10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2022

The most recent additions have included edge-loving birds like the Crimson-backed Tanager , an expected species that was finally documented for the country within the past year, and Bare-faced Ibis , an aquatic edge species also recently documented for Panama.

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Costa Rica Species Panama Geese 251

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2018

It only lives in middle elevation habitats of southern Costa Rica and western Panama. The tiniest bird in Costa Rica is also limited to hedgerows and other edge habitats in middle elevations of Costa Rica and western Panama. White-tailed Emerald. In common with several emerald species, this one is also endemic to a small area.

Costa Rica 213

Costa Rica Nicaragua Panama Honduras 213

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2021

Its range extends as far as Nicaragua in Central America, where it is joined, in Costa Rica and Panama, by The Slaty Flowerpiercer. The Cinnamon-rumped Flowerpiercer is the only flower-piercing game in town if you live in North America. And yes, Mexico is part of North America, not Central or South America.)

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Costa Rica Venezuela South America North America 247

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

Actively birding in Costa Rica as well as Nicaragua and Panama as well as the USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Degree in Natural Resources Management, former part of Board of Directors for the Ornithological Association of Costa Rica, and involved with Bird Monitoring Projects and Sustainability Consulting.

Costa Rica 246

Costa Rica Experience Experiments Nicaragua 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2024

As a new birder, I had always been fascinated with the GUIANAN TROGON and while it is a shy bird, it is by no means a rare and difficult-to-find bird, except for me that is … My journey to find the GUIANAN TROGON began in the lush landscapes of my now-adopted home country of Panama, a birdwatcher’s paradise.

Trinidad 185

Trinidad Costa Rica Panama Whales 185

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2015

The authors argue that most major groups, including the sparrows, wood-warblers, blackbirds, and cardinals then diversified in North America and subsequently colonized South America in a series of overwater (before the Isthmus of Panama had formed) or overland dispersal events.

Sparrows 250

Sparrows North America South America Blackbirds 250

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2022

A movement among bromelias, a hummingbird… it’s the Purple-throated Mountain-gem , Serge IDs it, a regional endemic that Costa Rica shares with neighbouring Nicaragua and Panama. Seeing the way this goes, I decided not to send her a photo of Serge. Okay, no more waiting, off to lunch in the Savegre River Valley we go… To be continued.

Costa Rica 223

Costa Rica Panama Squirrels Nicaragua 223

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2011

Above is a photo that I got with my Wingscapes BirdCam when I visited Canopy Lodge in Panama last year. Is it a convenience issue? One of my favorite things about Central America are the bird feeders. That’s a Chestnut-headed Oropendola eating at a banana feeder. Banana was all that was offered and it brought in a huge array of birds.

Nigeria 246

Nigeria Belize Birds South America 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2014

Black-bellied Hummingbirds can only be found in Costa Rica and western Panama. Because, honestly, when am I going to get back to Costa Rica again or go to Panama? Also, it is fun to type or say Bananaquit. Bananaquit. Bananaquit. Which makes me very glad to have seen this species. These dudes are total jerks.

Costa Rica 175

Costa Rica Panama Humane Species 175

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

Birds of Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rican, and Panama , just published in October, is a field guide that was ten years in the making. Press, 1989); A Guide to the Birds to the Birds of Panama, with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras, 2nd ed. , It’s unique in two major ways.

America 213

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 213

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2019

Part of a series of coordinated radio telemetry arrays, this station is found between other MOTUS stations in Nicaragua and Panama that automatically log data from radio transmitters attached to Alder Flycatchers, Cerulean Warblers , and other species.

Costa Rica 260

Costa Rica Nicaragua Panama North America 260

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Hope for a vagrant comes in the form of an Orange-breasted Falcon sighting from west-central Panama. Although those two avian stars still occur in Costa Rica and western Panama, their numbers are low, and they don’t have the benefit of living anywhere else. Hopefully, we can help them in time. … Extinction is forever.

Costa Rica 216

Costa Rica Species Panama Falcons 216

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2021

Panama Flycatcher. In Costa Rica, this former Clapper Rail is pretty local and only occurs in shorter, scrubby mangroves. Given the few areas where it is known to occur, I have to wonder how many actually live in Costa Rica? This Myiarchus is a bird of mangrove forests, at least in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Protection Birds Panama 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2015

The montane forests of Costa Rica and western Panama are home to at least 50 species of birds that live nowhere else except for one or two that also occur in northwestern Colombia. Nope, in addition to Costa Rica and western Panama, the good old R. At least that’s the case for Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 150

Costa Rica Panama Nicaragua Honduras 150

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

This Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo was seen and captured on camera by Josh Beck in Panama, the most reliable place to connect with this rare species. I can’t say the same for the other especially tough cuckoo in Costa Rica, the one and only Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo (or RVG as I like to call it).

Costa Rica 254

Costa Rica Panama Cats Washington 254

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

The subspecies that occurs in Costa Rica is only found in middle-elevation forests in Costa Rica and Panama and lacks the white line behind the eye shown by South American birds. Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner that range from Carara National Park south to Panama. A Caribbean slope Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner.

Costa Rica 209

Costa Rica Species South America America 209

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

How did they get from the Caribbean across the Isthmus of Panama, which is mountainous and very much in the way? They did it before the Panama Land Bridge formed. The Panama Land Bridge probably started to form, as a series of islands, about 15 million years ago, and by 3 million years ago it was fully in place.

Tortoises 197

Tortoises South America Panama Culling 197

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Next to me was a copy of “Birds of Central America” with a somewhat longish subtitle “Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama” by Vallely and Dyer from 2018.

Costa Rica 242

Costa Rica El Salvador Belize Nicaragua 242

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

By morning, they are probably in Panama. They might also stop off in one or two places that lack birders before continuing on that same day or the next. If I listen to the pre-dawn sky in late September, I can probably pick up the faint bubbling whistle of a few Upland Sandpipers.

Costa Rica 318

Costa Rica West Virginia New York South America 318

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2014

Looking like a Northern Three-toed that took a permanent tropical vacation, this woodpecker is a stunner that only lives in the rainforests of southern Costa Rica and just across the border in Panama. A male Golden-naped Woodpecker. Can you believe that this species comes to feeders in some places? Golden-olive Woodpecker : Is it golden?

Costa Rica 194

Costa Rica Woodpeckers Honduras Panama 194

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2015

Quetzal is THE beloved, sacred bird of Guatemala and they do live there (and in southern Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) BUT are more accessible in Costa Rica. Even the non-birders will love the scenery. Yes, the R. These people treat their guests like gold and are people I love to support. The front entrance of Myriam’s.

Costa Rica 150

Costa Rica Panama Nicaragua Honduras 150

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Cover photo: Birding in Panama by Alex Proimos / Wikimedia Commons. My views only, and I may be wrong, but the post-Covid era looks like an extinction event in which the mega-fauna (those big players, too big to be able to cut costs efficiently) is at serious risk, while the small and adaptable are getting their chance to evolve and flourish.

Sri Lanka 276

Sri Lanka Costa Rica India Cooking 276

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2014

And later, when I posted a picture of it on my Facebook page another birder shared an image of a similar bird taken in Panama. Interestingly, no one seems to know what is going on with these birds, whether the color is diet related or genetic, how often, exactly, that they occur, or much of anything.

Florida 190

Florida Panama Wildlife 2014 190

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

Go birding in Costa Rica to get these avian examples of cuteness on the life list: Collared Redstart – cute and common in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. Cute is cool, and especially when the bird is a lifer. Yeah, it’s just using you as a beater but you get rewarded with close looks and photos.

Costa Rica 179

Costa Rica Emotional South America Panama 179

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2024

Black-tailed Trogon ( Trogon melanurus) Mainly a species of the Amazonian lowlands (two other disjunct populations exist from central Panama to northern Colombia and in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru) they are heard more often than seen as they tend to remain well above the ground, favoring the forest canopy to subcanopy.

Ecuador 171

Ecuador Colombia Panama Peru 171

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

One of many cool bird species only found in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. One of the South Pacific endemics, watch for this striking wren in rainforest, often near streams. Black-and-Yellow Silky-Flycatcher. This one likes to spend most of its time feeding on berries. Yellow-throated Euphonia.

Costa Rica 233

Costa Rica Birds Panama Bats 233

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2015

Those numbers are just guesses but that’s my bet given the amount of intact habitat, sightings, and territory size for these species in Panama. This is a Black-and-white from a remote site near the border with Panama. Black, and Ornate Hawk-Eagles are regular but the Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle is pretty rare.

Costa Rica 161

Costa Rica Panama Eagles Sparrows 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2022

This high elevation pewee only occurs in the mountains of Costa Rica and a smidgeon of western Panama. If you see a bird that looks like a richly colored pewee with shorter wings and a burry call, say hello to the Tropical Pewee. Ochraceous Pewee. Yes, a cool endemic pewee!

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Costa Rica Pennsylvania South America Panama 260

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2015

Stop at any bit of forest en route and you might see species like Flame-throated Warbler, Yellow-winged Vireo, Ruddy Treerunner , and other birds that only live in the high elevations of Costa Rica and western Panama. One of those is the lovely Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher.

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Costa Rica San Jose Panama Birds 220

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2014

These days, Patrick lives in Costa Rica where he juggles guiding, freelance writing, developing bird apps for Costa Rica and Panama , posting on his Costa Rica birding blog , and discussing dinosaurs with his young daughter.

Costa Rica 154

Costa Rica Ecuador Peru Colorado 154

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2019

The first can be found from Mexico to Panama, while the second is endemic over a fairly large part of eastern Mexico. Both are marsh-dwelling species. The next-most-widely-ranging Yellowthroats , the Gray-crowned and the Hooded, favor grasslands and scrub. The Bahama Yellowthroat lives, well, on a collection of Bahaman islands.

Mexico 192

Mexico Bahamas South America Panama 192

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2019

Panama Flycatchers and Streak-backed Orioles also fed at close range. Although the hoped for Mangrove Vireo failed to show, we had excellent close studies of Panama Flycatcher and Northern Scrub-Flycatcher. Other dry forest species made appearances, Stripe-headed Sparrows being especially common.

Costa Rica 141

Costa Rica Morals Panama Parrots 141

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2019

The Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner was finally split into at least two species, the ones that live in southern Costa Rica and adjacent Panama now being known as “ Chiriqui Foliage-gleaner “ Plain Wren wasn’t so plain after all. A new endemic foliage-gleaner! More exciting news! Canebrake Wren. Costa Rican Warbler.

Costa Rica 199

Costa Rica Owls South America Panama 199

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2019

Its yodeling song is a typical aspect of the cloud forest soundscape in Costa Rica and western Panama, a region to which it is endemic. A common resident of cloud forest, this species is often seen in pairs as it forages in mixed flocks or feeds at a fruiting tree. Unlike the Red-headed Barbet, the Prong-billed is quite vocal.

Costa Rica 165

Costa Rica Colombia Ecuador South America 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2017

I’m still recovering from several days of blisteringly good birding in Panama, including a jaunt down Old Gamboa Road. This legendary trail connected to Summit Ponds hosts all manner of Canal Zone specialties, including an abundance of hawks, kites, falcons, and owls.

Panama 101

Panama Falcons Owls Birds 101

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2013

You can also find Red-breasted Blackbirds in Costa Rica and Panama and south to Peru and Brazil. Trinidad is the northern limit of the range of the Red-breasted Blackbird , though it is unclear if the occasional birds that show up in Tobago are wanderers from Trinidad or northern South America or are breeding there.

Blackbirds 166

Blackbirds Trinidad Costa Rica Nicaragua 166

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2013

He found it in Barro Colorado, an island in the Panama Canal Zone filled with rainforest and various other tropical habitats. He studied oropendolas, tinamous, tropical flycatchers, and many other birds. His life work left the field of ornithology vastly enriched.

Costa Rica 170

Costa Rica Colombia Colorado Ecuador 170