Broad-winged Hawk

Broad-winged Hawks are small, compact raptors with chunky bodies and large heads. In flight, their broad wings come to a distinct point. The tail is short and square.

Adult Broad-winged Hawks have reddish-brown heads, barred underparts, and broad black and white bands on the tail. The pale undersides of the wings are bordered in dark brown.

Juveniles are lighter brown with coarse streaking on the underparts, particularly on the sides of the breast; the tail is narrowly banded. Cornell All About Birds

This was a very co-operative Broad-winged Hawk at Arenal Observatory, usually in the same hunting location every evening.

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

The Black-cheeked Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker of humid evergreen forest and edge in tropical lowlands.

Distinctive, with big black mask, white patch behind eye, black upperparts with narrow white bars, and big white rump patch. 

Male has full red crown. Female has grayish forecrown and red hindcrown.

Long-tailed Tyrant

The Long-tailed Tyrant is a distinctive flycatcher with long central tail feathers that are usually obvious. They are longer in males than females. Even without tail, the plumage is unique. A black body with white back and eyebrow.

It’s a fairly small flycatcher, usually perched conspicuously in clearings, open habitats, or forest edges. Really wish we had been able to observe this bird closer as we had a fleeting glimpse at a distance.

Buff-throated Saltator

The Buff-throated Saltator is fairly common in humid tropical lowlands. They favour forest edges, plantations, and dense second growth.

Usually seen singly or in pairs, foraging quietly in flowering or fruiting trees. The buff throat patch is bordered by black moustache stripes. Cornell All About Birds

Chestnut-capped Brushfinch

The Chestnut-capped Brushfinch is a fairly stocky, sparrowlike bird of highland forests occurring mainly in humid evergreen and pine-oak forest understory, often in brushy flower banks and shady canyons, where typically skulking and difficult to see well.

They feed on or near the ground and usually in pairs. The white throat stands out against black cheeks and narrow black breast band.

Tawny-capped Euphonia

The Tawny-capped Euphonia is a small finchlike bird, compact and short tailed. Generally yellow below and dark blue-black above with stout, short bill.

On male Tawny-capped Euphonias the crown is entirely russet-orange and the throat is dark. They are often in pairs or small flocks and frequent forested habitats and edges.

Green Honeycreeper

The Green Honeycreeper is a very attractive small tanager of humid tropical lowlands. 

Found in humid evergreen forest edges, plantations, and gardens at times with mixed-species feeding flocks of honeycreepers and euphonias.

They are often in pairs, feeding at all levels in fruiting trees and bushes. Note the short, curved bill.

Males are a unique green-blue color with black hood and a banana yellow beak. Female resembles female Red-legged Honeycreeper but is larger, brighter, uniform green, with yellow lower bill and grayish legs.

Red-legged Honeycreeper

The Red-legged Honeycreeper is a small, warbler-like tanager of tropical lowlands that favours forest edge, woodland, and semi-open areas with taller trees. Often occurs in small groups, sometimes larger flocks, usually in the canopy of flowering trees, where it probes for nectar with its long bill

The red legs are bright on male, however dullest on young birds. The male is blue in breeding plumage, with a turquoise cap while the female and non-breeding male are greenish overall with faint streaking on the chest.

In flight, the underside of the wings flash bright sulphur-yellow. Cornell All About Birds

Blue-gray Tanager

The Blue-gray Tanager is a common and widespread powder blue-gray bird of open and semi-open areas with larger trees and hedges, towns, villages, and gardens in tropical and subtropical regions. A bird we observed most days on our trip.

They mainly feed at mid-upper levels in trees, eating fruit, and perches readily on phone wires. Rather plain but distinctive appearance, with beady dark eye and fairly stout bill.

Blue-and-Gold Tanager

The Blue-and-Gold Tanager is a chunky, stout-billed tanager. They are slightly larger and slower moving than many classic smaller tanagers. Overall dark slaty blue with golden yellow underparts with a short tale and red eye.

They are uncommon to rare in forests and edges, usually found in pairs or small flocks in the canopy. Cornell All About Bird

Emerald Tanager

The Emerald Tanager is a well-named tanager that is mostly emerald-green with trapezoidal black cheek patch, back streaking and wing markings.

They are small and active, usually found in pairs following mixed feeding flocks in foothill forests and edges feeding on fruit. Cornell All About Birds

Silver-throated Tanager

The Silver-throated Tanager is a small tanager, overall lemon-yellow but not super bright that usually looks a bit dirty. They have a distinctive silvery throat and green edges on wing feathers and black streaks on back.

The sexes are similar however the females a bit duller than males. 

They are common and active; usually found in pairs or small flocks, sometimes with larger mixed feeding flocks and tend to be found in more open areas such as forest edges or gardens feeding on fruit. Cornell All About Birds

Bay-headed Tanager

The Bay-headed Tanager is a stunning tanager that is mostly green with reddish head. Some populations have electric blue underparts, others entirely green.

Similar to Rufous-winged Tanager but always has green wings.

Found in pairs or small flocks in forest and edges, often in mixed feeding flocks from midstory to the canopy feeding on fruit. Cornell All About Birds

Golden-hooded Tanager

The Golden-hooded Tanager is a very attractive small tanager of humid tropical lowlands that is found in humid evergreen forest edges, plantations, and gardens. At times with mixed-species feeding flocks of honeycreepers and euphonias as was the case when we observed this tanager.

Often in pairs, feeding at all levels in fruiting trees and bushes. The sexes look alike and are black and blue overall with a white belly and a soft golden hood. Cornell All About Birds

Scarlet-rumped Tanager

The Scarlet-rumped Tanager is fairly common in humid tropical lowlands. They favour evergreen forest edges, plantations, and verdant second growth, such as areas along roadsides. They forage mainly at low to middle levels often in fairly noisy small groups.

The male is unmistakable velvety black with a blinding scarlet rump. Formerly known as Cherrie's Tanager and Passerini's Tanager. Cornell All About Birds

Crimson Collared Tanager

The Crimson Collared Tanager is a beautiful tanager of humid tropical lowlands that favours evergreen forest edge and verdant second growth.

They forage unobtrusively at all levels in trees and bushes, usually in pairs. The sexes are alike and are velvety black overall with a bright bluish-white bill and a glossy crimson collar and rump. Cornell All About Birds

All in all, a very colourful bird to observe.

Green-crowned Brilliant

The Green-crowned Brilliant is a fairly large hummingbird, sleek and long-tailed with straight bill. The male is entirely emerald green with small blue throat patch only visible at some angles as seen here.

The female has spotted green breast with a conspicuous white mustache stripe and white spot behind eye as seen here.

The juvenile has pale rufous malars and chin as seen below.

They are found in forested habitats and edges.

Slaty-backed Nightingale Thrush

 

The Slaty-backed Nightingale Thrush is a small skulking thrush, far more often heard than seen. It was raining pretty good when we observed this thrush in the understory. They are all sooty gray, darkest on forehead, with whiter belly.

Love the bright red-orange eyering, bill, and legs. They are found in middle and high elevation forests, always low to the ground, like this observation, and can be seen along trails but usually quite shy.

White-eared Ground-sparrow

 

The White-eared Ground-sparrow is a strikingly patterned large sparrow that favours tropical and subtropical forests, shade-coffee plantations, and brushy edges.

Typically, on or near the ground in shady understory such as shown here.

Green-fronted Lancebill

 

The Green-fronted Lancebill has a super long straight bill. They are dull greenish overall with iridescent green forehead and bronzy nape.

The female is similar to the male but paler brownish below. They are a forest hummingbird most often associated with montane streams. Even from a fair distance it was really cool to observe this small hummer with a super long straight bill.

Green Thorntail

 

The Green Thorntail is a tiny hummingbird with a short straight bill. The male is all shimmering green with distinctive, long, pointed tail feathers while the female has a short tail and a distinctive white mustache.

Both sexes show white band across rump. They are found in forested habitats and gardens.

It took quite awhile but I was pretty happy capturing this image of a Green Thorntail one of my favourite hummers that we observed. 

Green Hermit

 

The Green Hermit is a large hummingbird with long white-tipped central tail feathers. The male is entirely blue-green while the female has a gray belly, green back, and obvious stripes on face.

The bill is extremely long and decurved. They are found in forest, but also visits feeders at forest edge.

Hoffman's Woodpecker

The Hoffman’s Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker with bold black-and-white barring on back and a cream-colored belly. A patch of yellow on the lower belly can be difficult to see.

Common in open woodlands, second growth, and gardens. Distinctive in range, but hybridizes extensively with Red-crowned Woodpecker on the Pacific slope in Costa Rica.

Band-tailed Barbthroat

The Band-tailed Barbthroat is a scarce hummingbird of humid evergreen forest and edge in tropical lowlands. Favors shady understory, especially with Heliconia flowers. Usually visits flowers briefly and whips away with a sharp buzzy squeak.

Note long arched bill (yellowish below), striped face, blackish throat patch, and rusty breast patch. Striking tail pattern, black with white tips, and a white base that is only readily seen when the tail is spread. eBird

Semi Plumbeous Hawk

The Semi Plumbeous Hawk is a small forest hawk, usually seen perched inconspicuously in the canopy or at the forest edge like we observed here. White below and gray above with distinctive orange-red legs and bill.

The sexes are alike and the juvenile is similar to adult, but with whitish streaks on the head and very fine gray streaks on the breast. eBird

Summer Tanager

 

The Summer Tanager, a bird we observed almost every day in Costa Rica, is the only completely red bird in North America. The strawberry-colored male Summer Tanager is an eye-catching sight against the green leaves of the forest canopy. The mustard-yellow female is harder to spot, though both sexes have a very distinctive chuckling call note.

Fairly common during the summer, these birds migrate as far as the middle of South America each winter. All year long they specialize in catching bees and wasps on the wing, somehow avoiding being stung by their catches. eBird

Crowned Woodnymph

The Crowned Woodnymph favours evergreen forest and edge in tropical lowlands, often near streams. They feed mainly at low to middle levels in shady understory, but comes to feeders at edges and in clearings.

The male, seen here, is stunning but often looks all dark: note the fairly long, deeply forked tail and brilliant emerald and violet plumage. The female is rather dull and plain with a black bill, green-mottled flanks, and blue-black tail with whitish corners. eBird

Crested Guan

The Crested Guan is a very large, long-tailed game bird of tropical and subtropical forest. Often seen high in trees or flying through the forest canopy; usually not seen in areas near people except in some protected areas due to hunting pressure.

Their plumage is dark overall (often looks blackish) with bright red throat wattle and white streaking on body visible at closer range. Crest is bushy and usually not a striking feature.

Violet Sabrewing

The Violet Sabrewing is a very large, spectacular, and aggressive hummingbird of humid evergreen forest in highlands and foothills, descending locally and seasonally to lowlands.

Note the very large size, thick arched bill, and big, flashy white tail corners. The male’s amazing purple plumage often looks blackish overall. Even though it was raining a very cool bird to observe.

Chestnut-headed Oropendola

Montezuma Oropendola was by far the more common of the Oropendola that we observed however we were able to also see the Chestnut-Headed Oropendola. The Chestnut-headed Oropendola is a rather large, dark, yellow-tailed bird of humid evergreen forest and edge in tropical lowlands. Where present, colonies of large pendulous nests adorn tall trees.

It is often in flocks, usually in forest canopy at fruiting trees. The male is much larger than female, but sexes look similar, with a dark, rich brown head and body, blackish upperparts, pale yellowish bill, and bold yellow tail sides. eBird

Keel-billed Toucan

 

The Keel-billed Toucan is a large unmistakable toucan with a huge, rainbow-colored bill. It is often seen in pairs, but not usually in groups.

They fly with a few flaps followed by a swooping glide, sometimes high over the forest canopy,

It is heard more often than seen and its song is a far-carrying, frog-like croak, repeated steadily. Despite its large size and bright colours they can be difficult to see in leafy canopy, where it moves deliberately in search of food.

Blue-gray Tanager

 

The Blue-gray Tanager is a common and widespread powder blue-gray bird of open and semi-open areas with larger trees and hedges, towns, villages, and gardens in tropical and subtropical regions.

They mainly feed at mid-upper levels in trees eating fruit. A rather plain but distinctive appearance, with beady dark eye and fairly stout bill.

Buff-throated Saltator

 

The Buff-throated Saltator is a fairly common bird found in humid tropical lowlands. They favour forest edges, plantations, and dense second growth and are usually seen singly or in pairs, foraging quietly in flowering or fruiting trees.

Rufous Motmot

 

The Rufous Motmot is a large forest-dweller that likes to sit motionless. The head and breast are rufous-orange with a black mask and breast spot. They have a green back and long tail.

They are often found singly or in pairs inside forest, usually below canopy as was the case with this one.

Sunbittern

 

Unfortunately, I was not able to capture an image of the Sunbittern with its wings spread since it is considered one of the most dazzling of all the world’s birds; the intricate yellow, red, and black pattern on the spread wings is truly otherworldly.

They are found singly or in pairs along rivers or swamps, usually standing quietly along the shore. Listen for long whistles at dawn and dusk. It was a dark drizzly day when we were observing this Sunbittern, but still a cool bird to see.

American Pygmy Kingfisher

 

The American Pygmy Kingfisher is a tiny kingfisher of shady forest streams and mangroves. Often darts away when disturbed, but can be confiding if approached quietly and usually perches fairly low over the water as was the case here.

They are about half of the size of Green Kingfisher, and easily distinguished by rusty underparts and poorly contrasting pale neck collar.

Mangrove Vireo

 

The Mangrove Vireo, despite the name, is not found in mangroves in most of its range. It is common in scrubby woodland, brushy fields, and thickets.

The best field marks are the white wingbars and the yellow patch between the eyes and bill. Most birds are pale yellowish below, a few are paler and grayer overall. Birds in mangroves of Central America are often rather colorless, with very reduced yellow tones.