The Green Page Moth (Urania fulgens), also called Green Urania, is commonly mistaken for a butterfly, but it is actually a diurnal moth. Every four to eight years there is a massive migration of these moths from the Osa Peninsula in the southwest, over the central plateau, to the Caribbean lowlands. This one was photographed on the Pacific side, in the Corcovado National Park.
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Turkey Vultures sport a red head, and have a distinct black-and-white pattern under their wings. Although Turkey Vultures are relatives of storks and ibises, they can be found all over Costa Rica, including high in the mountains. This one doesn’t seem to have a pale blue nape, suggesting that it is a migratory rather than a resident example.
A Turkey Vulture lands in a tree on the Osa Peninsula.
Turkey Vultures have a keen sense of smell and a hooked bill that help them locate and rip apart carrion.
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A female Green Kingfisher surveys the Claro River near Sirena.
In some birds, the males and females of the species are dimorphic, meaning they have different features or markings. This female Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) lacks the rufous patch of breast feathers that distinguishes its male counterpart.
As their name implies, Green Kingfishers survive by fishing.
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Northern Tamanduas (Tamandua mexicana), also called Collared Anteaters, are the most common of the three anteater species in Costa Rica. These fuzzy mammals eat termites and ants that they find in trees or in the ground, where they use their long front claws to tear open insect colonies.
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A Mangrove Black-Hawk enjoys the spray of Pacific waves breaking on volcanic rocks near Corcovado.
Before I started writing this post, I didn’t realize that there are two types of Black-Hawks in Costa Rica that look just like the bird in this picture: the Common Black-Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) and the Mangrove Black-Hawk (Buteogallus subtilis). According to one of my bird books, Common Black-Hawks live along the Caribbean coast, while Mangrove Black-Hawks live along the Pacific, especially to the south. The two species may be conspecific, meaning they’re really the same bird. Perhaps time and a little science will tell. I commonly see these large raptors on the Osa Peninsula, where I snapped this photograph during a hike.
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Yellow-headed Caracaras (Milvago chimachima) are part of the falcon family, but are not swift hunters like their falcon cousins. They eat mostly carrion, along with some insects and small vertebrates I’m not sure why this one was pecking at the inside of a broken coconut shell. Perhaps there were some delicious bugs in there. The Yellow-headed Caracara is most common in the south Pacific region, where I photographed this one in 2006.
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A patient Golden Orb-weaver waits for flies, moths, butterflies, or beetles, to be caught in its large web.
At around two-and-a-half inches including legs, female Golden Orb-weavers (Nephila clavipes) like this one are among the largest spiders in Costa Rica. Males of the species are only about one-quarter inch, legs and all. Golden Orb-weavers build their strong webs fairly low to the ground in open forests where there is enough sunlight to foster plenty of insects to eat.
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A basilisk poses on a stump near Tortuguero.
Every time a guide has pointed out one of these reptiles, it has been described as a “Jesus Christ Lizard” for its ability to run on the surface of water using only its hind legs. I just learned from my new reference book on amphibians and reptiles in Costa Rica, however, that there is actually more than one basilisk species capable of “bipedal locomotion across water.” The particular species in this photo, Basiliscus vittatus, while it can run on water, tends to be more terrestrial, and is commonly spied near the ground and further away from water than other basilisk types that frequent trees.
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The Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus momota) is the only motmot species in Costa Rica that can be found in the southern Pacific forests. This one was photographed near Carate on the Osa Peninsula. It was swinging its long, racquet-tipped tail feathers back and forth like a pendulum, as motmots often do while scouting for large bugs and small lizards or amphibians to eat.
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I’m especially fond of Bicolored Antbirds (Gymnopithys leucaspis) because the blue orbital skin around their eyes makes them look like they’re wearing goggles. I’ve often seen them flitting low by the trails around Luna Lodge, seemingly following along on the hike and staring at us. More likely they’re scouting out swarms of army ants. Although antbirds don’t typically eat ants, they appreciate the multitude of bugs that hunting army ants stir up from the forest floor. Why waste energy pecking about on the ground when tens of thousands of marching insects will do it for you?
A white belly distinguishes the bicolored species from other antbirds that sport blue goggles.
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