Explore Central Valley

The Central Valley is home to Costa Rica’s capital and many neighboring towns, with farming landscapes and mountains beyond the urban centers. Discover museums, markets and local traditions alongside the natural world. Discover the stories shared by local people, support their work and help keep community spaces and natural surroundings clean.

tico-bird-thraupis-episcopus

October 17, 2026

Blue-gray Tanager

A powder-blue bird of gardens and wooded clearings.

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October 17, 2026

Hoffmann’s Woodpecker

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

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October 17, 2026

Great Kiskadee

A loud flycatcher with a yellow belly and striped head.

tico-bird-turdus-grayi

October 17, 2026

Clay-colored Thrush

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

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October 17, 2026

Tropical Kingbird

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

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October 17, 2026

Lesson’s Motmot

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

tico-bird-cyanerpes-cyaneus

October 17, 2026

Red-legged Honeycreeper

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

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October 17, 2026

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

A green hummingbird with a rusty tail.

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October 17, 2026

Common Squirrel-Cuckoo

A rusty forest cuckoo with an exceptionally long tail.

tico-bird-crotophaga-sulcirostris

October 17, 2026

Groove-billed Ani

A social black bird with grooves on its heavy bill.

tico-bird-icterus-galbula

October 17, 2026

Baltimore Oriole

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

tico-bird-piranga-rubra

October 17, 2026

Summer Tanager

A seasonal tanager whose adult male is red all over.