow near San Ramon

The skulky ways and scattered populations of the endemic ground-sparrow can present challenges to seeing one. You’ll do best if you look for them early, like 6 a.m. In common with all local birds, you also need to look for them in the right places.

One such place is a site just outside of San Ramon. In my Costa Rica bird finding book, this site is known as 4.1 a UCR Campus San Ramon. In looking at what I wrote, I think I need to edit it and say that you can see a surprising number of bird species on the dirt road along the southern edge of the campus.

This dirt road is also a great spot to find the ground-sparrow but in testament to its skills at hiding, we only saw one and it took some effort to see it. We eventually got great looks but it wasn’t easy!

This spot was also bouncing with other birds. Long-tailed Manakin, several wren species, various wintering warblers, a couple woodcreepers, and more, the birds kept us busy!

White Hawk at Close Range

After our successful date with the ground-sparrow, we checked some roadside cloud forest along the road that passes through the Reserva Valle de Los Quetzales. I was hoping we would see a quetzal but nope, instead, the birding was fairly subdued.

We still managed excellent close views of a White Hawk and saw some middle elevation species like Collared Trogon, Golden-browed Chlorophonia, and Scarlet-thighed Dacnis.

Coppery-headed Emerald, Black-bellied Hummingbird, and a Bunch of Other Mini Dazzlers

Between birding around Poas and sites near San Ramon, we had a good bunch of hummingbirds, 17 species in total. This included wonderful, detailed views of Coppery-headed Emerald, a svelte male Black-bellied Hummingbird, and miniscule Scintillant Hummingbirds among other species.

As usual, on Poas, the Fiery-throated Hummingbirds entertained while Volcano Hummingbirds did their bee-like thing. Crowned Woodnymphs also dazzled at the Cocora, and we took in the bright beauty of a Purple-crowned Fairy near Varablanca.

Cinchona

Speaking of hummingbirds, this classic spot delivered several species including Violet Sabrewing, the aforementioned Black-bellied, Coppery-headed Emeralds, and some other species.

Black-bellied Hummingbird

It was also good for the other usual suspects along with a hungry Black Guan and occasional looks at Buff-fronted Quail-Dove down below. Northern Emerald Toucanet ghosted but maybe it will be there next time? Consolation happened with both barbet species, Crimson-collared Tanager, and other sweet birds in beautiful surroundings.

Despite poor weather on Poas and Cinchona, and windy, sunny weather near San Ramon, we still identified 150 species. Check out the eBird trip report. Two days birding is always good in Costa Rica, just about anywhere you bring the binos. Headed to Costa Rica soon? Practice using those bins and get ready for some major bird action!

Categories
bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica

Dark-billed Cuckoo Makes 933 for the Costa Rica Bird List

The official Costa Rica bird list stands at 932 species but soon, it’s going to hit 933. The bird species about to bump the list up a notch is the Dark-billed Cuckoo, an Austral migrant that was expected for Costa Rica but had never been documented until January 16. When the star bird appeared, a few people wondered if this was the same species I may had seen near Ciudad Neily two years ago. Although they are related, no, that bird was the Pearly-breasted Cuckoo, yet another Austral migrant that could also certainly occur.

That particular sighting was never confirmed to be the Pearly-breasted or the extremely similar Yellow-billed Cuckoo but at least the Dark-billed Cuckoo has been found and documented. Even better, the bird was photographed and subsequently seen by several local birders. If it sticks around, and you bird the rice fields south of the Ciudad Niely hospital, maybe you will see it too! I hope the bird also stays around long enough for me to see it but if not, at least a bunch of other local birders “got” it.

I figured it was a matter of time before a Dark-billed was found in Costa Rica because the species migrates within South America, is fairly common, and has already been documented from Panama, Nicaragua, Belize, and even Texas and Florida. As for it being found near Ciudad Neily, perhaps it’s not a coincidence that one (or maybe two) were seen there; this part of the country seems to routinely attract Coccyzus species cuckoos.

Some of the habitat near Ciudad Neily.

While birding around Ciudad Neily, I have personally seen several Mangrove Cuckoos, the possible Pearly-breasted (but more likely Yellow-billed), and other have also seen Yellow-billed. Perhaps the second growth and woodland edges adjacent to wetlands provide especially good habitat for larvae prey preferred by the cuckoos? Following that line of thought, it’s also interesting to note that, in winter, Mangrove Cuckoos utilize similar habitats at and near Cano Negro (speaking of that hotspot and megas for Costa Rica, Chambita found a Greater Ani there yesterday!).

Whatever the explanation may be, a new species for Costa Rica and other cuckoos are yet one more good reason to go birding around Ciudad Neily. The rice fields and associated wetlands are fun but there’s also other, forested habitats in the same area that harbor an excellent variety of species. To learn more about birding around this hotspot and where to watch birds in Costa Rica, get the second edition of “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”; a 900 plus page bird finding book for Costa Rica and overall birding companion for this birdy country. Go see some cuckoos, I hope to see you here!

Even if you don’t see the cuckoo, you might still see a Sapphire-throated Hummingbird.
Categories
bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica

More High Season Tips for Birding Costa Rica in 2023

In Costa Rica, the dry and high season is most definitely here. I’m seeing beautiful sunny skies, dry conditions, and a lot more tourists than the times of the rain. Oh, it still rains, especially in the mountains and on the Caribbean slope but nothing like the deluges witnessed in 2022. With so many folks headed to Costa Rica any time now, I figured another post with some tips would be relevant.

Buff-fronted Quail-Dove

Although this highland endemic has never been rare, as with other quail-doves, it can be tough to espy one inside the forest. Thankfully, in recent times, this pretty bird has become much easier to see. When visiting the Cafe Colibri at Cinchona, keep a close eye for quail-doves on the ground below the feeders. They are sneaky and easy to miss but if you keep watching for them, you have a fair chance of connecting. The usual species is Buff-fronted Quail-Dove, sometimes two individuals but, just in case, we should also watch for possible Purplish-backed Quail-Dove (it has a more pale gray front and smaller patch of purple on the back), and Chiriqui Quail-Dove. Both of these beauties also occur in the area.

If you won’t be visiting Cinchona, pay a visit to the birding oasis of Casa Tangara dowii. Buff-fronted and occasional Chiriqui Quail-Doves are regular at this special site.

Clay-colored Thrushes are Very Common

This plain brown thrush isn’t our national bird for nothing. They can be very common in many areas, especially in the Central Valley and garden habitats. Keep that in mind when you see numerous brown, thrush-like birds flying past or in fruiting trees. On most occasions, that bird will be a Clay-colored.

So Are Winter-Plumaged Chestnut-sided Warblers

birding Costa Rica

Another bird worth knowing is the winter plumaged Chestnut-sided Warbler. In humid and semi-humid habitats, this warbler species is pretty darn common. See a small gray bird with an eye ring that reminded you of a gnatcatcher? That was a Chestnut-sided. Some still have chestnut sides, many do not, you should see a lot of them.

White-ringed Flycatchers Only Live in the Caribbean Lowlands

Remember that if you become tempted to believe you are seeing White-ringeds in the Central Valley and Pacific slope.

Nope.

Those aren’t White-ringeds. See a couple kiskadee-type flycatchers at the top of a tree in the Caribbean lowlands? Does the bird have a broad white eyebrow? Thin bill, bit of white below the eye, and a bit of white edging to the tertials? A sort of trilling call? Those are White-ringed Flycatchers.

Go Exploring in Guanacaste

The northwestern region of Costa Rica is spacious, birdy, and underbirded; perfect for exploration! Local birders do what they can but it’s a huge area with plenty of habitat. With that in mind, if you are wondering where to go birding in Guanacaste, you can see a heck of a lot with roadside birding. Check forested riparian zones, open habitats (a lot of that going on), and any wetlands.

To bird forest trails, you’ll have to visit national parks and protected areas like Santa Rosa, Palo Verde, Horizontes, and other places. To learn more about birding opportunities in Guanacaste and elsewhere, check out my 900 page bird finding guide for Costa Rica, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

Consider Private Reserves or Roadside Birding Instead of National Parks

That might sound bonkers but it all comes down to access and entrance and exit times. While national parks protect critical habitat and do have great birding, sadly, most just aren’t open during the prime birding times of 6 to 8 in the morning and 3 to 5 in the afternoon. Trust me, in the dry season, you really have to be out birding by 6. If not, you’ll miss a lot!

For more productive birding, one idea is hitting the edge of national parks or nearby roads until opening time. Another is opting for private reserves or lodge grounds when the opportunity presents itself.

I’m sure I could think of some additional tips but that’s all for now. Remember to study before your birding trip to Costa Rica and be ready to get bird-dazzled.

Categories
biodiversity bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica

Notes on Rare and Elusive Birds in Costa Rica- Violaceous Quail-Dove

“Wait. What’s that up ahead ?!?” We had been trudging slowly but surely uphill, one step after another, through the foothill rainforests of the Soltis Center in the Tilaran Mountains of Costa Rica. It was midday and expectedly quiet; peaceful but not the best hour for birding. Even so, while birding in rainforest, anything can happen, at any time. Even during the quiet times, you can’t let your guard down. You have to be constantly ready, always on the alert for a shy bird to pop into view, to notice a deathly still viper, or hear the soft notes of a mixed flock.

While our group of five participated in the 2022 Arenal Bird Count, fortunately, despite the noon time quiet, Robert Dean, the artist of “The Birds of Costa Rica” and other field guides had kept his bird radar on. The bird he had noticed was one of the truly rare ones, one of those species often possible but rarely encountered. Even better, the bird didn’t flush and fly off into the woods. Our lucky number fluttered from a low perch and down onto the trail, right in front of us. As I focused in on it, I could barely believe what I was seeing.

Violaceous Quail-Dove!” There it was, right in the middle of the trail, the most elusive and weirdest of quail-doves in Costa Rica (and maybe elsewhere too). Uncharacteristically, the male dove let us watch it for several minutes as it walked back and forth and eventually flew back to its low perch. I should stress here that “several minutes” in quail-dove watching time is equal to at least three hours. Most forest encounters with quail-doves are painfully brief and give you scarce chance to appreciate their beautiful iridescence and plumage patterns. In other words, they might be pretty but away from any feeding situations, they aren’t all that birder friendly.

A Buff-fronted Quail-Dove running for cover.

In fact, not long before we saw our super birder-friendly Violaceous, I might have glimpsed another quail-dove. I say “might have” because in true Q-Dove fashion, I saw a plump dove shape in the undergrowth and just as I raised my binos, the bird fluttered off into dove sp. netherland. It could have certainly been a Gray-chested Dove too but oh well, whatever name that missed species went by was made up for by our crazy good views of the V Q-Dove.

The bird sat on its perch until our need for more trail progress flushed it into the safety of the forest. This sighting was arguably our best bird of a 150 plus species day and the best I have ever had of that species. Given that I’ve only seen this species something like three times, that’s a pretty easy statement to make. Yes, it’s a dove, a bird in the same family as the classic pigeon of cathedrals and city streets, as Mourning Doves, Collared Doves, and other familiar birds but, along with several other little known dove species, it’s an odd and elusive one.

The ironic thing about the V Q-Dove is that despite it being very little known and infrequently seen, the bird is not considered threatened. This is mostly on account of its large, if disjunct, range and because we know little about the bird. It’s assumed that it occurs in regular numbers in various parts of its range and that may be true but honestly, what do we really know? How many are out there? Are they just tough to find?

I suspect that the answer is a little bit of low numbers and being difficult to detect but if it were more common, it seems that there would have to be a lot more records. Based on my experience with the species in Costa Rica, what I have read and heard about it from other places, and known life histories of other uncommon doves, here’s my take on the bird as well as a tip or two for seeing and identifying it:

Nomadic

This dove doesn’t like to stick around. Well, it probably will if the habitat is to its liking but it likely rolls with the changes and needs to keep moving until it finds what its looking for. This would explain its scarcity and why there are random records from heavily birded places like La Selva and San Luis Canopy. Similar nomadic behavior is also shown by several other dove species in various parts of the world.

I wish I knew what sort of food it was looking for but I do have an idea about its preferred microhabitat.

Advanced, Viney Second Growth in Mature Forest

I don’t know for sure but what I can say is that the bird we saw at Soltis seemed tied to this one distinctive part of the forest that was dominated by old second growth decorated with hanging vines. In fact, its favorite perch was this classic, thick, hanging u-shaped vine. Sturdy, maybe a meter above the ground, good visibility, and a nice ruddy color…I mean if I were a bird, I’d be claiming that perch too.

For what it’s worth, this is where we saw the bird at Soltis Center.

This microhabitat also happened to look very much like the other spot where I have encountered more than one individual of this species in Costa Rica. This was in Hitoy Cerere in advanced second growth at the edge of mature rainforest. For what’s its worth, that spot also had lots of hanging vines and at that site, Robert and I also saw the dove perched in them.

I don’t know if this microhabitat is what the bird truly needs but a preference for such a limited type of habitat would explain its scarcity and likely nomadic behavior.

Low Population

There’s no way to know how many of this species are in Costa Rica or elsewhere but I don’t see how they could be numerous, at least not in Costa Rica. Even taking into account the challenges of seeing them, they are still very rarely seen or heard even in the most reliable of places. If they do need some special type of habitat, then any degree of deforestation could further limit their numbers. I doubt they are in serious trouble overall but then again, who knows?

In Costa Rica, I owuld guess that their numbers are probably pretty low, maybe less than 500 total.

Perhaps More Common in Moist Forest of the Nicoya Peninsula and Mountains of Guanacaste

According to Stiles and Skutch and sightings by local birders, this species is somewhat more reliable in moist forests of the Nicoya Peninsula and the northern volcanoes in Guanacaste. The plain dove with the amethyst nape and rufous tail is seen and heard more regularly in such places but even then, it’s not in any way common. Bird forested ravines near Cabuya, Bijagua, and Rincon de la Vieja and you’ll have some chance of finding it but it could still take a fair bit of focused effort.

What to Look For

With a good look, the V Q Dove is pretty easy to identify. Just in case, here are some tips.

  • Like a Leptotila– As in, it looks and even sounds a lot like a White-tipped Dove. This raises a further subset of questions; like has it evolved to mimic the White-tipped Dove (or other Leptotila) and does this perhaps help it blend in while looking for habitat? Or, did it evolve similar plumage and voice because it occurs in similar ecological situations? In any case, with its pale underparts and plain head, it looks a lot like a Leptotila (albeit a very elegant one).
  • Pale, plain head, white underparts, rufous rump and tail, rufous wings– Although other descriptions don’t mention the rufous tail, the bird sure has one and in conjunction with other field marks, this is a good characteristic.
  • Reddish bill– Although this wasn’t noticeable on the bird we watched, this is usually a good field mark.
  • Listen for calls, look for the perch– If you hear a funny sounding White-tipped Dove in appropriate habitat, look for that perched bird. It can sit high or low on a favorite hanging vine.

Will you see a Violaceous Quail-Dove when birding in Costa Rica? To be honest, the odds aren’t in your favor but I sure hope you see one anyways. Hopefully, the tips above can up the odds. To learn more about finding birds in Costa Rica, including the rare and elusive ones, support this blog by purchasing my recently updated bird finding book for Costa Rica, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

Happy birding and wishing you the best of happy holidays, I hope to see you here!

All photos of Violaceous Quail-Dove were gracioiusly provided by Nancy Stevick.

Categories
bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica planning birding trip Costa Rica preparing for your trip

Thoughts and Tips to See Tiny Hawk When Birding Costa Rica

An impressive number of raptor species occur in Costa Rica. Check the official Costa Rica bird list, count the hawks, eagles, kites, Osprey, and falcons and we hit a respectable 57 species (that doesn’t even include our sharp taloned friends of the night, the owls!). Such a tantalizing total puts Costa Rica on the bucket list of many a raptophile but the high numbers come with a catch. In general, raptors aren’t so common, they aren’t as easy to see as some other places.

semiplumbeous-hawk
To see a Semiplumbeous Hawk, you might need to work a bit.

After a few days of birding, this apparent scarcity of raptors is noticed by most visiting birders. They wonder why, compared to the number of hawks seen in fields and wooded habitats back home, they see so few raptors? Drive through the countryside and there seem to be far fewer hawks than similar drives in France or Ontario. They start to wonder, with so many raptors on the list, where are they?

In Costa Rica, the truth of the matter is that all of those hawks and other raptors are present but high levels of competition among so many different types of animals only leave so much food for each raptor species. Most of the birds on the list have populations in Costa Rica but they occur in low density populations.

Even so, go birding long enough in green space of the Central Valley and you’ll probably see a Gray Hawk flapping its way from one riparian zone to the next. There will be a pair of Short-tailed Hawks soaring high overhead, perhaps a Zone-tailed Hawk rocking its way through the neighborhood, maybe one of those Bicolored Hawks that have learned to catch pigeons. The two common vultures are a given, Crested and Yellow-headed Caracaras may fly into view, and you might find a White-tailed Kite hovering over a vacant field.

Bring the binos to lower, hotter places and more species become possible. However, to see those additional raptors, you’ll need to leave the open country and bird near sizeable areas of rainforest. Rainforests host the healthy variety of birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians needed to support populations of hawk-eagles and birds like White Hawk, Double-toothed Kite, and Gray-headed Kite. Look long enough in the right places and you’ll probably see these cool birds.

Double-toothed Kite

The Tiny Hawk lives there too but unlike so many other raptors in Costa Rica, you can’t expect to see this one. The simple truth about the Tiny Hawk is that it’s especially hard to find. It’s not rare but it’s definitely an odd raptorial bird, one that will give you a run for your birding money.

Around the size of an American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird (yes really!), this pint-sized raptor with long, sharp claws makes its living by ambushing small birds in humid forest from Central America south to northern Argentina. With such a large range, you would think it would be seen more often but nope! Many a veteran neotropical birder has only seen Tiny Hawk a few times or has never laid eyes on this challenging bird.

birding Costa Rica

Thinking of my own experiences with the bird, during decades of birding in Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Peru, I have probably seen them around a dozen times in Costa Rica, once or twice in Ecuador (one from a ridiculously amazing canopy tower at Yasuni Research Station. Really, it was ridiculous.), and perhaps a few times in Tambopata, Peru. So what’s the deal? Why is it so hard to see? Isn’t it just a tiny Sharpie or Sparrowhawk? Is it just too small?

To answer the latter questions, yes, part of the problem is that the bird is very small. The other part of the problem is that no, the Tiny Hawk is definitely not a small version of a Sharpie or Sparrowhawk. In some ways yes, it does act like those familiar bird predators but in other ways, its got its own Tiny thing going on.

Similar to the small, well-known Accipiters of the north, the Tiny Hawk also hides in dense vegetation so it can dash out and ambush its avian prey. However, unlike the slightly larger Accipiters, it rarely if ever soars and that makes a huge difference. Just imagine if Sharpies never soared, if they didn’t migrate? Think of how often you would see them. Probably still more than a Tiny Hawk but not nearly as much as you normally do.

Those attributes make the Tiny Hawk a tough one to watch and a much more difficult bird to study. Based on scant observations of behavior and its small size, at first, the hawk was hypothezied to be a hummingbird specialist. However, as more Tiny Hawk observations have been made, as more birders have documented its behavior, the truth about this species has come to light; hummingbirds do not make up a large part of its diet.

In 2021, Alex J. Berryman and Guy M. Kirwan investigated this idea and determined that no, as one might expect from a small Accipiter, the Tiny Hawk does not limit its diet to hummingbirds. It will catch them when it can but it also catches a variety of passerines and other small birds. Interestingly enough, although I have only seen Tiny Hawk with prey on two occasions, both were of passerines; a Shining Honeycreeper and a Scarlet-rumped Tanager.

Speaking of animals that hunt other animals, don’t let the name fool you. Like weasels and other pint-sized predators, for its size, the Tiny Hawk packs a ferocious punch. It’s every bit as voracious as a Sharpie, as tough as a Sparrowhawk, and has been seen taking birds nearly as large as itself, notably, Great Kiskadee and Golden-green Woodpecker (!). In a sense, perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising, we see similar feats of depredation from another group of birds that act a lot like a Tiny Hawk, the pygmy-owls. As with many raptors, they will catch whatever they can get away with catching.

The Tiny Hawk acts more or less like a Sharpie that never soars, like a pygmy-owl or small cat that uses its small size to stay hidden until it sees its chance. However, it’s still an odd bird. In fact, as it turns out, it’s not actually an Accipiter. What? But it has Accipiter as part of its name! Perhaps, but not for long, there are recommendations to give this bird and the related Semicollared Hawk their very own genus. Molecular and skeletal studies have revealed that these mini raptors are not closely related to other small Accipiters. They form a group related to but separate from them, a group that also includes the Lizard Buzzard of Africa.

Yes. As testament to the old lineages shown by many a raptor, somewhere, way back when, the ancestor of the Tiny and Semicollated Hawks separated from the ancestor of the Lizzard Buzzard! And, before then, the ancestor of those birds separated from the ancestor of the Harpagus “kites” (that would be the Double-toothed and the Rufous-thighed). Perhaps that explains why the Lizard Buzzard has a dark mark on the throat and why it sort of looks sort of like something between a Doubke-toothed Kite and a Tiny Hawk? Those data likely also partly explain why the Tiny Hawk looks different from the Accipiters. It has a slightly different shape, one not shown in many field guides.

The illustrators were probably basing their drawings on the Accipiters they were familiar with and we can’t blame them, the Tiny Hawk is not an easy bird to see and when many field guides were illustrated, few images of Tiny Hawk were available. The real shape of this fun little raptor is more along the lines of a pint-sized raptor with a short tail and almost “Passerinish” look. It’s notable that the Tiny Hawks shown in “The Birds of Costa Rica” by Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean, and in “Birds of Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama” by Andrew C. Vallely and Dale Dyer are accurate depictions of this bird.

Getting back to the Lizard Buzzard, this cool bird is plumaged rather like an adult Gray Hawk although those features are surely convergent adaptations for the tropical semi-open habitats preferred by these and other species with similar gray-barred plumage. The plumage of the adult Tiny Hawk also shows fine gray barring and is likely an adaptation that helps camouflage the bird in dense vegetation. As for the young birds, unlike various other, larger raptor species, their plumage does not mimic the adult plumages of large raptor species (such as juvenile Bicolored Hawk and juvenile Hook-billed Kite resembling adult Collared Forest-Falcon among other examples).

Instead, curiously enough, juvenile Tiny Hawks have a rufous plumage. Did this trait evolve to resemble a thrush or other non-predatory bird and thus help them surprise the small birds they prey on? When you see a young Tiny Hawk perched high in a tree, that’s sort of what it looks like. But if so, why don’t the adults have rufous plumage too? Perhaps the adult plumage works better at catching prey in more situations. Who knows but it’s interesting to note that various pygmy-owls, a bird that, once again, hunts very much like a Tiny Hawk, also have morphs with similar rufous coloration.

All of this is interesting from an evolutionary perspective but what about seeing a Tiny Hawk in Costa Rica? What about watching one go after an unwary Bananaquit? As previously eluded to, laying eyes on this special little bird isn’t the easiest of tasks but as with so many other aspects of tropical birding, there are tricks to up your birding odds. Try these tips to see Tiny Hawk while birding in Costa Rica:

Bird in the Right Places for Tiny Hawk

Yes, you could check eBird sightings and that will help but when birding Costa Rica, always remember that first and foremost, birds live in the right habitat, they aren’t restricted to places where people have eBirded. The right place for a Tiny Hawk in Costa Rica is any area of lowland or foothill rainforest on the Caribbean slope and, on the Pacific slope, humid forest from around Carara south to Golfo Dulce area. Yes, even around Carara. It’s not as regular there but small numbers probably occur from time to time around Macaw Lodge, Cangreja, and other, more humid sites in the area.

Tiny Hawk habitat.

Some years ago, I thought there were some spots that were better for this bird in Costa Rica than others. Nowadays, I’m not so sure. As long as rainforest or foothill forest is present, it seems like the Tiny Hawk can turn up in any number of places with similar degrees of frequency.

Scan the Treetops in the Early Morning and Late Afternoon

Get out there early and check the treetops, check them well. Do the same in the late afternoon. These are the times when Tiny Hawk is more likely to perch in the open, usually on a high branch. If you see a funny looking “thrush”, look twice, use the scope, it might be a Tiny Hawk.

As an aside, if small birds are making a ruckus at any time of day, take a close look, they might be upset about a Tiny Hawk. I saw that happen once in Manzanillo, the small size of the hawk made it easy to overlook, helped it blend in with the small birds that were mobbing it (at a healthy distance!).

Peripheral Birding around Mixed Flocks

Tiny Hawks may follow and catch unwary birds in mixed flocks. When encountering a mixed flock, keep an eye out for any lurking birds at the edge of the flock, especially if the lurker suddenly flies into the flock. Likewise, if you hear the birds give an alarm call, keep looking, keep watching to see if you can get lucky with a Tiny Hawk sighting.

Forest Clearings and Edges with Fruiting Trees and Hummingbird Activity

Whether because it’s easier to see birds or because Tiny Hawks prefer such situations, small clearings or places with scattered trees adjacent to forest seem to be good places to see this challenging bird (Nectar and Pollen is an ideal situation for this bird). Get a good vantage point and keep watching, check any thrush-like bird that suddenly comes into view. If small birds are active around fruiting and flowering trees or some other food source, there could easily be a Tiny Hawk lurking nearby. Keep watching and be ready for any sudden movement followed by alarm calls.

A good situation for Tiny Hawk.

Follow these tips and yo might find a Tiny Hawk. It’s a challenging bird, I won’t promise anything but if you do look for Tiny Hawk in Costa Rica, rest assured, you’ll still see lots of other birds.

To learn more about the best sites for birding in Costa Rica, support this blog and get “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica“. I hope to see you here!