More photo browsing led me to find these snapshots of a female Pale-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus guatemalensis) poking about on a fallen tree in the Corcovado National Park. I can tell it is female by the black on its forehead, especially visible in the photo above.
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Browsing through Costa Rica photos this evening, I came across this one of what I think is a White-throated Shrike-Tanager (Lanio leucothorax). Similar in appearance to orioles, there are two varieties of the species in the country: one that lives closer to the Caribbean with a yellow rump and undertail coverts (the feathers beneath the tail), and another, like this one, with black rump and undertail coverts that lives on the south-Pacific coast. This male of the species, belting out his call, was photographed on the Osa Peninsula.
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Yesterday, I became so wrapped up in my work that I entirely forgot to post a Costa Rican wildlife. This morning, when I realized my lapse, it reminded me how easy it let the business of living distract my attention from the beautiful life of the natural world. This sweet little bird is a female Cherrie’s Tanager (Ramphocelus costaricensis). Perhaps not as flashy as the shiny black males of the species that sport a bright red rump, yet quite lovely hooded in a dusky gray-brown, with a rust-orange throat and amber breast.
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It’s been more than a month since I posted any Scarlet Macaws (Ara macao). Here’s a pair that flew overhead while I was walking on the beach near Carate in 2004, and I was lucky enough to get a decent snapshot. I always feel lucky when I hear their exuberant call and see their flashing red color against the blue of the sky or the green of the forest.
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On the prowl in search of ants and termites, a furry Northern Tamandua (Tamandua mexicana) uses its long snout to explore what appears to be the dried husk of a large coconut (below). These photographs of the anteater were taken on a hike from Serena to Carate in 2010, not far from the beach that lines the Pacific shore of the Corcovado National Park. Northern Tamanduas consume an average of 9,000 insects each day.
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This species of poison-dart frog (Dendrobates granuliferus) is sympatric with the species traditionally called the “Blue Jeans Frog” (Dendrobates pumilio), meaning the two are essentially the same. This particular variation, with granularity of the skin and jade-colored limbs, is found in the southwest lowlands of Costa Rica, where there is a population in the Golfo Dulce region. The specimen here was photographed near La Tarde. Since I’m not sure what the common name for this amphibian might be, I’ve decided “Green Jeans Frog” is as good a moniker as any. “Red Hoodie Frog” might be even better!
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Common Pauraques (Nyctidromus albicollis) prefer to stay close to the ground, and make their nests on the earth or dead leaves in open, but shady places. This well-camouflaged Pauraque was photographed in March 2010, while it was nesting in some sparse brush just off of the beach near Serena. As their large eyes suggest, Common Pauraques rest by day, and hunt for beetles, moths, and other insects at night.
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Although Great Curassows (Crax rubra) once lived in both the Caribbean and Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica, populations are now predominately in a few of the country’s most protected wildlife areas. These females of the species were photographed near Bosque del Cabo on the Osa Peninsula. I have also seen these large birds at Serena, in the heart of the Corcovado National Park. Male Great Curassows are almost entirely black.
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Tricolored Herons (Egretta tricolor) often frequent marshy habitats, slowly stalking prey like small fishes. This one was lurking about in the tall grasses around the lagoon near Carate.
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The Fer-de-lance (Bothrops asper) is Costa Rica’s most notorious poisonous snake. I have only seen this pit viper species once, and it was during my most recent visit to Costa Rica. The good people at La Tarde knew where this one had staked out a place on the rainforest floor. We took a night hike to find it, and used our flashlights to illuminate it for this photograph.
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