Automeris Postalbida

 

Okay, one more image from Costa Rica. I totally forgot that I took all kinds of images of toads, frogs, tree frogs, snakes, butterflies, moths and flowers etc. on my cell phone so I thought I would post my absolute favourite cell phone image.

iNaturalist says this is an Automeris Postalbida moth caterpillar. I certainly can't claim in any way, shape or form that I’m a moth or butterfly expert, however I certainly enjoy observing them like I do all wildlife, I guess I just never really took the time to learn about them. However, this is by far the coolest caterpillar I’ve ever seen. I found him on the wall of the lodge at Arenal Bird Observatory. It’s from the family Saturniidae and was first described by William Schaus in 1900. They are found in Costa Rica and Ecuador.

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

To conclude my images of my Costa Rica birding trip I chose the Rufous-tailed Jacamar. The Rufous-tailed Jacamar is a handsome, slender, green-and-rusty bird of humid tropical lowlands that lives in evergreen forest, often at edges and around adjacent clearings.

They perch upright at mid-heights on vines or other exposed perches, in this case a hydro power line, and sallies out for flying insects, especially butterflies, dragonflies, and wasps. They have a very long, slender black bill (like a giant hummingbird). The throat is white on the male and buffy on female.

Next up will be images from our Cuban holiday back in April.

Thanks for reading.

Dave 

Barred Antshrike

The Barred Antshrike is a retiring bird of thickets, forest edge, and other tangled vegetation.

The distinctive song is heard regularly and pairs are usually within earshot of each other, but antshrikes generally remain hidden so I was really excited with these images.

The sexes look very different, but both have a spiky crest that is often raised. Male is barred black-and-white in ‘convict stripes,’ whereas female looks a lot like a wren with a stout bill that has a slightly hooked tip. Cornell All About Birds

Wedge-billed Woodcreeper

The Wedge-billed Woodcreeper is a very small woodcreeper of evergreen forest in humid tropical lowlands and foothills.

Creeps up trunks, often in spirals, picking at the bark for food, then flies low to another tree before hitching upwards again. Forages on fairly large trunks as well as slender trees. Often travels with mixed-species feeding flocks. Note the short, wedge-shaped bill and pale buffy breast spotting. Cornell All About Birds

Scaled Antpitta

The Scaled Antpitta is a plump ball on sticks. Uncommon and elusive on forest floor in humid evergreen forest of tropical lowlands and foothills. Moves quickly and stealthily on long legs. May be seen feeding or hopping along quiet trails.

Okay, so one of the shots I really messed up on. We had waited hours in the rain patiently watching a dark forested path in the mountains at Hotel Quelitales on word that a Scaled Antpitta would eventually spend a few short seconds on the trail just after dusk. Sure enough it showed up, in the rain and in near darkness. Shooting at 256000 ISO and f5.6 at plus 2EV got me 1/4 of a second and a very shaky image of a Scaled Antpitta. A "record" shot to say the least.

White-throated Shrike-Tanager

The White-throated Shrike-Tanager is a large, long-tailed tanager with heavy hooked bill.

The striking plumage is reminiscent of an oriole with yellow body with black head, black wings, white throat, and white shoulder patch. They are found in forests, usually at moderate heights, often in pairs leading a mixed-species flock. Cornell All About Birds

Volcano Hummingbird

The Volcano Hummingbird is a small hummingbird that feeds on small flowers in gardens, second growth, and forest edges, mostly above 2000m.

The male throat varies from steely grayish-purple to bright magenta. They have a short straight bill and rufous in tail.

White-necked Jacobin

The White-necked Jacobin is a rather large, spectacular hummingbird of humid tropical lowlands that favors forest edges, adjacent clearings with scattered trees and flowering bushes, and gardens.

The male has deep blue hood, green upperparts with white collar, white underparts, and mostly white tail. Some females, as above, look similar to males while others look very different, with dark spotting below and a mostly green tail with white tips.

Volcano Junco

The Volcano Junco, seen here gathering nesting material, has a staring yellow eye set against black face. Otherwise, gray with browner flanks, brown back with black streaks and a pale pink bill.

They are found in open habitats at high elevations, usually above 3000m but locally down to 2500m. Often on the ground or in small shrubs, usually in pairs or small groups. Very limited range only in Costa Rica and extreme western Panama. Cornell All About Birds

Talamanca Hummingbird

The Talamanca Hummingbird is a very large for a hummingbird and size alone separates it  from many other species.

Males are green overall and the head appears black until it hits the light and reveals an iridescent purple crown and turquoise throat like seen on this male image above.

Females, as seen in the above image, are duller with fuzzy mottled appearance on grayish underparts and some greenish on sides. Note the large white spot behind the eye that trails into a messy eyeline. The females have a longer and slightly more decurved bill than males.

They use to be called Magnificent Hummingbird, but recently split into Rivoli’s Hummingbird (from southwest U.S. to Nicaragua) and Talamanca Hummingbird (found in mossy cloud forest in Costa Rica and Panama). Cornell All About Birds