The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide

Zona Tropical Publications

by Richard Garrigues, Robert Dean

"Graced with bounteous natural beauty, a stable democratic government, and friendly citizens, Costa Rica has become a popular destination for travelers from all over the world. Birds play a prominent role in attracting visitors, too. The shimmering quetzals, gaudy macaws, and comical toucans only begin to hint at the impressive avian diversity to be found throughout this small country."--from the Introduction This is the one field guide the novice or experienced birder needs to identify birds in the field in the diverse habitats found in Costa Rica. It features descriptions and illustrations of more than 820 resident and neotropical migrant species found in Costa Rica, all in a compact, portable, user-friendly design. The detailed full-color illustrations show identifying features--including plumage differences among males, females, and juveniles--and views of birds in flight wherever pertinent. Additional features of this all-new guide include:

o 166 original color plates depicting more than 820 species.

o Concise text that describes key field marks for positive identification, as well as habitat, behavior, and vocalizations.

o Range maps and texts arranged on opposing pages from illustrations for quick, easy reference.

o The most up-to-date bird list for Costa Rica.

o A visual guide to the anatomical features of birds with accompanying explanatory text.

o Quick reference to vultures and raptors in flight.

Genres: Birds, Nonfiction, Field Guides, Ornithology, Nature, Travel, Animals

Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kaila Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great guide for Costa Rica. I may have had a different version than the picture here. But I had the newest one as of 2017. This guide has great plates, pictures great. Layout is similar to Sibleys for those who are familiar.
Good guide. Tip: way cheaper to buy before you get to Costa Rica. Plus allows you time to study up.

[Neil Pasricha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Scott Broad when I was 9 years old. My sister and I were moving to the town next door that fall and my parents had the idea to sign us up for day camp at our new school before the year began. On the first day, a counsellor got up and said "Okay, lot of lost and found stuff in this box from last week. Please come grab your stuff. Let's see, we got three tennis balls ... bunch of hats ... a pair of boy's underwear ... a pair of girl's underwear." And that's when Scott leaned over and whispered "Wonder what they were doing?" I liked him right away. Flash forward thirty years and I became a birder in the pandemic. Surprise, surprise, he did, too. We downloaded Merlin and eBird and started comparing "life lists." I turned into a "walking around the downtown park" type birder and he ended up building a giant floating 'hide' and trekking down to muddy lakes before sunrise to take endless photos (like this one or this one or this one). Last month, for the first time in our lives, we went on a trip together. A birding trip! Both firsts. We picked a country with a lot of birds and a direct flight: Costa Rica. We had four days to bird from sunrise to sunset (with a little owling after dark.) And before going we bought copies of this guide to all 903 birds ever seen in Costa Rica. We circled our "Dream 100" and flew down with a couple pairs of binoculars, one big fat camera, and some far-too-serious camo shirts. Every day we went looking for birds from sunrise to sunset and then returned to our hotel rooms to peel off our sweaty socks and open this book to check off, circle, and make notes of everything we'd seen. The guide is superb — calling out the 90 or so endemic birds and (importantly) giving us the specific field marks that, with Scott's pictures, helped us distinguish the birds from their nearest lookalikes. We ended up seeing 226 species including the Resplendent Quetzal, Red-capped Manakin, Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher, and Lesser Violetear. If you're going birding in Costa Rica — and by golly, you should! — then this is the guide for you. Pura Vida!

[Lynn Bergmeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best CR Field Guide but need a new edition ASAP as many species names have changed and will be changing in neae future.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good bird guide with a lot of good information on the different habitats and where the birds occur. Good drawings.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a handy guide and suitable alternative to the classic (and still essential) Stiles & Skutch. This book is smaller and lighter but that means it lacks the details of habitat, behavior, elevational range, and nests that are in S&S. The main advantage of this guide is that it includes range maps and adopts the more convenient format of illustrations opposite short descriptions and maps. No more flipping around as in S&S. But again, it lacks a lot of the detailed info in S&S that can help with identification. Short-term visitors will find this useful; serious birders will want both.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't read all the text, but looked at the pictures, checking especially to see what species and names were foreign to the part of the U.S. in which I live. I noted that most of the New World Warblers migrate to the US, as do some other species that winter in Costa Rica. Beautiful, as birds usually are!

[Gabriel Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most comprehensive guide available, unfortunately marred by some errors in the illustrations (as confirmed by several professional Costa Rican birding guides) that make field identification difficult.

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A constant companion while I was studying abroad.

[Todd Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very accessible field guide. Easy to carry with good descriptions, maps and plates.

[Alex Roslin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is recognized as the classic bird field guide for Costa Rica -- beautifully illustrated book by highly informed and devoted authors.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not Sibley, but it was as good as one could hope for. Not all the pictures seemed accurate (the colors were WAY off on a few), but it was necessary to have and had every hummingbird one could hope for.