Leader: Mike Boatwright
The tour stayed at Orquideas Hotel and Resort, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Trapp Family Lodge, Punta Leona Hotel Resort, Bosque del Rio Tigre, and Golfo Dulce Lodge. Other places visited while staying at and traveling between these lodges/hotels included Arenal National Park, Lake Arenal, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, the Hummingbird Gallery, Finca Ecologica, Carara National Park, Rio Tarcoles Bridge and the Orotina town park, Rincon Road, La Gamba Road, Las Esquinas Lodge and Biological Station.
Total bird species observed/heard: 375 Bird List
(A composite list of birds and other animals follows this report)
Day 1: 18 Jan
I arrived in Costa Rica January 18, 2007 two days ahead of the tour group. After clearing immigration and customs, I grabbed a taxi outside the Juan Santa Maria International Airport and made the 10-minute ride to Hotel La Orquideas in Alejuela west of the airport.
After checking in and putting my stuff in the room, I toured around the hotel grounds and walked one of the trails down to the creek. Birds encountered on the grounds and the trail included Blue-crowned Motmot, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Clay-colored Thrush, Blue-gray Tanager, Hoffman’s Woodpecker, Inca Dove, White-tipped Dove, Great Kiskadee, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Garden Emerald, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, Tropical Kingbird, Melodious Blackbird, Rufous-napped Wren, and Grayish Saltator.
Day 2: 19 Jan
The next morning before breakfast, I again walked the grounds and trails. Crimson-fronted Parakeet, Steely-vented, Brown Jay, Plain and House Wrens. Neo-tropical migrants included Tennessee and Chestnut-sided Warbler, Summer Tanager, and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. A Grey-crowned Yellowthroat was singing and seen well in scrubby area along the trail to the creek. No less than 6 Blue-crowned Motmots were congregated near the upper rooms. While standing in the parking lot talking with Kevin Easely, we observed a Plain-capped Starthroat going to a nest and had nice looks at both light and dark morph Short-tailed Hawk soaring overhead.
After breakfast, my Tico friend Pablo "Chespi" Elizondo picked me up and we headed towards Atenas about 40 minutes west of the hotel. Here we picked up one of the people who would later join us on the Osa Peninsula Extension part of the tour. We proceeded on to Orotina Town Park and after a little searching, we found the resident Black and White Owls along with nice looks at a Cinnamon Hummingbird working the hanging mosses there. Other birds seen in and around the park included White-winged Dove, Social Flycatcher, the ubiquitous Great-tailed Grackle, and Grayish Saltator.
Day 3: 20 Jan
The next morning before breakfast, I again walked the grounds and trails. Most of the same birds seen on the first two days were again observed. In addition, this morning I added to the trip list.
At 1:00 PM I headed to the airport to pickup the group arriving from Virginia and New Jersey. After meeting everyone and loading their stuff into our van, we headed to La Orquideas Inn. Here we got the group checked in and then birded the grounds for an hour or so before sunset.
One of the first birds enjoyed by the group was the Plain-capped Starthroat on the nest that I had found in a tree near the reception area the day before. A very nice bird and a lifer for all but one other member of the group who had seen this species in Arizona in 2003! Other birds seen by the group included Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Tropical Kingbird, Great Kiskadee, and Steely-vented Hummingbird patrolling a patch of vervain. A huge, fruiting tree held Blue-crowned Motmot, Blue-gray Tanager, Summer Tanager, Hoffman’s Woodpecker, a surprising Gray-headed Chachalaca, and lots of Clay-colored Robins. A walk down towards a creek yielded the previously located singing Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, Baltimore Orioles, Tennessee Warblers, Short-billed, White-tipped and Inca Doves, and more Great Kiskadees. Darkness was approaching, so we closed out the evening in front of the big fruiting tree.
Darkness approached, but we had a plan. We had a great tip on a roosting spot for owls - a large bamboo stand near the parking lot. I handed Patrick Belardo the spotlight and we went in search of the owl. I did my best Mottled Owl impression while the others scanned the bamboo stand with the light. No luck. Patrick decided to move down the path a bit next to a parked car and as he turned on the spotlight, he hit the jackpot… we all had great looks at a single Mottled Owl!
After a wonderful dinner in a private open-air dinning room overlooking the Central Valley and San Jose, we checked the owl day-roost again but the bird had moved on for a night of hunting. We also spent time looking for the resident Tropical Screech-owls but they did not show. Tingling with anticipation of the birds and scenery that awaited us in the days to come, we turned in for the night.
Day 4: 21 Jan
We awoke early to do some pre-breakfast birding. We saw most of the same birds we had seen the previous day and added Blue-black Grassquit, "Southern" House Wren, Blue-and-White Swallow, a soaring Wood Stork, a fly-by Merlin, brief glimpses of Prevost’s (Cabinas) and White-eared Ground-sparrows, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, flocks of Bronzed Cowbirds flying overhead, and several other birds not seen the evening before.
Breakfast was great and included a troop of Rufous-naped Wrens playing around on the buffet. After breakfast, we packed up, boarded a small, but comfortable, van and headed to our next destination The Arenal Observatory Lodge. The lodge, located about 2.5 hours northwest of San Jose, is situated right next to the Arenal Volcano. Along the way we added Ruddy Ground-Doves, Keel-billed Toucan, Northern Jacana, and Social Flycatcher to our list and had nice looks at Mantled Howler Monkeys.
On our way to the lodge, we stopped at a field near the town of La Fortuna, which was known to host two rarities Tropical Mockingbird and Southern Lapwing. It took us a few minutes to find the lapwing, but the mockingbird was nowhere to be seen. Another group of birders located a second lapwing, but still no mocker. As a consolation prize, our views of the Arenal Volcano from this spot were astounding! We also saw Eastern Meadowlark, Variable Seedeater, Yellow-faced Grassquit, and Rufous-collared Sparrow here and Melodious Blackbirds called nearby.
We loaded back into the van and continued our journey to the lodge... and what a lodge it was! The lodge has nice rooms, balcony views of the volcano, good food, lots of trails, and a huge deck with a view of several fruit feeders. We dropped our bags off and headed to the feeders. Watermelon, banana, and cantaloupe attracted Bananaquit, Montezuma Oropendulas, Yellow-throated and Olive-backed Euphonias, and a host of different tanagers including Passerini’s, Palm, Hepatic, Emerald, Blue-gray, and Silver-throated, along with Green, Red-legged and Shinning Honeycreepers. We also saw several Coatis, searching for scraps under the feeders.
After lunch we hit the trails around the lodge. This lodge was historically used as a monitoring station for the volcano, so there are many buildings and monitoring stations around. Our first find was a fruiting tree that attracted White-throated and Clay-colored Thrushes along with lots of tanagers including Bay-headed, Rufous-winged, Palm, Golden-hooded, Emerald, Crimson-collared, and Blue-gray. After getting our fill of tanagers, we continued towards to the Waterfall Trail. On the way we encountered White-necked Jacobin and Violet-headed Hummingbird working the vervain. Nearby we also spotted Tropical Pewee, Black-cheeked Woodpeckers, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Wilson’s Warbler, Nightingale Wren, and Tropical Parula.
The Waterfall Trail was our first exposure to rainforest birding. Birding in the rainforest is tough. The foliage is incredibly dense and many birds are only seen passing by quickly in backlit feeding flocks high near the canopy. It's not for the faint of heart. On the trail we were greeted with our first view of one of the antbirds - a single Ocellated Antbird - a great sighting. We also saw a female Slaty-tailed Trogon and Black-headed Nightingale-thrush in the path ahead of us. A steep decent to the waterfall lead to a view of our prized find - a Green-fronted Lancebill that loved to sit on a rock in the middle of a river. He would fly up, swirl around a bit, and then come back to the same rock over and over again!
It was getting late so we headed back towards the hotel listening to White-breasted Woodwren and Stripe-breasted Wren along the way. We watched the sunset over Lake Arenal and then enjoyed a nice candlelight dinner. The sounds of the night were a calling Common Pauraque and many katydids.
Day 5: 22 Jan
After a great day on the grounds of the Arenal Observatory Lodge, we woke up bright and early for some AM birding. Unfortunately, the guys whose job it is to stock the fruit feeders weren’t coming to work until 7:30, so we had very inactive feeders. We birded the grounds a bit and explored a new trail that was known to host a Thicket (Fulvous-bellied) Antpitta. Antpittas are funny little birds with stubby tails, long legs, and an upright posture. They look like some kind of wind-up toy. Lucky for us, the antpitta was singing away. With some whistled impersonations, we were able to get him to come check us out. These little guys are the definition of the word "skulk". Luckily, everyone got a great look at this often heard but seldom seen skulker. We also had nice looks at Stripe-throated Hermit feeding beside the trail as well as Lesser Greenlet and Cinnamon Becard.
After a scrumptious buffet breakfast with great fresh fruit, we headed to the rainforest canopy bridges about 30 minutes from the lodge. The area we went to has a series of steel suspension bridges with the highest being 100 meters long and 100 meters off the forest floor.
The weather was a bit rainy and the birding started out a bit quietly. Lucky for us, a gorgeous blue morpho butterfly flew by and caused us to pause and admire it. I happened to look to my right and spotted a perched White-fronted Nunbird, a very difficult species to find. Soon, another nunbird that was beating the heck out of a giant, creepy, centipede-looking thing joined it. The theory is that they beat their prey against a branch in order for the prey to excrete any toxins before the bird ingests them.
We continued through the trails and across many of the bridges until we reached the top. There was a crippling view of the rainforest with a waterfall down below. Birds were few and far between with only some Tennessee Warblers and some random flycatchers. A local guide tipped us off to a perched Broad-billed Motmot and we spotted a pair of Purple-crowned Fairies. On the walk back, we encountered a couple of nice feeding flocks, which produced White-collared Manakin, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, White-whiskered Puffbird, Dusky Antbird, and others. Back at the parking lot, we saw a Swainson’s Hawk soaring overhead.
On the way back to the lodge, a few extra dollars convinced our driver to take us back to La Fortuna for another shot at the mockingbird. We had barely gotten out of the van when the Tropical Mockingbird was spotted teed up in the orange tree right where it was supposed to be! We didn’t stay here that long but there were no signs of the Southern Lapwings. This is what makes birding so much fun lapwing one day mockingbird the next!
Other birds seen around the lodge grounds and on the entrance road included Spotted Sandpiper, Dusky-capped Flycatcher,Crested Guan, Collared Aracari, Violaceous Trogon, Keel-billed Toucan, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Black Phoebe, Masked Tityra, Lesser Greenlet, Black-throated and Band-backed Wrens, Chestnut-sided, Wilson’s, and Kentucky Warblers, Golden-hooded Tanagers, Black-headed and Buff-throated Saltator, Black-cowled Oriole, Flammulated Attila (Attila flammulatus): Formerly included in Bright-rumped Attila (A. spadiceus), trans-Andean birds (ranging from Mexico into north-western Ecuador) have now been split off as Flammulated Attila based on differences in voice and plumage, Buff-rumped Warbler, Rufous-winged Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Smokey-brown Woodpecker, Black-stripped Sparrow, Streak-headed and Spotted Woodcreeper, and Southern Rough-winged Swallow.
Day 6: 23 Jan
After breakfast, our driver arrived and we headed out for the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and the Trapp Family Lodge. On our way down to the main road we came upon a nice flock of and our first White-throated Magpie-Jays. These birds are so spectacular, with their beautiful sky blue dorsal side and pure white under parts, large size, and curly-q topknots.
There are two ways you can get to Monteverde from Arenal. You can drive 6 hours on extremely bumpy, narrow, mountainous roads or you can take a water taxi across Lake Arenal and then drive 2 hours on bumpy, narrow, mountainous roads. The choice was obvious. The water taxi ride was pleasant and included birds like Great and Snowy Egrets, Great Blue and Little Blue Herons, Mangrove Swallow, Amazon and Ringed Kingfishers, Anhinga, and Neotropical Cormorant.
The drop-off point for the taxi proved to be surprisingly birdy. After trekking up a staircase made of sandbags, we were treated to an Orange-fronted Parakeet less than 10 feet away. Ruddy Ground-doves were everywhere. A couple of Slaty Spinetails called like crazy from the brush on the side of the road, but would not come out to see us. At one point, they must have been a foot away from our feet but we couldn't see them!
The ride was indeed very bumpy but we had a beautiful sunny day and saw some nice birds as well as lots of beautiful scenery.
The Trapp Family Lodge is a very nice place. Everything is made of decorative wood, the beds are comfortable, and each room has a patio door or balcony view of the yard. The restaurant is very nice with a good choice of food, good (at times leisurely) service, and great fresh juice.
After a late lunch we headed to Monteverde Reserve. Luckily, the lodge is only an 8/10 mile (slightly uphill) walk to the reserve. The weather became interesting. It's not called a cloud forest for nothing. A constant mist sprayed against our raingear. We were essentially standing in a cloud.
After taking the leisurely fifteen-minute walk up the road to the reserve and spotting Brown Jays, Slate-throated Redstart, Mountain Robin, Mountain Elaenia, Common Brush-finch, and Green Violet-ear lekking, we arrived at the Hummingbird Gallery. This little building and garden adjacent to the reserve entrance is amazing! The feeders were buzzing with hummingbirds including the large and spectacular Violet Sabrewing, Green Violet-Ear, Stripe-tailed Hummingbird, Magnificent Hummingbird, Coppery-headed Emerald (our first Costa Rican endemic), Green Hermit, Purple-throated Mountain-Gem, Green-crowned Brilliant, and Magenta-throated Woodstar. What a display of color! We spent an hour or so at the feeders taking photos and identifying birds before heading back down the road to the lodge. On the way back, we found Blue-crowned Motmot, White-napped Brush-finch, and Gray-crowned Yellowthroat.
Day 7: 24 Jan
This morning we arose early, ate, and headed up the road to the Monteverde Reserve. We found most of the same birds along the road as before but got an awesome bird about halfway to the reserve. A beautiful Black Guan came out in the trees beside the road for great views!
This is an incredible place that can only be described as magical. The huge trees dripping with ferns, orchids, bromeliads, mosses and vines were incredible. We headed into the forest to see what wonders it had to offer. Almost immediately we had the first of several Slate-throated Redstarts only a few feet from us just sitting on a branch at chest height! We got two great birds, a Blue-throated (Emerald) Toucanet and several male and female Resplendent Quetzals! Unfortunately we never got a really great look at any of these since they were partially hidden behind leaves high in the canopy of an avocado tree.
Birds came slowly and usually in mixed feeding flocks. Three-striped Warblers, Orange-bellied Trogon, Prong-billed Barbet, Yellowish Flycatcher, Black-faced Solitaire, Black and White Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Collared Redstart (Amigo de Hombre or Friend of Man), Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Black and Yellow Silky-flycatcher, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Spotted Barbtail, Ochraceous Wren, Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager, Tufted Flycatcher, and Gray-breasted Woodwren. One of the special treats of the morning was watching a Gray-throated Leaftosser persistently singing and displaying from a very exposed perch just off of the trail. We also heard Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush and several of us were lucky enough to get a glimpse of a Highland Tinamou as it crossed the trail ahead of us.
We exited the reserve in the early afternoon and headed back to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, we hiked back up to the hummingbird gallery for some more leisurely looks and photo opportunities before enjoying another nice dinner. On the way back to the lodge we were fortunate enough to see a Pre-hensile tailed (Mexican) Porcupine huddled up in the fork of a tree near the road.
Day 8: 25 Jan
The next morning we decided to delay our departure for Punta Leona so that we could spend some time at the nearby Finca Ecologica noted for its resident population of Chiriqui Quail-doves. At the reserve, we could not find the quail-doves but we did have some nice birds including White-fronted Parrot, Golden-crowned Warbler, White-throated Robin, Blue-throated (Emerald) Toucanet, Black-faced Wood-quail, and Blue-crowned (Golden-browed) Chlorophonia.
Back at Trapp Family Lodge, we loaded our gear into the van and headed southwest towards the pacific coast. Along the way down the mountains, we added a few new species including a pair of Muscovy Ducks standing along a creek, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and a Gray Hawk perched nicely in a dead tree. After another long bumpy ride we approached the Rio Tarcoles. As we were crossing the bridge here, our driver Vern yelled out "Yellow-billed Cotinga!!" We all strained to see this rare and beautiful bird as it flew lazily across the river. Seeing where it landed in the treetops, we stopped on the far side of the bridge and got great scope views of this bonus bird! The river below the bridge is famous for its huge American Crocodiles. Along with many other tourists we walked out onto the bridge and observed the crocodiles below us in the semi dry riverbed. There were 25 plus crocodiles, ranging in size from 3 feet to over 12 feet..quite spectacular! Also from the bridge several birds were seen including several species of heron and egret, Yellow-headed Caracara, Gray-breasted Martin, and our first looks at Scarlet Macaw.
We continued on to Punta Leona, a short ride down the road observing Brown Pelican and Magnificent Frigatebird where the road neared the coast. Just before turning off the main road, we stopped briefly to get great scope views of a pair of nesting Double-striped Thick-knees in a field beside the highway.
As we entered the gates to the resort, we could tell this wasn’t the usual lodge or hotel. The paved road meandering up through the forest came out onto a large resort on the beach, which you wouldn’t think would be good for birds. But this place was very well landscaped and was surrounded by hundreds of acres of primary pacific rainforest.
Birds were everywhere so we could hardly wait to start birding this place. However, first we needed to replenish our energy. After checking in we went immediately to the open-air dinning hall for some much needed nourishment and libations. Three-wattled Bellbirds were heard in the surrounding forest while we ate but never seen.
Once we finished our meal, we commenced birding the grounds of this fabulous resort. We quickly found Cocoa Woodcreeper, Orange-chinned Parakeets, Streaked Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Black (Chestnut)-mandible Toucan, Groove-billed Ani, Rose-throated Becard, Masked Tityra, Melodious Blackbird, Royal Tern, and Laughing Gull.
By this time it was getting dark so we returned to our rooms to freshen up for dinner. As we neared the rooms, we heard a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl calling and so I whistled the bird in. This great little owl flew right in to a tree over our heads and then retreated a little to give us great scope views. After a fabulous buffet meal we tried briefly for Pacific Screech-owl (which we did not hear or see) before adjourned to the rooms for a good night’s sleep.
Day 9: 26 Jan
Before breakfast we birded the entrance road leading out from the resort. Many of the same birds were seen again this morning but a few new ones were seen including Black-hooded Antshrike, Baird’s Trogon, Black-throated Trogon, Red-billed Pigeon, and Inca Dove.
At about 7:00 we went down to have a nice breakfast and were entertained by a troop of White-faced Capuchins in the trees slowly making their way to the dining area and then coming to the railings beside our table to grab bananas we placed there for them. Several Variegated Squirrels and Northern Raccoons were seen during our stay here.
Meeting our driver, we took off for the short trip to Carara National Park. All morning was spent at this wonderful site of lush forest interspersed with grassy openings and river marshes. After being dropped off we hiked on the main road leading to the river. We immediately started seeing birds including Slate-headed Tody-flycatcher, Northern Waterthrush, Riverside Wren, Long-billed Gnatwren, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Black-bellied Wrens, Plain Xenops, Tropical Gnatcatcher, nice looks at a White-necked Puffbird perched above the path, and Blue-black Grosbeak. A Collard Forest-falcon called and then shot across the path in front of us providing a nice look for the sole observer Tina Trice! We also heard Stub-tailed Spadebill but despite our best efforts could not sneak a peek at this cutie.
At the river we found five Boat-billed Herons in a tree very close to us and a Bare-throated Tiger-heron was sneaking through the tall marshgrass. Other birds seen at the Oxbow Lake were White Ibis, Great Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-heron, and Northern Jacana. A large troop of White-faced Capuchin Monkeys was also seen on the walk.
As we walked back towards the parking area, we spotted a White-whiskered Puffbird sitting motionless very near the path! A very obliging Black-headed Trogon also perched just above our heads.
Day 10: 27 Jan
After breakfast, we headed for the beach for a few hours of relaxation and fun. At the beach, Playa Blanco, several members of the group decided to rent kayaks and spent an hour or so out on the water. The rest of us swam in the beautiful clear waters of the Pacific and walked the beach. We of course couldn’t help but spotting birds. Near the beach we found Magnificent Frigatebirds, Brown Pelicans, Ruddy Turnstones, Willet, Whimbrel, Spotted Sandpiper, and Royal Tern. We also had Yellow-crowned Euphonia and Black-mandibled Toucan nearby.
We returned to our rooms and freshened up before enjoying a nice lunch. In the late afternoon, we headed out to the boat dock on the Rio Tarcoles for the “Mangrove Birding Tour” 3-hour boat ride with the infamous Luis Campos.. This is a great way to explore the mangroves and estuary and is the best tour for birding. Luis has excellent spotting skills, knows the English names of the birds and where to find them. His boat is smaller than the large tourist boats allowing him to enter the narrow canals looking for the rare and local Rufous-necked Wood-Rail, the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird, and the tiny American Pygmy Kingfisher among many others. Along the way to the dock, we made a few stops in the dry scrub habitat along the road. Here we found Stripe-headed Sparrow, Plain-breasted Ground-dove, Blue Grosbeak, Blue-black Grassquit, Scrub Greenlet, and White-collared Seedeater.
At the dock near the Tarcole Lodge, we found a number of shorebirds feeding in the mud exposed by the low tide. Black-necked Stilt, Least, Semi-palmated, and Western Sandpiper, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, and Semi-palmated Plover were all seen well.
Once aboard the boat, we headed out on the Rio Tarcoles where we easily found Purple Gallinule, Boat-billed Heron, Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night-heron, Snowy, Cattle and Great Egrets,Yellow-headed and Northern Crested Caracara, Mangrove Black-hawk, Roseate Spoonbill, White Ibis, Little Blue, Great Blue, and Tri-colored Heron, Neotropical Cormorant, Mangrove Swallow, Anhinga, Amazon Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher, Black-bellied Whistling-duck, and Osprey. I briefly spotted a Wilson’s Plover on the flats and Black-bellied Plovers were also seen. In the mangroves, we found Panama Flycatcher, Mangrove Vireo, "Mangrove" Yellow Warbler, the adorable American Pygmy-kingfisher, and the much sought-after endemic Mangrove Hummingbird. We also spotted many Prothonotary Warblers. We had nice looks at Scarlet Macaws including a bird sitting on the nest, Plumbeous Kite, and Blue Ground-dove.
Today around the grounds of the resort we spotted several Fiery-billed Aracaris, Squirrel Cuckoo, Turquois-browed Motmot, Lineated Woodpecker, Little Tinamou, and heard Pale-billed Woodpecker drumming near our rooms.
Day 11: 28 Jan
At 8:00 am we met our driver and headed out for our journey back to San Jose and the Juan SantaMaria International Airport. On our way we stopped in the town of Orotina, which is world famous for its resident pair of Black-and-white Owls that roost in a small park in the center of town. It took a few minutes but we found them in the open about 15 feet up. We also had saw the resident Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth sleeping in one of the trees. The previously reported Cinnamon Hummingbird was seen again briefly by several members of the group and White-winged Dove, Social Flycatcher, the ubiquitous Great-tailed Grackle, Blue-gray Tanager, and Grayish Saltator were also seen.
Day 12-17: Osa Peninsula Extension - report coming Soon
Non-avian highlights included: Green Iguana, Strawberry Poison-Dart Frog, Central American Agouti, Golden Orb Spider and Collared Peccary.Varigated squirrel, red mantled howler monkey, coati, alfaro pygmy squirrel, mexican porcupine, white-faced chapuchin monkey, northern raccoon, black iguana (ctenosaur), gray fox, proboscis bat, whitelined bat, two and three toed sloths, postman butterfly, headlight/taillight beetle, bottlenose dolphin, flying fish, red-tailed squirrel, long tailed skipper.
©Copyright 2007 Tico Tours, LLC
Prepared by Michael R. Boatwright
All rights reserved.
(Following The A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds, 7th edition)
TINAMIDAE
1 Great Tinamou
2 Highland Tinamou
3 Little Tinamou
PELECANIDAE
4 Brown Pelican
PHALACROCORACIDAE
5 Neotropical Cormorant
ANHINGIDAE
6 Anhinga
FREGATIDAE
7 Magnificent Frigatebird
ARDEIDAE
8 Fasciated Tiger-Heron
9 Bare-throated Tiger-Heron
10 Great Blue Heron
11 Great Egret
12 Snowy Egret
13 Little Blue Heron
14 Tricolored Heron
15 Cattle Egret
16 Green Heron
17 Black-crowned Night-Heron
18 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
19 Boat-billed Heron
THRESKIORNITHIDAE
20 White Ibis
21 Roseate Spoonbill
CICONIIDAE
22 Wood Stork
CATHARTIDAE
23 Black Vulture
24 Turkey Vulture
25 King Vulture
ANATIDAE
26 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
27 Muscovy Duck
ACCIPITRIDAE
28 Osprey
29 Swallow-tailed Kite
30 White-tailed (Black-shouldered) Kite
31 Double-toothed Kite
32 Plumbeous Kite
33 Cooper's Hawk
34 Gray Hawk
35 Common Black-Hawk
36 Mangrove Black-Hawk
37 Roadside Hawk
38 Broad-winged Hawk
39 Short-tailed Hawk
40 Swainson's Hawk
41 Red-tailed Hawk
FALCONIDAE
42 Collared Forest-Falcon
43 Northern "Crested" Caracara
44 Yellow-headed Caracara
45 Laughing Falcon
46 Merlin
47 Bat Falcon
CRACIDAE
48 Gray-headed Chachalaca
49 Crested Guan
50 Black Guan
51 Great Curassow
ODONTOPHORIDAE
52 Marbled Wood-Quail
53 Black-breasted Wood-Quail
RALLIDAE
54 White-throated Crake
55 Gray-breasted Crake
56 Gray-necked Wood-Rail
57 Purple Gallinule
BURHINIDAE
58 Double-striped Thick-Knee
CHARADRIIDAE
59 Southern Lapwing
60 Black-bellied Plover
61 Wilson's Plover
62 Semipalmated Plover
RECURVIROSTRIDAE
63 Black-necked Stilt
JACANIDAE
64 Northern Jacana
SCOLOPACIDAE
65 Greater Yellowlegs
66 Willet
67 Spotted Sandpiper
68 Whimbrel
69 Ruddy Turnstone
70 Semipalmated Sandpiper
71 Western Sandpiper
72 Least Sandpiper
LARIDAE
73 Laughing Gull
74 Ring-billed Gull
75 Herring Gull
76 Royal Tern
77 Sandwich Tern
COLUMBIDAE
78 Rock Pigeon (Dove)
79 Pale-vented Pigeon
80 Red-billed Pigeon
81 Ruddy Pigeon
82 Short-billed Pigeon
83 White-winged Dove
84 Mourning Dove
85 Inca Dove
86 Common Ground-Dove
87 Plain-breasted Ground-Dove
88 Ruddy Ground-Dove
89 Blue Ground-Dove
90 White-tipped Dove
91 Gray-fronted Dove
92 Gray-chested Dove
93 Ruddy Quail-Dove
PSITTACIDAE
94 Sulphur-winged Parakeet
95 Crimson-fronted Parakeet
96 Orange-fronted Parakeet
97 Scarlet Macaw
98 Orange-chinned Parakeet
99 Brown-hooded Parrot
100 White-crowned Parrot
101 White-fronted Parrot
102 Red-Lored Parrot
103 Mealy Parrot
CUCULIDAE
104 Mangrove Cuckoo
105 Squirrel Cuckoo
106 Striped Cuckoo
107 Smooth-billed Ani
108 Groove-billed Ani
STRIGIDAE
109 Pacific Screech-Owl
110 Tropical Screech-Owl
111 Vermiculated Screech-Owl
112 Crested Owl
113 Spectacled Owl
114 Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
115 Mottled Owl
116 Black-and-white Owl
CAPRIMULGIDAE
117 Lesser Nighthawk
118 Common Pauraque
APODIDAE
119 White-collared Swift
120 Costa Rican (Band-rumped) Swift
TROCHILIDAE
121 Bronzy Hermit
122 Band-tailed Barbthroat
123 Green Hermit
124 Western Long-tailed (Long-billed) Hermit
125 Stripe-throated (Little) Hermit
126 White-tipped Sicklebill
127 Green-fronted Lancebill
128 Scaly-breasted Hummingbird
129 Violet Sabrewing
130 White-necked Jacobin
131 Green Violet-ear
132 Violet-headed Hummingbird
133 Garden (Fork-tailed) Emerald
134 Violet-crowned Woodnymph
135 Blue-throated Goldentail
136 Charming (Beryl-crowned) Hummingbird
137 Mangrove Hummingbird
138 Steely-vented Hummingbird
139 Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
140 Cinnamon Hummingbird
141 Striped-tailed Hummingbird
142 Coppery-headed Emerald
143 Purple-throated Mountain-gem
144 Green-crowned Brilliant
145 Magnificent Hummingbird
146 Purple-crowned Fairy
147 Long-billed Starthroat
148 Plain-capped Starthroat
149 Magenta-throated Woodstar
TROGONIDAE
150 Black-headed Trogon
151 Baird's Trogon
152 Violaceous Trogon
153 Collared (Orange-bellied) Trogon
154 Black-throated Trogon
155 Slaty-tailed Trogon
156 Resplendent Quetzal
MOMOTIDAE
157 Blue-crowned Motmot
158 Broad-billed Motmot
159 Turquoise-browed Motmot
ALCEDINIDAE
160 Ringed Kingfisher
161 Amazon Kingfisher
162 Green Kingfisher
163 American Pygmy Kingfisher
BUCCONIDAE
164 White-necked Puffbird
165 White-whiskered Puffbird
166 White-fronted Nunbird
RAMPHASTIDAE
167 Prong-billed Barbet
168 Blue-throated (Emerald) Toucanet
169 Collared Aracari
170 Fiery-billed Aracari
171 Keel-billed Toucan
172 Black (Chestnut)-mandibled Toucan
PICIDAE
173 Golden-naped Woodpecker
174 Black-cheeked Woodpecker
175 Red-crowned Woodpecker
176 Hoffmann's Woodpecker
177 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
178 Smoky-brown Woodpecker
179 Red-rumped Woodpecker
180 Rufous-winged Woodpecker
181 Lineated Woodpecker
FURNARIIDAE
182 Pale-breasted Spinetail
183 Slaty Spinetail
184 Spotted Barbtail
185 Buffy Tuftedcheek
186 Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner
187 Plain Xenops
188 Streaked Xenops
189 Gray-throated Leaftosser
DENDROCOLAPTIDAE
190 Plain-brown Woodcreeper
191 Tawny-winged Woodcreeper
192 Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
193 Cocoa Woodcreeper
194 Black-striped Woodcreeper
195 Spotted Woodcreeper
196 Streak-headed Woodcreeper
197 Spot-crowned Woodcreeper
THAMNOPHILIDAE
198 Great Antshrike
199 Barred Antshrike
200 Black-hooded Antshrike
201 Russet Antshrike
202 Dot-winged Antwren
203 Dusky Antbird
204 Chestnut-backed Antbird
205 Dull-mantled Antbird
206 Ocellated Antbird
FORMICARIIDAE
207 Black-faced Antthrush
208 Thicket (Fulvous-bellied) Antpitta
RHINOCRYPTIDAE
209 Silvery-fronted Tapaculo
TYRANNIDAE
210 Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet
211 Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet
212 Yellow Tyrannulet
213 Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet
214 Yellow-bellied Eleania
215 Mountain Eleania
216 Paltry (Mistletoe)Tyrannulet
217 Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant
218 Northern Bentbill
219 Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher
220 Common Tody-Flycatcher
221 Eye-ringed Flatbill
222 Stub-tailed Spadebill
223 Golden-crowned Spadebill
224 Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher
225 Black-tailed Flycatcher
226 Tufted Flycatcher
227 Tropical Pewee
228 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
229 Alder Flycatcher
230 Willow Flycatcher
231 Yellowish Flycatcher
232 Black Phoebe
234 Flammulated (Bright-rumped) Attila
235 Rufous Mourner
236 Dusky-capped Flycatcher
237 Panama Flycatcher
238 Great Crested Flycatcher
239 Great Kiskadee
240 Boat-billed Flycatcher
241 Rust-margined Flycatcher
242 Social Flycatcher
243 Gray-capped Flycatcher
244 Golden-bellied Flycatcher
245 Streaked Flycatcher
246 Piratic Flycatcher
247 Tropical Kingbird
248 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
249 Fork-tailed Flycatcher
INCERTAESEDIS
250 Rufous Piha
251 Cinnamon Becard
252 Rose-throated Becard
253 Masked Tityra
254 Black-crowned Tityra
COTINGIDAE
255 Turquoise Cotinga
256 Yellow-billed Cotinga
257 Three-wattled Bellbird
PIPRIDAE
258 White-collared Manakin
259 Orange-collared Manakin
260 Long-tailed Manakin
261 Blue-crowned Manakin
262 Red-capped Manakin
VIREONIDAE
263 Mangrove Vireo
264 Yellow-throated Vireo
265 Philadelphia Vireo
266 Scrub Greenlet
267 Tawny-crowned Greenlet
268 Lesser Greenlet
269 Green Shrike-Vireo
CORVIDAE
270 White-throated Magpie-Jay
271 Brown Jay
HIRUNDINIDAE
272 Gray-breasted Martin
273 Mangrove Swallow
274 Blue-and-white Swallow
275 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
276 Southern Rough-winged Swallow
277 Barn Swallow
TROGLODYTIDAE
278 Band-backed Wren
279 Rufous-naped Wren
280 Black-throated Wren
281 Black-bellied Wren
282 Riverside Wren
283 Stripe-breasted Wren
284 Plain Wren
285 (Southern) House Wren
286 Ochraceous Wren
287 White-breasted Wood-Wren
288 Gray-breasted Wood-Wren
289 Nightingale Wren
290 Whistling (Scaly-breasted) Wren
SYLVIIDAE
291 Long-billed Gnatwren
292 Tropical Gnatcatcher
TURDIDAE
293 Black-faced Solitaire
294 Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush
295 Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush
296 Wood Thrush
297 Mountain Robin
298 Clay-colored Robin
299 White-throated Robin
MIMIDAE
300 Tropical Mockingbird
PTILOGONATIDAE
301 Black-and-yellow Silky-Flycatcher
PARULIDAE
302 Tennessee Warbler
303 Tropical Parula
304 Yellow Warbler
304a Yellow (Mangrove) Warbler
305 Chestnut-sided Warbler
306 Black-throated Green Warbler
307 Black-and-white Warbler
308 American Redstart
309 Prothonotary Warbler
310 Northern Waterthrush
311 Kentucky Warbler
312 Mourning Warbler
313 Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
314 Wilson's Warbler
315 Slate-throated Whitestart (Redstart)
316 Collared Whitestart (Redstart)
317 Golden-crowned Warbler
318 Rufous-capped Warbler
319 Three-striped Warbler
320 Buff-rumped Warbler
COEREBIDAE
321 Bananaquit
THRAUPIDAE
322 Common Bush-Tanager
323 Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager
324 Gray-headed Tanager
325 White-shouldered Tanager
326 White-lined Tanager
327 Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager
328 Hepatic Tanager
329 Summer Tanager
330 Scarlet Tanager
331 Crimson-collared Tanager
332 Passerini's Tanager
333 Cherrie's Tanager
334 Blue-gray Tanager
335 Palm Tanager
336 Yellow-crowned Euphonia
337 Thick-billed Euphonia
338 Yellow-throated Euphonia
339 Spot-crowned Euphonia
340 Tawny-capped Euphonia
341 Golden-browed Chlorophonia
342 Emerald Tanager
343 Silver-throated Tanager
344 Bay-headed Tanager
335 Rufous-winged Tanager
336 Golden-hooded Tanager
337 Scarlet-thighed Dacnis
338 Blue Dacnis
339 Green Honeycreeper
340 Shining Honeycreeper
341 Red-legged Honeycreeper
EMBERIZIDAE
342 Blue-black Grassquit
343 Slate-colored Seedeater
344 Variable Seedeater
345 White-collared Seedeater
346 Yellow-bellied Seedeater
347 Ruddy-breasted Seedeater
348 Yellow-faced Grassquit
349 White-naped Brush-Finch
350 Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch
351 Orange-billed Sparrow
352 Black-striped Sparrow
353 Cabanas (Prevost's) Ground-Sparrow
354 White-eared Ground-Sparrow
355 Stripe-headed Sparrow
356 Rufous-collared Sparrow
357 Grayish Saltator
358 Buff-throated Saltator
359 Black-headed Saltator
360 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
361 Blue-black Grosbeak
362 Blue Grosbeak
ICTERIDAE
363 Red-winged Blackbird
364 Red-breasted Blackbird
365 Eastern Meadowlark
366 Melodious Blackbird
367 Great-tailed Grackle
368 Bronzed Cowbird
369 Black-cowled Oriole
370 Baltimore Oriole
371 Yellow-billed Cacique
372 Scarlet-rumped Cacique
373 Crested Oropendola
374 Montezuma Oropendola
PASSERIDAE
375 House Sparrow