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Bird
Watching In Costa Rica
Costa
Rica
is an un equalled destination for
birdwatchers. The climate and
the widespread green areas practically
guarantee a great variety of
birds of 850 different species.
Costa
Rica is especially exciting to
birdwatchers because it is on the
north-south migratory path of birds from
south and north america.
In William Henry Hudson's Green Mansions, his
great romantic novel of
the American tropics, the young hero Abel is
lured into the jungle by
the mysterious call of an unseen bird. So
stirred is he by the siren
song that he follows the haunting sound deeper
and deeper into the
forest until he eventually discovers the source:
a lovely, half-wild
girl called Rima, who has learned to mimic the
sounds of the birds. The
birds of Costa Rica are so rich and so
varied--and often so
elusive--that at times it seems as if Rima
herself is calling.
The
four
major
"avifaunal
zones"
roughly
correspond
to
the
major
geographic
subdivisions
of
the
country:
the
northern
Pacific lowlands, the
southern Pacific lowlands, the Caribbean
lowlands, and the interior
highlands. Guanacaste's dry habitats (northern
Pacific lowlands) share
relatively few species with other parts of the
country. This is a
superlative place, however, for waterfowl: the
estuaries, swamps, and
lagoons that make up the Tempisque Basin support
the richest freshwater
avifauna in all Central America, and Palo Verde
National Park, at the
mouth of the Tempisque, is a birdwatcher's
mecca. The southern Pacific
lowland region is home to many South American
neotropical species, such
as jacamars, antbirds, and, of course, parrots.
Here, within the dense
forests, the air is cool and dank and underwater
green and alive with
the sounds of birds.
Fortunately,
Costa
Rica's
birds
are
not
shy.
Depending
on
season,
location,
and
luck,
you
can
expect
to
see many dozens of species on any one day. Many
tour companies offer guided bird-study tours,
and the country is well
set up with mountain and jungle lodges that
specialize in bird-watching
programs. But 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
watercourse where birds are
sure to be found in abundance.
Costa
Rica
Rainforest--Home of Many Exotic Birds
The
sheer size of Costa Rica's bird population has
prompted keen
competition for food.... and, consequently, some
intriguing
food-gathering methods. The jacamar snaps up
insects on the wing with
an audible click of its beak. One species of
epicurean kite has a bill
like an escargot fork, which it uses to pick
snails from their shells.
The attila, a ruthless killer like its namesake,
devours its frog
victims whole after bashing them against a tree.
With
approximately 850 recorded bird species, the
country boasts one-tenth
of the world's total. More than 630 are
resident species; the others
are travelers who fly in for the winter. Birds
that have all but
disappeared in 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.
For
additional
information
on
Costa
Rica
Bird-Watching,
please
see
the
other
pages
on
this website. Also, if you find this website
useful, you can make a
small Donation to my Website Fund....just click
the Donate Button below.
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