We are in serious trouble, folks. I have about three days’ worth of readers’ wildlife photos left, and that feature (like “Caturday felids”, which has a dearth of readers) is in danger of becoming extinct. Please send in your good wildlife photos.
Today we feature ecologist Susan Harrison with some lovely tropical animals and one landscape photo. Her captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Costa Rica Miscellany
Here’s the third and last batch of photos from a February 2024 trip to Southwestern Costa Rica, during which I visited a wildlife-rich field station on the Rio Sorpresa (Surprise River) and saw many colorful birds, both there and in the nearby Corcovado National Park and the towns of Golfito and Puerto Jimenez. Today’s photos mostly feature smaller and/or more subtly colored creatures from this trip.
Basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus), also known as the Jesus Christ Lizard for its skill of dashing across water surfaces:
JAC: I’ve added this National Geographic video of a basilisk running on water:
Bright-rumped Attila (Attila spadiceus), whose distinctive song (“quit it, quit it, QUIT IT – aaaaah!”) is heard much more often than the bird is seen:
Panamanian White-faced Capuchin (Cebus imitator) looking angsty:
Charming Hummingbird (Polyerata decora):
Cocoa Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus susurrans):
Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus), screaming its loud squeaky calls straight at me:
Green Iguana (Iguana iguana), a yard-long reptilian lawn mower:
Grey-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis) on Purple Mombin tree (Spondias purpurea):
Grey-capped Flycatcher on branch with Snakefern (Microgramma) epiphyte:
Common Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis), a member of the nightjar family, making its weird sounds:
Scarlet-rumped Tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii), which looks to me like a Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) turned sideways:
Northern Tamandua (Tamandua mexicana), a large placid anteater seen in Corcovado National Park:
Variegated Squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides):
Yellow-green Vireo (Vireo flavoviridis):
One of the many waterfalls on the Surprise River:
Love the “Lawnmower” and all the other pictures and captions. Thank you.
Such a charming hummingbird, and other wonderful creatures, captured in such great poses!
You captured some wonderful wildlife.
Thank you!
hese photos are stunning! Thank you for sharing the beauty of Costa Rica’s wildlife. Truly inspiring. Also, I hope the menu prices in the area aren’t as surprising as the Rio Sorpresa check latest SA menu prices at https://samenuprices.co.za/!
Beautiful photos. Costa Rica always seems so interesting.
😍 loved adding this morning birding visit to my wakeup morning in Colorado! Thanks to folks taking time for such great images. . .
Love the basilisk pic, and how it appears to be camouflaged here as well.
What a pleasant surprise– wildlife on the Surprise River– to start my morning. Thanks!
Wonderful photos! Take a close look at the photo labeled as a vireo and you’ll notice it is in fact a female White-winged Becard (Pachyramphus polychopterus).
Well done! I knew the bird was not a yellow-green vireo (because of the buffy wingbars, among other things) but I could not figure out what it was. Went through all the tyrant flycatchers in the Costa Rican guide!
It seems to me that the woodcreeper is a Wedge-billed (Glyphorynchus spirurus). The bill looks too short to me for it to be a Cocoa.
As for why the becard would come in to a recording of the vireo’s song, I have no idea. The songs aren’t completely dissimilar but they aren’t that alike either.
Thanks to Susan for these great photos. I hope to make it back to Costa Rica one day.
Hi Paul, thanks for your comments! I will be honest that I relied heavily (although not totally uncritically) on Merlin Sound ID, which frequently indicated Cocoa Woodcreepers and never indicated any other woodcreepers. It’s quite possible that Costa Rica’s extreme biodiversity has exposed the limitations of my app-dependent way of birding in unfamiliar places. 🙂
all the best, Susan
Hi Susan
I was recently in Ecuador and tried Merlin a few times there. To be blunt, it was useless. I don’t think it got any sound identifications right. Our guide explained that it just doesn’t have the data at this point. I would imagine that Costa Rica is better, but still very much a work in progress.
Wow, that’s wild! This bird was attracted to my playback of the Yellow-Green Vireo. You can see its stance which is typical of a bird listening to a recording of its sounds. So the question becomes, why did the Becard respond to Vireo sounds? Any ideas? Thanks!
This was an enjoyable assortment of lovely creatures. Charming Hummingbird, yep, that pretty much says it. 🙂 Glad to see some Costa Rican mammals as well. That waterfall photo is gorgeous. Looks like the perfect place for a picnic.