Fer-de-lance

Fer-de-lance

The Fer-de-lance (Bothrops asper) is Costa Rica’s most notorious poisonous snake. I have only seen this pit viper species once, and it was during my most recent visit to Costa Rica. The good people at La Tarde knew where this one had staked out a place on the rainforest floor. We took a night hike to find it, and used our flashlights to illuminate it for this photograph.

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Crested Caracara

Crested Caracara

Crested Caracaras (Polybus plancus) are members of the falcon family, and can be identified by the white head with a stout black crest, a white and orange bill, barred shoulders, and brown body. They frequent open areas, including pastures and beaches, where they hunt for small animals. This one was photographed from a distance near Carate on the Osa Peninsula.

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Female Anhinga

Female Anhinga

Although Anhingas (Anhinga anhinga) are water birds that swim with their bodies submerged, their feathers are not waterproof. Anhingas perch with their wings outstretched so they dry more quickly after diving to spear small fish with their pointed beaks. This female has a brown neck instead of a black one like the males of the species.

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Army Ant

Army Ant

There are many species of Army Ants that thrive in Costa Rica, and I’m not sure which species it is that Nito picked out of a swarm on the rainforest floor. While guiding a hike from Serena to Carate, Nito wanted to show us the ants’ fierce pinchers. Getting bitten is not a risk I would have taken! Yet somehow Nita caught the insect, held it for a photo, and safely released it, without getting nipped.

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Common Potoo

Common Potoo

Holding its best cryptic pose, the Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus) in the photo above disguises itself as the stub of a dead and broken branch. The nocturnal bird is comfortable roosting on low perches in open daylight, and this one didn’t even peek as we closely trolled past in a motor boat, snapping pictures.

Common Potoo

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Squirrel Cuckoo

Squirrel Cuckoo

It’s not difficult to find Squirrel Cuckoos (Piaya cayana) in Costa Rica, as they live all over the country, except at the highest elevations. These rufous colored birds with long tails do indeed seem squirrel-like as they hop about on tree branches, hunting for caterpillars.

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Spectacled Caiman

Spectacled Caiman

Smaller than the American Crocodile, the Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) is the only other member of the Crocodylidae family that lives in Costa Rica. The primary distinguishing feature is a transverse ridge in front of the eyes. Caimans are common in lowland rivers, streams, ponds, and mangroves, where there is a lot of rainfall. This one was photographed from a kayak near Tortuguero.

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Juvenile Northern Jaçana

Juvenile Northern Jaçana

This young Northern Jaçana (Jacana spinosa) was so adorable that I wanted to take it home. The little bird and its companions were unafraid of the boat, and just kept hunting for water bugs as we slowly drifted past snapping pictures. Their extraordinarily long toes allow Northern Jaçana to walk on the web of plant life that floats on the Tortuguero river. Adults of the species have black bellies instead of white, and no stripe above the eye.

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Silky Anteater

Neither shouts nor whistles would wake this sleepy Silky Anteater.

Neither shouts nor whistles would wake this sleepy Silky Anteater.

On the last day of my most recent visit to the Osa Peninsula, I noticed and photographed this fuzzy little ball in a tree not far from Luna Lodge. Without a guide, I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. I knew it wasn’t a sloth as it didn’t have thick matted fur, and lacking a black “vest,” it couldn’t be a Northern Tamandua. Later that day, when I saw expert guide Nito in Puerto Jimenez, I tried to describe the creature, mentioning a black stripe on its back. Nito was confused until I showed him this snapshot, and then his eyes grew wide. “That’s a Silky Anteater,” he exclaimed. Silky Anteaters (Cyclopes didactylus) are the rarest of the three anteater species in Costa Rica, and Nito told me he had only seen it one or two times himself. He was not surprised that my shouts and whistles failed to wake the animal so it would show its face. Strictly nocturnal, Silky Anteaters roll into a ball to sleep away the day. The genus Cyclopes – derived from the Greek words kyklos, meaning “circle”, and opsis, “appearance” – alludes to this distinguishing behavior.

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