Bulletin 259 - Costa Rica #4 - Raptors and other large birds

I had been surprised that I had seen so few raptors on previous tropical trips, but this trip made up for it.

The adult 22" Common Black-Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) is an all black robust hawkwith a white band on the tail.

Common Black-Hawk - adult

The juvenile is brown and the breast heavily streaked.

Common Black-Hawk - juvenile

His opposite is the 23" White Hawk (Pseudaster albicollis). He is all white except a few black stripes on his wings and tail

White Hawk

The 15" Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) is a very common hawk in the Americas with a range from Mexico to Argentina. I was surprised that I had not a photo previously except a very distant one. This trip there was one beside the road and I took photos out the window of the car. The bird is IDed by the gray head and brown streaked chest and belly.

Roadside Hawk

The tiny 9" Pearl Kite (Gampsonyx swainsonii) has been expanding its range from Amazonia recently and was first reported in Costa Rica in the mid 1990s and now is into Nicaragua.

Pearl Kite

This 16" Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima) was sitting in the road and just flew up to a fence post beside the road. I took this photo out the window and just got a head shot as I was so close. 

Yellow-headed Caracara

I got 1 new toucan on this trip, the 17" Fiery-billed Aracari (Pteroglossus frantzii). The red and black bill IDs this bird.

Fiery-billed Aracari

A pair of 22" Black-mandibled Toucans (Ramphastos ambiguus) were in a tree and decided to get into a disagreement and locked bills in the dispute.

Black-mandibled Toucans

And another photo

Black-mandibled Toucans

I got better photos of 2 cracids this trip as well. The 24" Black Guan (Chamaepetes unicolor) came to the feeder at the first lodge.

Black Guan

The 20" Gray-headed Chachalaca (Ortalis cinereiceps) also showed up at a feeder at another location. It is brown with a gray head and neck and rufous on the wings.

Gray-headed Chachalaca

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2016 David McDonald


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