Tag Archives: white

Mangrove Black-Hawk

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A Mangrove Black Hawk enjoys the spray of the Pacific Ocean as waves break on the volcanic rocks at the shore near Corcovado.

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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Bicolored Antbird

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Bicolored Antbird

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.

A white belly distinguishes the bicolored species from other antbirds that sport blue goggles.

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Osprey

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Osprey

Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) are large, migratory raptors that frequent Costa Rica primarily from October to April. As they prey on fish, Ospreys can be found near bodies of water. This one was perched along the Tortuguero River.

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Bananaquit

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Bananaquit

This little bird is one of the first I ever spotted, photographed, and identified, in Costa Rica on my own in 2002. It took me quite awhile to page through my bird book, comparing color, markings, size, and beak shape, before I finally concluded that this is a Bananaquit. Today, the guidebook I consulted did not indicate that Bananaquits can be found in the central mountains, but I’m quite sure I photographed this one near Monteverde.

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Mangrove Swallow

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Mangrove Swallow roosts on the ruins of an old dock in Tortuguero.

A Mangrove Swallow roosts on the ruins of an old dock in Tortuguero.

Mangrove Swallows are handsome little birds that fly fast. They flit and swoop over water, nabbing bugs that frequent rivers, marshes, and creeks, on both the Caribbean and Pacific sides of Costa Rica.

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Great Kiskadee

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Great Kiskadee

A Great Kiskadee pauses in the morning sun along the Tortuguero River.

At around 23 cm, the Great Kiskadee is one the biggest members of the large Flycatcher, or Tyrannidae, family in Costa Rica. These strikingly handsome birds frequent the open, brushy areas of the Pacific forests and the Caribbean lowlands, where they eat insects and small vertebrates. I took both of these photographs during my first visit to Tortuguero in 2004.

Great Kiskadee by the Tortuguero River

All media is copyright costaricawildlife.net, 2013.