Costa Rica is home to about 850 identified species of birds. That’s one-tenth of the world’s total species! That’s why bird-watching has always been and remains such a popular pursuit here. Ornithologists have long traveled to Costa Rica to research particular species, especially those that are endemic to the area. And because there are so many protected areas in the country, birds that have failed to thrive elsewhere are making their home in Costa Rica.

 

The best place to view birds is not in the midst of Costa Rica’s dense jungles but at a clearing on the fringe of the forest or by the water. In some instances, you’ll hear a particular bird but may be unable to find it.

 

The magnificent white quetzal, the national bird of Costa Rica, is best seen in the parks in which it is protected - Braulio Carrillo, Poás, Chirripó, and La Amistad. Brown boobies, pelicans, harpy eagles, parrots, macaws, and hummingbirds are common as well, as are other birds with strange names, such as tody motmots, laneolated monlets, lineated foliage-gleaners, and black-capped pygmy tyrants.