Tamarindo

Acorn Woodpecker

A striking woodpecker linked to oak woodland and acorn food stores.

Alexander’s Spiny Brittle Star

Ophiocomella alexandri is a brittle star associated with rocky and reef habitats.

Almendro de Rio

Purple flower clusters stand out against a dense green crown.

American Crocodile

A long snout and narrow head.

American Pebble Crab

Daira americana is a small shore crab associated with rocky lower tidal habitat.

American Snail-eater

A narrow-bodied forest climber searches a world of branches and soft-bodied prey.

Anhinga

Anhingas swim underwater after fish and use straight pointed bills to seize prey.

Annulated Tree Boa

Dark ringlike markings break up the outline of a forest-climbing boa.

Apple Rocksnail

An apple rocksnail lives among the rocks of the lower shore.

Arbacia Sea Urchin

Arbacia stellata is a sea urchin recorded from the eastern Pacific.

Arenal Volcano

A striking volcanic cone rises above the rainforest near La Fortuna.

Baird’s Tapir

Costa Rica’s largest land mammal has a flexible snout and an important forest role.

Baltimore Oriole

An orange-and-black seasonal visitor from the north.

Banana

A banana plant looks like a tree, but it is a giant herb.

Banded Peacock Butterfly

Brown wings.

Banded Serpent Brittle Star

Ophionereis annulata is a brittle star with a rounded central disc and slender banded arms.

Barberfish

A flattened, oval, disc-like body.

Bare-necked Umbrellabird

An elusive forest bird with a striking crest and important seed-dispersal role.

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

This robust tropical heron uses mangroves and freshwater wetlands.

Barva Volcano

A forested volcanic summit hides a peaceful crater lake in the clouds.

Beach Morning Glory

Creeping stems extending across beach sand.

Beach Spider Lily

Beach spider lily has long strap-shaped leaves and striking white flowers.

Bejuco Cucharilla

A woody climbing vine that connects Costa Rican forests with the craft of basket weaving.

Belt’s Eyed Silk Moth

Leaf-like forewings.

Big-headed Anole

A broad head and mottled colors help this forest anole blend into bark.

Bigeye Trevally

A silver jack with a noticeably large eye.

Black Guan

A dark mountain-forest bird with a blue face and red eyes.

Black Mangrove

Pencil-shaped breathing roots rise from the mud around this mangrove.

Black Marlin

Rigid pectoral fins that do not fold flat against the body.

Black Spiny Brittle Star

Ophiocoma aethiops is a brittle star with a distinct central disc and long, flexible, spiny arms.

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

This sturdy lizard has a tail ringed with spiny scales.

Black Vulture

A dark scavenger with white patches under the wingtips.

Black Witch Moth

Broad dark brown wings.

Black Wood Turtle

A dark wood turtle associated with freshwater environments.

Black-bellied Plover

This large plover breeds in the far north and uses coasts outside breeding.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

A compact heron whose feeding day often begins at dusk.

Black-faced Solitaire

A cloud-forest singer often heard before it is seen.

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilts have exceptionally long pink legs, a thin straight dark bill and contrasting black-and-white plumage.

Blue Marlin

A long spear-shaped bill.

Blue Morpho

Brilliant blue upper wings with broad dark margins.

Blue Sea Star

Phataria unifascialis is an eastern Pacific sea star known as the blue sea star.

Blue-gray Tanager

A powder-blue bird of gardens and wooded clearings.

Bluebarred Parrotfish

A reef parrotfish with fused teeth shaped like a beak.

Bluefin Trevally

A reef hunter with electric blue fins.

Blunt-headed Tree Snake

An exceptionally slender snake with a broad-looking head and large eyes.

Blunthead Triggerfish

A large gray triggerfish with a pale gill slit.

Boat-billed Heron

The Boat-billed Heron has an unusually wide flattened bill and large dark eyes.

Bradley’s Sea Star

Mithrodia bradleyi is a marine sea star.

Bridled Anole

A large canopy anole wears dark oblique markings among the leaves and shadows.

Brown Basilisk

This brown or olive basilisk often has pale stripes along its sides.

Brown Pelican

A long bill with a pouch beneath the lower jaw.

Brown Wood Turtle

A domed brown shell belongs to a turtle that spends much of its time on land.

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth

A slow-moving leaf eater whose fur can blend with the green canopy.

Bull Shark

A stocky gray body with a pale belly.

Bumphead Parrotfish

An eastern Pacific parrotfish with a blue beak.

Buttercup Tree

Poro poro bears large open yellow flowers with many stamens.

Buttonwood

Small buttonlike fruit heads help identify this coastal tree or shrub.

Cacao

Cacao is an evergreen tree whose flowers and pods can grow directly from its trunk and larger branches.

Cacomistle

A cacomistle's long ringed tail is a memorable clue.

Caída del Cielo Waterfall

Caída del Cielo is a waterfall in the mountainous Toro Amarillo area.

Calcinus Hermit Crab

Calcinus obscurus is a marine hermit crab.

Caribbean Least Gecko

A miniature forest gecko blends into the shaded world close to the ground.

Carpenter Bees

Robust body.

Carpenter's Anole

A small greenish anole hides among the fine branches of humid forest.

Cassava / Yuca

Cassava, called yuca in Costa Rica, is a shrub with leaves divided into fingerlike lobes.

Catarata del Toro

Catarata del Toro descends into an old volcanic crater within a private ecological reserve.

Ceiba Kapok Tree

Huge buttress roots help make a mature ceiba unforgettable.

Cenizaro Rain Tree

An umbrella-shaped crown shelters a world beneath its branches.

Central American Agouti

A quick forest-floor rodent that stores seeds for later.

Central American Banded Gecko

A ground-dwelling gecko carries dark bands across a warm yellow-tan body.

Central American Boa

A muscular snake with broad saddle-like markings.

Central American Coral Snake

A venomous coral snake with complete colored rings.

Central American Eyelash Pitviper

Raised scales above the eyes give this venomous branch-dwelling snake its name.

Central American Indigo Snake

A powerful-looking snake may darken from a lighter front to a black tail.

Central American Rattlesnake

A segmented tail rattle is a distinctive feature of this dry-forest snake.

Central American Squirrel Monkey

A small, quick-moving monkey of Costa Rica’s Pacific forests.

Chameleon Wrasse

A patterned wrasse whose appearance changes with life phase.

Charles Myers's Anole

Lichenlike markings help a short-legged anole disappear against Pacific forest bark.

Cherrie's Ground Skink

Smooth scales and short legs help this little skink move through leaf litter.

Cicadas

Large transparent wings.

Clay-colored Thrush

A familiar brown songbird and Costa Rica’s national bird.

Clouded Snail-eater

Cloudy patches of gray and brown hide a slender snake among forest branches.

Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly

Bright yellow wings.

Coconut

The coconut palm has a tall trunk, a crown of featherlike leaves and fruit clustered near the crown.

Cocos Booby

Cocos Boobies are eastern Pacific seabirds formerly included with Brown Booby.

Cocos Island Anole

This island anole tells a story found only on Costa Rica’s remote Isla del Coco.

Coffee

Coffee is a shrub or small tree with shiny leaves and small fruits called cherries.

Collared Aracari

A small toucan with a patterned yellow chest.

Collared Peccary

A hoofed forest mammal with a pale collar across dark bristly fur.

Common Basilisk

A long-tailed lizard associated with Pacific-slope waterways.

Common Beans

Common bean plants can grow as bushes or climb supports, depending on the variety.

Common Bottlenose Dolphin

The common bottlenose dolphin has a short thick beak and a generally gray body.

Common House Gecko

An introduced wall-climbing gecko often appears near buildings after dark.

Common Monkey Lizard

A slow-moving tree-dwelling lizard with a very long tail.

Common Opossum

The common opossum is a marsupial: its young complete an important part of their development attached to their mother's teats, protected in her pouch.

Common Squirrel-Cuckoo

A rusty forest cuckoo with an exceptionally long tail.

Cope's False Coral Snake

A fine-tailed forest snake wears bold bands without advertising a safe encounter.

Cope's Parrot Snake

A slender green snake blends with branches and leaves.

Copper Anole

A familiar brown anole watches from low perches in Pacific-slope landscapes.

Coppery-headed Emerald

A tiny hummingbird found naturally only in Costa Rica.

Coral Hawkfish

A small reef fish with reddish-brown blotches.

Corn

Corn, also called maize, is a cultivated grass.

Cortez Amarillo

Golden trumpet flowers can brighten the branches of an almost leafless tree.

Cortez Angelfish

A tall angelfish with yellow accents and dramatic juvenile stripes.

Cortez Rainbow Wrasse

A small wrasse whose colors change as it grows.

Costa Rica Forest Rabbit

The Costa Rica forest rabbit is a native forest rabbit, not a domestic bunny living outdoors.

Costa Rica Least Gecko

A tiny gecko reveals a whole miniature world among forest leaves.

Costa Rican Oak

Acorns and leathery leaves belong to this mountain-forest oak.

Coyote

An adaptable wild canid that uses woodland edges and open country.

Crested Caracara

A long-legged raptor that often walks on the ground.

Crown Sea Urchin

Astropyga pulvinata is an urchin with long spines and distinctive bright blue spots on parts of its body.

Damselflies

Slender body.

Decorated Anole

A large forest anole blends green and pale markings into a leafy canopy.

Decorated Forest Snake

Fine lengthwise stripes help a small snake blend into forest-floor lines.

Derby’s Woolly Opossum

Derby's woolly opossum is a tree-climbing marsupial with soft fur, large eyes and a dark stripe down its pale face.

Dice’s Cottontail

Dice's cottontail is a mountain rabbit found in Costa Rica and western Panama.

Diomedea Leaf Sea Slug

Elysia diomedea is a small marine gastropod with folded, leaf-like sides and a greenish appearance.

Dragonflies

Large eyes.

Dung Beetles

Compact beetle body.

Dunker’s Dosinia

A rounded clam shell rewards a closer look at fine surface lines.

Dusky Sea Cucumber

Holothuria fuscocinerea is a sea cucumber: a marine echinoderm with an elongated body instead of spreading arms.

Eastern Pacific Giant Conch

A large conch connects marine nature with Costa Rica’s cultural history.

Ecuadorian Milksnake

A banded young milksnake offers a lesson about changing colors and misleading names.

El Ángel Waterfall

El Ángel Waterfall lies along the Río Ángel near Cariblanco.

Elephant Beetle

Large rounded beetle.

Expanded Lobster Claw

An upright open arrangement of colorful bracts rises among broad green leaves.

Firebush

Firebush is a shrub with clusters of narrow orange to red tubular flowers.

Fireflies

Soft beetle wing covers.

Forest Flame Snake

Bold red and dark markings stand out on this forest-floor snake.

Four-lined Ameiva

Pale lengthwise stripes make this quick ground lizard worth a careful second look.

Frangipani

Frangipani is a flowering tree with thick branches and clusters of five-lobed blossoms.

Freckled Porcupinefish

An oval fish with long spines that usually lie against its skin.

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

A warm-brown duck with a long neck and a whistling voice.

Funiculate Nerite

A small, rounded nerite invites a close look at its shell pattern.

Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey

Long limbs and a grasping tail help this monkey move through the canopy.

Ghost Anole

A quiet brown anole can disappear against a shaded tree trunk.

Giant Ark Clam

A large ark shell has deep spaces between its strong ribs.

Giant Damselfish

A large damselfish with dark blue-gray adult coloring.

Giant False Limpet

A cap-shaped shell shelters a snail on the rocky shore.

Giant Green Anole

A green anole that spends much of its time in vegetation.

Golden Trevally

A jack whose boldly barred young look different from adults.

Golden Trumpet

Golden trumpet is a South American ornamental cultivated and naturalized in Costa Rica.

Gray Fox

A small gray-and-russet canid that can climb trees.

Graybar Grunt

A silver grunt crossed by broad dark bars.

Great Blue Heron

This large heron searches shallow water for fish and other small animals.

Great Curassow

A large forest bird with a curled crest and contrasting male and female plumage.

Great Egret

The Great Egret is a large white wading bird that hunts by waiting or walking slowly in shallow water.

Great Green Macaw

A green forest giant whose future depends on large nesting trees.

Great Kiskadee

A loud flycatcher with a yellow belly and striped head.

Great Tinamou

A camouflaged forest-floor bird with a far-carrying whistle.

Greater Bulldog Bat

The greater bulldog bat is one of the bats that regularly catches fish.

Greater Grison

The greater grison has a long low body, short legs and a striking pale stripe separating its dark face and underside from its grizzled back.

Greater Sac-winged Bat

Two pale wavy stripes down a dark back are a starting clue for the greater sac-winged bat.

Green Basilisk

A green lizard of humid forests and stream edges.

Green Heron

The Green Heron is a compact hunter with a dark greenish back, chestnut neck and a short crest.

Green Iguana

A large tree-climbing lizard with a throat fan and a row of spines along its back.

Green Lacewings

Delicate green body.

Green Ratsnake

This long forest snake changes its appearance as it grows.

Green Sea Turtle

A smooth oval shell and paddle-shaped flippers belong to this ocean traveler.

Green Spiny Lizard

A rough-scaled lizard of cooler upland environments.

Green Vine Snake

An exceptionally slender snake resembles a living green vine.

Greenish Keyhole Limpet

Look for the opening near the top of this cap-shaped shell.

Grinning Tun

A rounded shell with a tooth-lined opening explains its memorable name.

Groove-billed Ani

A social black bird with grooves on its heavy bill.

Guacimo

Bumpy dark fruits and toothed leaves offer clues to a familiar Pacific-slope tree.

Guanacaste Tree

Look for tiny leaflets and curved pods on this dry-forest tree.

Guapinol

Paired leaflets and hard brown pods identify a forest tree with an important wildlife role.

Guaria Morada Orchid

Costa Rica’s national flower carries pink-purple blossoms above fleshy leaves.

Guineafowl Puffer

A round reef puffer with a dotted dark form and a yellow form.

Halloween Land Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus is a land crab associated with coastal habitats.

Hanging Lobster Claw

This cultivated heliconia has hanging clusters of colorful bracts.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

A narrow hooked beak and patterned shell help distinguish the hawksbill.

Heavy-footed Anole

A compact brown anole lives among the cool, wet forests of Talamanca.

Helmeted Iguana

A dramatic helmet-shaped head rises above a perfectly still forest lizard.

High Anole

A delicate brown anole makes its home in Costa Rica’s cool mountain forests.

Hoffmann's Earth Snake

A small dark earth snake reminds us that much of forest life stays hidden.

Hoffmann's Woodpecker

A black-and-white woodpecker with a yellow nape.

Hoffmann’s Two-toed Sloth

An arboreal mammal with two foreclaws and a slow digestive system.

Honduran White Bat

A tiny fruit-eating bat that shelters beneath leaves shaped into tents.

Hot Lips Plant

Two bright red bracts surround tiny pale flowers in the forest understory.

Hudsonian Whimbrel

This large shorebird uses its long downward-curved bill to find crabs and other small animals on coastal flats.

Humble Anole

A small, often brown anole associated with the forest understory.

Humpback Whale

A humpback whale is a mammal that breathes air through blowholes and nurses its young with milk.

Ice Cream Bean

Guaba is planted for its long ribbed pods and as a shade tree.

Indio Desnudo

A tree whose warm-colored bark invites a closer look.

Irazú Volcano

Costa Rica’s tallest volcano has a cool summit landscape with several craters.

Jabiru

A towering white wetland bird with a dark head and red neck band.

Jaguar

A powerful spotted cat that depends on habitat and healthy prey populations.

Jaguarundi

A small, long-bodied wild cat with a plain-colored coat.

Julia Butterfly

Long orange wings.

Katydids

Very long antennae.

Keel-billed Toucan

A rainbow-colored bill stands out against dark plumage and a yellow throat.

King Angelfish

A deep, flattened body and small mouth.

Kinkajou

A nocturnal treetop mammal with a gripping tail and a taste for fruit and nectar.

Knobby Mangrove Cockle

A ribbed mangrove shell has small bumps that help explain its name.

La Fortuna Waterfall

A tall waterfall drops through a lush tropical forest into a rocky river basin.

La Paz Waterfall

La Paz belongs to a larger waterfall landscape along the route toward Sarapiquí.

Lady Beetles

Rounded beetle body.

Las Chorreras Waterfalls

Two neighboring falls enter a pool surrounded by volcanic rock.

Laughing Falcon

A masked falcon named for its far-carrying call.

Laughing Gull

Laughing Gulls are coastal gulls with dark gray backs and blackish wingtips.

Leafcutter Ant

Leaf fragments carried above body.

Leatherback Sea Turtle

A dark, leathery back rather than large hard shell plates.

Lebeau Silk Moth

Large patterned wings.

Lemonwood

Madrono has a smooth-looking trunk that sheds thin flakes of reddish bark.

Leopard Roundray

Urobatis pardalis is a round ray described from Costa Rican Pacific specimens.

Lesson's Motmot

A colorful forest bird with a blue crown and long tail.

Lichen Anole

Pale patches and short legs turn a quiet anole into part of the bark.

Linnaeus's Sipo

A long green-to-olive snake follows the paths made by forest branches.

Little Blue Heron

Adults have slate-blue bodies and purplish heads and necks.

Llanos de Cortés Waterfall

A broad curtain of water spills over a rocky ledge at Llanos de Cortés.

Long-tailed Manakin

A small forest bird famous for coordinated courtship displays.

Long-tailed Weasel

A long-tailed weasel has a narrow flexible body that helps it move through cover and investigate small spaces.

Lowland Paca

A spotted nocturnal rodent that shelters in burrows near wooded watercourses.

Magnificent Frigatebird

Frigatebirds use very long wings and a deeply forked tail to soar above tropical coasts.

Mahi-mahi (Dorado)

An electric green-blue back with golden sides.

Malachite Butterfly

Green panels.

Managua Skink

A smooth-bodied skink slips between fallen leaves in northwestern Costa Rica.

Mangrove Tree Boa

A tree boa balances quiet coils among the branches of the southern Pacific.

Mantled Howler Monkey

A mostly dark coat with a lighter mantle along the sides.

Many-scaled Anole

A slender brown anole explores the low vegetation of southern Pacific forests.

Margay

An agile spotted forest cat with exceptional climbing ability.

Mexican Burrowing Python

A strong-bodied burrowing snake explores the dry forests of northwestern Costa Rica.

Mexican Hairy Porcupine

This tree-dwelling porcupine has dark coarse hair that can hide many of its protective quills.

Mexican Hogfish

A sturdy wrasse with strikingly different color phases.

Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo

This armadillo wears a covering of bony plates, with flexible bands across its middle so it can bend while walking.

Mexican Long-spined Sea Urchin

Diadema mexicanum is an eastern Pacific urchin associated with rocky lower shores and underwater rocky habitat.

Middle American Ameiva

A long-tailed ground lizard searches among leaves and sunlit openings.

Mimic False Coral Snake

A bright forest snake offers a lesson about resemblance and careful observation.

Miravalles Volcano

Guanacaste’s tallest volcanic peak connects forests, water and geothermal energy.

Monstera

Large split leaves with natural holes make this cultivated climber easy to notice.

Montezuma Oropendola

A large chestnut bird with a yellow-sided tail.

Montezuma Waterfalls

The Montezuma waterfalls are a river attraction near the Pacific coast.

Mottled Shore Crab

Pachygrapsus transversus is a small shore crab that uses rocky intertidal habitat.

Mountain Alligator Lizard

An armored-looking lizard belongs to Costa Rica’s cool mountain forests.

Mountain Immortelle

Poro gigante is a South American tree widely planted and naturalized in Costa Rica.

Mourning Gecko

A tiny introduced gecko can live close to buildings and gardens.

Mussurana

An adult’s dark body looks very different from a brightly colored juvenile.

Nauyaca Waterfalls

Nauyaca is a waterfall system on the Barucito River with a high upper fall and a lower stepped fall.

Neotropic Cormorant

This dark waterbird catches fish by diving and swimming underwater.

Neotropical Whipsnake

A very long tail follows this slender snake through open woodland.

Northern Forest Racer

A fine-tailed forest snake carries narrow crossmarks through the shade.

Northern Naked-tailed Armadillo

The northern naked-tailed armadillo is a digging specialist.

Northern Neotropical River Otter

This river otter is a water-adapted member of the weasel family.

Northern Olingo

The northern olingo is a forest mammal that moves among branches and eats fruit, with nectar also reported in its diet.

Northern Raccoon

A masked nocturnal forager with a distinctly ringed tail.

Northern Silky Anteater

The northern silky anteater is tiny compared with the northern tamandua already in your guide.

Northern Tamandua

A climbing anteater with a dark vest pattern and a long sticky tongue.

O'Shaughnessy's Galliwasp

Short legs and a long smooth body help this forest lizard move through cover.

Ocellated Anadia

A slender forest lizard wears small eyelike markings along its sides.

Ocelot

A secretive patterned cat that hunts mostly on the forest floor.

Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

An olive or gray-green hard shell.

Orange-barred Sulphur Butterfly

Yellow wings.

Orange-fronted Parakeet

An agile green parakeet with an orange forehead and long pointed tail.

Orangeside Triggerfish

A triggerfish with a dark back and orange lower sides.

Orchid Bees

Often metallic colors.

Oropéndola Waterfall

Oropéndola falls into a pool within the Río Blanco canyon.

Osprey

The Osprey is a large raptor that catches fish with its feet.

Owl Butterfly

Large brown wings.

Pacific Chocolate Chip Sea Star

Nidorellia armata is commonly called a chocolate chip sea star.

Pacific Crown Conch

A heavy shell may carry a row of short shoulder spines.

Pacific Cubera Snapper

A powerful coastal snapper also called Pacific dog snapper.

Pacific Flower Sea Urchin

Toxopneustes roseus is an eastern Pacific urchin called the flower sea urchin.

Pacific Ghost Crab

Ocypode gaudichaudii is a Pacific ghost crab associated with sandy beaches.

Pacific Graysby

A small grouper with narrow bars and a dark cheek patch.

Pacific Land Hermit Crab

Coenobita compressus is a land hermit crab whose adult life is spent on land near the coast.

Pacific Sailfish

A very tall sail-like first dorsal fin.

Pacific Spiny Oyster

Ribs, spines and an irregular outline help this shell stand out.

Pacific White Sea Urchin

Tripneustes depressus is an eastern Pacific sea urchin also known as the white sea urchin.

Painted Wood Turtle

A wood turtle with colorful head and limb markings.

Panama Hermit Crab

Clibanarius panamensis is a marine hermit crab documented in Costa Rican coastal collections.

Panamanian Pearl Oyster

A pearl oyster is a two-part shell animal from Pacific coastal waters.

Panamic Fanged Blenny

A small rocky-shore fish with a blunt head.

Panamic Sergeant Major

A silver reef fish with a yellow back and five dark bars.

Parrot's Beak Heliconia

Parrot's beak heliconia is a cultivated ornamental with slim upright flower clusters.

Peach Palm / Pejibaye

Pejibaye is the fruit of the peach palm.

Pencil Sea Urchin

Eucidaris thouarsii is an eastern Pacific pencil urchin.

Picado's Pitviper

A powerful, camouflaged pitviper rests on the floor of wet forest.

Pineapple

Pineapple grows close to the ground in a rosette of pointed leaves.

Pink Shower Tree

Carao has pink flower clusters and unusually long, thick brown seed pods.

Pink Tellin

A pink bivalve adds color to the story of Costa Rica’s tidal flats.

Plantain

Plantains are cultivated Musa plants closely related to dessert bananas.

Poás Volcano

A broad volcanic crater reveals the forces that shape Costa Rica’s mountains.

Polished Tagelus Clam

This tidal-flat clam demonstrates how a scientific name can be updated.

Praying Mantises

Triangular head.

Proboscis Bat

The proboscis bat is a tiny insect-eating bat with an elongated muzzle.

Puffing Snake

A large forest snake shows how much color and pattern can vary within one species.

Puma

A long-tailed, unspotted wild cat that uses many forest types.

Pyramid Sea Star

Pharia pyramidata is a sea star associated with rocky seabeds.

Rainforest Hognosed Pitviper

An upturned snout and leaf-colored markings distinguish this small forest viper.

Razor Surgeonfish

A gray reef grazer with a bright yellow tail.

Red Button Ginger

Red button ginger is a native coastal plant especially associated with Costa Rica's Caribbean shore.

Red Ginger

Red ginger is an introduced ornamental grown in moist tropical gardens.

Red Mangrove

Follow the shape of the roots where land meets tidal water.

Red Postman Butterfly

Long black wings.

Red-legged Honeycreeper

A small bird with red feet and a slender curved bill.

Red-tailed Squirrel

Red-tailed squirrels are active during the day and move readily through trees.

Redback Coffee Snake

A tiny red-backed snake lives close to the forest floor.

Resplendent Quetzal

A cloud-forest fruit eater with brilliant green plumage.

Rhombic Cat-eyed Snake

Dark saddle-shaped blotches cross the back of a large-eyed snake.

Rice

Rice is a grass with narrow leaves and branched clusters of grain.

Rincón de la Vieja Volcano

Steam vents and bubbling mud reveal heat beneath a forested volcanic landscape.

Ringed Snail-eating Snake

A small branch-climbing snake has large eyes and contrasting body rings.

Río Agrio Waterfall

Río Agrio Waterfall lies in a river landscape influenced by volcanic minerals.

Río Celeste Waterfall

Río Celeste Waterfall is known for its striking blue pool and tropical forest setting.

Roadside Hawk

A compact hawk often seen near woodland edges.

Roble de Sabana

A native tree whose pink trumpet flowers brighten forest edges and open landscapes.

Roseate Spoonbill

A pink wading bird that sweeps a spoon-shaped bill through shallow water.

Rough Periwinkle

A tiny pointed shell can be an excellent observation challenge.

Rough Venus Clam

Fine crossing sculpture gives this small clam a textured surface.

Rough-clawed Rock Crab

Eriphia squamata is a shore crab with a broad, roughly hexagonal carapace and conspicuously textured claws.

Rough-ribbed Nerite

A sturdy, dark shell with rough ridges belongs to this rocky-shore snail.

Royal Tern

The Royal Tern is a large pale coastal tern with a substantial orange bill and ragged dark crest.

Ruddy Turnstone

A Ruddy Turnstone uses a short sturdy bill to flip small objects and search for hidden invertebrates.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

A green hummingbird with a rusty tail.

Sally Lightfoot Crab

Grapsus grapsus is a crab associated with rocky shores.

Salmon-bellied Racer

A slender racer carries a hint of pink beneath its brown-and-olive camouflage.

Salvin's Anole

A bark-patterned mountain anole stays hidden along the Pacific slopes of Talamanca.

San Fernando Waterfall

San Fernando is a tall waterfall visible within a dense forest landscape near Cinchona.

Scalloped Hammerhead Shark

A broad hammer-shaped head with a central front notch.

Scarlet Macaw

Red, yellow and blue wings brighten Costa Rica’s Pacific forests.

Scarlet Passionflower

Scarlet passionflower is a climbing vine with vivid red flowers and curling tendrils.

Scarlet-rumped Tanager

A tanager whose male has a brilliant scarlet rump.

Sea Grape

Sea grape is a coastal shrub or small tree with broad rounded leaves.

Semipalmated Plover

This small plover usually searches open flats with short runs and pauses.

Short-toothed Rocksnail

This rocky-shore snail offers a chance to study the shell opening.

Side-striped Palm Pitviper

A pale side stripe outlines a green snake resting among mountain branches.

Slender Anole

A delicate brown anole watches the understory from narrow twigs.

Smooth-ribbed Mangrove Cockle

This mangrove cockle resembles its knobby relative, but details differ.

Snowy Egret

This slender white egret often feeds actively in shallow coastal water.

South American Snapping Turtle

A long tail and powerful head distinguish this freshwater turtle.

Southern Bromeliad Boa

A small, secretive boa finds shelter among forest plants and tangled growth.

Southern Spotted Skunk

This small skunk has a dark coat patterned with broken pale stripes and patches.

Spanish Elm

Laurel is a native tree that can grow tall with a relatively slender trunk.

Speckled Racer

Small yellow-green speckles brighten a dark snake moving through low vegetation.

Spectacled Caiman

A crocodilian with a bony ridge between its eyes that suggests a pair of spectacles.

Spinner Dolphin

Spinner dolphins are slender dolphins with long narrow beaks.

Spiral Ginger

Spiraling leaves lead the eye to a red-orange cone of bracts.

Spotted Coffee Snake

A small dark snake lives within the quiet cover of forest leaves.

Spotted Rose Snapper

A silvery-pink Pacific fish with a distinctive dark spot high on its side.

Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpipers often bob their tails while walking along water edges.

Spotted Sharpnose Puffer

A tiny puffer with a pointed snout and pale speckles.

Starry Grouper

An olive grouper patterned with irregular white marks.

Stingless Bees

Usually small bees.

Stream Anole

A slim anole perches beside streams in humid forest.

Striped Glasstail

A finely striped ground snake travels through damp foothill and mountain forest.

Striped Hog-nosed Skunk

The striped hog-nosed skunk has a broad bare nose that helps distinguish it from other skunks.

Striped Marlin

A long bill and streamlined body.

Sugar Cane

Sugar cane is a tall grass with jointed stalks and long leaves.

Summer Tanager

A seasonal tanager whose adult male is red all over.

Sunbittern

A streamside bird whose patterned wings reveal a hidden surprise.

Swift Anole

A small brown anole disappears into the moss and leaves of mountain forest.

Swordfish

A long broad, flattened sword-like bill.

Taylor's Leaf-litter Lizard

An elongated lizard slips through the shaded layers of the forest floor.

Tayra

An agile forest mammal with a dark body and often paler head.

Tenorio Volcano

Forested volcanic peaks rise above the landscape of Río Celeste.

Terciopelo

A venomous pit viper found in Costa Rica.

Tesoro Escondido Waterfall

Tesoro Escondido combines a waterfall, neighboring pools and a forested mountain landscape.

Three-wattled Bellbird

Listen for a remarkable call high above the cloud-forest trail.

Threebanded Butterflyfish

A silver butterflyfish crossed by bold black bands.

Tiger Rat Snake

A long snake that can climb through vegetation.

Tiger Shark

Dark bars or spots, clearest in younger sharks.

Tiny Anole

Despite its English name, this mountain anole has a large and sturdy body.

Torch Ginger

A pink torch-shaped display rises on a stalk separate from the leafy canes.

Tricolored Heron

A white belly and pale stripe along the front of the neck distinguish this slender heron from the uniformly dark adult Little Blue Heron.

Tropical Almond

Tropical almond is introduced to Costa Rica and is now familiar along many beaches.

Tropical Kingbird

A yellow-bellied flycatcher often seen on an open perch.

Turkey Vulture

A soaring scavenger with a red adult head.

Turnip-tailed Gecko

A large native gecko with broad climbing toes.

Turquoise-browed Motmot

A turquoise eyebrow and racket-shaped tail make this bird memorable.

Turret Shell

Turrialba Volcano

Three summit craters tell part of Turrialba’s volcanic story.

Two-banded False Coral Snake

Paired dark bands make an eye-catching pattern on a slender forest snake.

Variegated Squirrel

A daytime tree-dweller whose colors vary across its range.

Victoria Waterfall

Victoria Waterfall drops into the Río Negro within a canyon.

Violet Sabrewing

A large hummingbird with violet plumage and white tail corners.

Virginia Opossum

Despite its name, the Virginia opossum's native range reaches Costa Rica.

Wagner Heliconia

Broad pink-and-cream bracts form a colorful upright flower display.

Walking Sticks

Twig-like body.

Water Anole

This streamside anole links a forest perch with cool running water.

Water Opossum

The water opossum, also called the yapok, is a marsupial adapted to life beside freshwater.

West Indian Manatee

The West Indian manatee is a large aquatic mammal with a rounded paddle-shaped tail and a whiskered muzzle.

Western Sandpiper

Western Sandpipers are tiny migratory shorebirds that feed on tidal flats.

Whale Shark

Pale spots and bars across a darker body.

White Anole

A small pale anole blends into the branches of Costa Rica’s upland forests.

White Hawk

A pale forest raptor that watches patiently for prey.

White Ibis

A long, downward-curving bill.

White Mangrove

Rounded leaves and two tiny stalk glands are useful mangrove clues.

White Peacock Butterfly

Pale wings.

White Witch Moth

Very broad pale wings.

White-faced Capuchin

A social monkey with a pale face, shoulders and chest.

White-lipped Mud Turtle

A small freshwater turtle whose pale mouth margins help explain its name.

White-lipped Peccary

A social forest mammal whose large herds need connected habitat.

White-necked Jacobin

A hummingbird with a blue hood and a mostly white tail.

White-nosed Coati

A long-snouted forest forager often seen with its tail held upright.

White-tailed Deer

A browsing mammal whose raised tail reveals a white underside.

White-throated Magpie-Jay

A sociable jay with a sweeping blue tail and curled crest.

Whitetip Reef Shark

White tips on the first dorsal fin and upper tail fin.

Willet

A Willet has a sturdy straight bill and long grayish legs.

Wood Stork

The Wood Stork is a large white wader with black flight feathers and a mostly bare dark adult head.

Wood's Anole

A long-legged mountain anole rests among the leaves of cool, humid forest.

Wrinkled Penshell

A long, fan-like penshell lives partly buried in the bottom.

Yellow Snapper

A snapper with warm red and yellow colors.

Yellow-bellied Leaf-toed Gecko

A native gecko with expanded toe tips and small raised scales on its back.

Yellow-bellied Sea Snake

A marine snake with a dark back, yellow underside and a flattened paddle-shaped tail.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

This sturdy heron often hunts crabs and other crustaceans around coastal wetlands.

Yellow-headed Gecko

Adult males wear a golden-orange head above a darker body.

Yellow-marked Dwarf Gecko

A tiny forest-floor gecko shows how much wildlife can fit beneath a single leaf.

Yellow-spotted Night Lizard

Yellow spots brighten the dark body of a secretive forest lizard.

Yellow-throated Toucan

A large toucan with a yellow throat and chestnut-toned bill.

Yellowfin Tuna

A streamlined, torpedo-shaped body.

Zebra Longwing Butterfly

Long narrow black wings.

Zuleika Longwing Butterfly

Long dark wings.