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Nature Field Guide

Gardens

Explore wildlife, plants and trees. Learn what to look for and where to find them.

All Nature

30 profiles

Nature Field Guide

Baltimore Oriole

Spanish name
Bolsero norteño
Scientific name
Icterus galbula
Birds Farms & Cultivated Land · Forest Edge · Gardens · Open Woodland

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “Did that bird travel here?”

Tati: “Baltimore orioles connect Costa Rica with places farther north.”

Identification

Key Features of the Baltimore Oriole

  • Male orange body and black head

  • White wingbar

  • Slender pointed bill

Habitat & range

A migrant and nonbreeding visitor, generally September to early May. Occurs on both slopes, especially the northern Pacific and Central Valley, in wooded gardens, edges and plantations.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Migrants depend on suitable habitat across their full annual journey. Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

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Nature Field Guide

Blue-gray Tanager

Spanish name
Tangara azuleja
Scientific name
Thraupis episcopus
Birds Forest Edge · Gardens · Open Woodland

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “It looks like a piece of the sky!”

Tati: “Let’s see where the blue is pale and where it is brighter.”

Identification

Key Features of the Blue-gray Tanager

  • Powder blue-gray body

  • Brighter blue wings and shoulder

  • Dark eye and stout bill

Habitat & range

Widespread in gardens, towns and semi-open wooded areas, mainly below about 2000 m. In the dry northwest it is less frequent and associated with moister sites near homes.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

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Nature Field Guide

Central American Coral Snake

Spanish name
Coral macho
Scientific name
Micrurus nigrocinctus
Reptiles Farms & Cultivated Land · Gardens · Open Woodland

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico and Tati invite you to learn about the central american coral snake. Create a ring-pattern drawing from a verified photograph. Write the rule: observe snakes from a distance and tell an adult.

Identification

Key Features of the Central American Coral Snake

  • Red, pale and black rings encircling the body.

  • Relatively small head with little separation from the neck.

  • A slender-to-moderately robust cylindrical body.

Habitat & range

Pacific-slope lowlands and premontane areas, including parts of the Central Valley.

Conservation & care

Never approach, touch, catch or try to move any snake, even if it appears harmless or dead. Keep children and pets away, step back calmly and tell an adult or guide. Do not use colors, head shape or this card to judge safety.

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Nature Field Guide

Clay-colored Thrush

Spanish name
Mirlo pardo / Yigüirro
Scientific name
Turdus grayi
Birds Farms & Cultivated Land · Forest Edge · Gardens · Open Woodland

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “That brown bird has a beautiful song!”

Tati: “That is the yigüirro. We can learn its voice as well as its colors.”

Identification

Key Features of the Clay-colored Thrush

  • Warm brown plumage

  • Yellowish bill

  • Fine throat streaks and orange-brown eye

Habitat & range

Widespread across Costa Rica from lowlands to about 2450 m, in gardens, farms, secondary growth and wooded urban areas. Less numerous in the dry northwest and higher mountains.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Common House Gecko

Spanish name
Geco casero común
Scientific name
Hemidactylus frenatus
Reptiles Forest Edge · Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “What helps this reptile fit into its habitat?”

Tati: “Let’s look at its shape, colors and surroundings while giving it plenty of space.”

Identification

Key Features of the Common House Gecko

  • Pale gray-to-beige coloration

  • Broad spreading toe pads

  • Often on walls near night lighting

Habitat & range

Buildings, gardens and disturbed habitats across much of Costa Rica, especially warm lowlands and settled areas. Documented at Tirimbina and San Luis de Monteverde.

Conservation & care

Observe with an adult from permitted paths. Do not touch, chase, catch or feed reptiles. Leave bark, logs, stones and leaf litter in place. Keep pets away and allow an open escape route.

Threats & pressures

Prevent accidental transport of introduced geckos and their eggs in belongings or plant materials. Protect native reptile habitats and avoid moving animals between places.

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Nature Field Guide

Common Squirrel-Cuckoo

Spanish name
Cuco ardilla
Scientific name
Piaya cayana
Birds Forest Edge · Gardens · Open Woodland · Tropical Dry Forest · Tropical Rainforest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “That tail is longer than I expected!”

Tati: “Follow its movement through the branches without chasing it.”

Identification

Key Features of the Common Squirrel-Cuckoo

  • Rusty upperparts

  • Very long graduated white-tipped tail

  • Greenish-yellow bill

Habitat & range

Widespread in wooded habitats on both slopes, including forest canopy, secondary growth, plantations and tree-rich gardens. It can occur well above the lowlands where trees remain.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

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Nature Field Guide

Copper Anole

Spanish name
Anolis cobrizo
Scientific name
Anolis cupreus
Reptiles Forest Edge · Gardens · Tropical Dry Forest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “What can we learn from this reptile’s shape?”

Tati: “Let’s notice its markings and habitat while leaving it plenty of space.”

Identification

Key Features of the Copper Anole

  • Tan-to-coppery brown body

  • Variable spots, bars or darker markings

  • Long tail and low-perching posture

Habitat & range

Northwestern and western Pacific slope, including Guanacaste, Monteverde and Quepos, with populations in the Central Valley.

Conservation & care

Observe from permitted paths with an adult. Do not touch, chase, catch or feed reptiles. Leave bark, stones, logs and leaf litter in place. Keep pets away and give animals an open escape route.

Threats & pressures

Protect natural shelters and connected habitat. Avoid collection, unnecessary clearing and deliberate killing. Leave wildlife in its habitat and support responsible observation.

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Nature Field Guide

Expanded Lobster Claw

Spanish name
Platanilla / Caliguate
Scientific name
Heliconia latispatha
Other Plants Forest Edge · Gardens · Tropical Rainforest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “An upright open arrangement of colorful bracts rises among broad green leaves.”

Tati: “Let’s notice the leaves, flowers and habitat without disturbing the plant.”

Identification

Key Features of the Expanded Lobster Claw

  • Broad banana-like leaves

  • Upright open inflorescence

  • Separated orange-to-red bracts holding small flowers

Habitat & range

Both slopes, including Guanacaste, the Northern Plains, Caribbean, Central Pacific and Osa; also cultivated in gardens.

Conservation & care

Explore with an adult on permitted paths. Observe and photograph without picking leaves, flowers or fruits. Do not taste plants or let pets chew them. Avoid climbing trees and disturbing roots, seedlings or visiting wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect suitable habitat, mature trees and natural regeneration. Avoid trampling, unauthorized clearing and collection.

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Nature Field Guide

Golden Trumpet

Spanish name
Campana amarilla
Scientific name
Allamanda cathartica
Other Plants Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico wants to sketch the plant’s shapes. Tati suggests looking for three clues before guessing its name. What would you notice first?

Identification

Key Features of the Golden Trumpet

  • Large yellow funnel-shaped flowers

  • Glossy leaves in whorls

  • Climbing or sprawling woody stems

Habitat & range

Gardens and disturbed moist to seasonally dry sites.

Conservation & care

Observe from paths and leave leaves, bark, flowers and fruits attached. Do not taste wild plants or offer them to pets. Ask a knowledgeable guide to confirm the species. Avoid contact with milky sap.

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Nature Field Guide

Great Kiskadee

Spanish name
Bienteveo grande
Scientific name
Pitangus sulphuratus
Birds Estuary & Mangroves · Gardens · Open Woodland · Rivers & Streams · Wetlands

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “It sounds like it is calling its own name!”

Tati: “Let’s also check its bold eyebrow and strong bill.”

Identification

Key Features of the Great Kiskadee

  • Black-and-white head pattern

  • Bright yellow belly

  • Heavy bill and reddish-brown wings

Habitat & range

Open wooded country and settled areas, often near water, on both slopes, mainly below about 1500 m. Less frequent in some southern Pacific areas; not a high-mountain specialist.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

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Nature Field Guide

Groove-billed Ani

Spanish name
Garrapatero piquiestriado / Tijo
Scientific name
Crotophaga sulcirostris
Birds Farms & Cultivated Land · Gardens · Open Woodland

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “Its beak has tiny lines!”

Tati: “Those grooves are helpful, but we need a clear view.”

Identification

Key Features of the Groove-billed Ani

  • All-black plumage

  • Long loosely held tail

  • Heavy upper bill with grooves

Habitat & range

Open and shrubby country, pasture margins and settled areas across Costa Rica, reaching middle elevations. It is less frequent in much of the southern Pacific, where Smooth-billed Ani predominates.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Guaria Morada Orchid

Spanish name
Guaria morada
Scientific name
Guarianthe skinneri
Other Plants Forest Edge · Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “Costa Rica’s national flower carries pink-purple blossoms above fleshy leaves.”

Tati: “Let’s notice the leaves, flowers and habitat without disturbing the plant.”

Identification

Key Features of the Guaria Morada Orchid

  • Pink-purple orchid flowers with a shaped lip

  • Fleshy oblong leaves

  • Thickened stem bases and roots on a support

Habitat & range

Native Central American orchid, also cultivated in Costa Rican homes and gardens. The Greater Metropolitan Area supports both native flora records and a strong garden tradition.

Conservation & care

Do not collect wild orchids, remove roots or climb supporting trees. Observe with an adult from the ground. Any garden plant should come from a documented lawful nursery source.

Threats & pressures

Wild collection and habitat loss are conservation concerns. Leave forest plants in place and support protection of their habitat.

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Nature Field Guide

Hanging Lobster Claw

Spanish name
Platanillo colgante
Scientific name
Heliconia rostrata
Other Plants Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico wants to sketch the plant’s shapes. Tati suggests looking for three clues before guessing its name. What would you notice first?

Identification

Key Features of the Hanging Lobster Claw

  • Hanging zigzag inflorescence

  • Red bracts with yellow-green tips

  • Broad banana-like leaves

Habitat & range

Planted tropical gardens.

Conservation & care

Observe from paths and leave leaves, bark, flowers and fruits attached. Do not taste wild plants or offer them to pets. Ask a knowledgeable guide to confirm the species.

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Nature Field Guide

Hoffmann’s Woodpecker

Spanish name
Carpintero de Hoffmann
Scientific name
Melanerpes hoffmannii
Birds Farms & Cultivated Land · Forest Edge · Gardens · Open Woodland · Tropical Dry Forest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “Its back looks like a striped pattern!”

Tati: “Look at the crown too. Males and females differ there.”

Identification

Key Features of the Hoffmann’s Woodpecker

  • Black-and-white barred back

  • Yellow nape

  • Male has a red crown

Habitat & range

Strongest in the northern Pacific and Central Valley, extending south toward Tarcoles and locally into Rio Frio. Occurs along parts of the Reventazon corridor; avoid treating all Caribbean rainforest as typical habitat.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Ice Cream Bean

Spanish name
Guaba
Scientific name
Inga edulis
Trees Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico wants to sketch the tree’s silhouette. Tati suggests looking for three clues before guessing its name. What would you notice first?

Identification

Key Features of the Ice Cream Bean

  • Very long ribbed pods

  • Paired leaflets

  • Winged central leaf stalk

Habitat & range

Moist forest margins, farms and planted orchards.

Conservation & care

Observe from paths and leave leaves, bark, flowers and fruits attached. Do not taste wild plants or offer them to pets. Ask a knowledgeable guide to confirm the species.

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Nature Field Guide

Lesson’s Motmot

Spanish name
Momoto coroniazul
Scientific name
Momotus lessonii
Birds Forest Edge · Gardens · Open Woodland · Tropical Dry Forest · Tropical Rainforest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “Its tail has tiny paddles!”

Tati: “They are feather tips. Let’s compare the crown with our other motmot.”

Identification

Key Features of the Lesson’s Motmot

  • Blue crown with dark center

  • Dark eye mask

  • Long central tail feathers with racket tips

Habitat & range

Pacific lowlands and middle elevations, the Central Valley and locally northern areas. In the dry northwest it is associated especially with gallery forest. Most Caribbean lowlands are outside its usual range.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Monstera

Spanish name
Costilla de Adán
Scientific name
Monstera deliciosa
Other Plants Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “Large split leaves with natural holes make this cultivated climber easy to notice.”

Tati: “Let’s notice the leaves, flowers and habitat without disturbing the plant.”

Identification

Key Features of the Monstera

  • Large heart-shaped mature leaves

  • Natural holes and deep splits

  • Climbing stem with aerial roots

Habitat & range

Cultivated gardens and collections, including plants documented at the University of Costa Rica campus in San José.

Conservation & care

Observe without handling. Do not chew or taste leaves, stems or unripe fruit. Keep children and pets from mouthing plant parts. Ask the garden owner before approaching a planted specimen.

Threats & pressures

Protect suitable habitat, mature trees and natural regeneration. Avoid trampling, unauthorized clearing and collection.

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Nature Field Guide

Mountain Immortelle

Spanish name
Poró gigante
Scientific name
Erythrina poeppigiana
Trees Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico wants to sketch the tree’s silhouette. Tati suggests looking for three clues before guessing its name. What would you notice first?

Identification

Key Features of the Mountain Immortelle

  • Orange flower clusters

  • Three leaflets per leaf

  • Large shade tree in farm landscapes

Habitat & range

Planted shade areas, farms and disturbed moist landscapes.

Conservation & care

Observe from paths and leave leaves, bark, flowers and fruits attached. Do not taste wild plants or offer them to pets. Ask a knowledgeable guide to confirm the species.

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Nature Field Guide

Mourning Gecko

Spanish name
Geco enlutado
Scientific name
Lepidodactylus lugubris
Reptiles Forest Edge · Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “What clues help us recognize this reptile?”

Tati: “Let’s notice its shape, markings and habitat from a respectful distance.”

Identification

Key Features of the Mourning Gecko

  • Small pale-brown body

  • Paired dark back markings

  • Adhesive toe pads

Habitat & range

Buildings and vegetation in established introduced populations, including documented Pacific coastal areas and Cabo Blanco.

Conservation & care

Observe without catching or moving the gecko. Do not transport reptiles, eggs or occupied plant material between sites. Keep pets away and wash hands after ordinary outdoor exploration.

Threats & pressures

Protect habitat connections and natural shelters. Avoid road mortality, collection and deliberate killing. Leave reptiles in their habitat rather than keeping or relocating them.

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Nature Field Guide

Parrot’s Beak Heliconia

Spanish name
Platanillo
Scientific name
Heliconia psittacorum
Other Plants Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico wants to sketch the plant’s shapes. Tati suggests looking for three clues before guessing its name. What would you notice first?

Identification

Key Features of the Parrot’s Beak Heliconia

  • Upright slender flower clusters

  • Pointed orange to red bracts

  • Narrow lance-shaped leaves

Habitat & range

Planted tropical gardens and garden borders.

Conservation & care

Observe from paths and leave leaves, bark, flowers and fruits attached. Do not taste wild plants or offer them to pets. Ask a knowledgeable guide to confirm the species.

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Nature Field Guide

Red Ginger

Spanish name
Jengibre rojo
Scientific name
Alpinia purpurata
Other Plants Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico wants to sketch the plant’s shapes. Tati suggests looking for three clues before guessing its name. What would you notice first?

Identification

Key Features of the Red Ginger

  • Upright red or pink bract spike

  • Small pale true flowers

  • Long simple leaves on leafy stems

Habitat & range

Moist planted gardens.

Conservation & care

Observe from paths and leave leaves, bark, flowers and fruits attached. Do not taste wild plants or offer them to pets. Ask a knowledgeable guide to confirm the species.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Spanish name
Mielero patirrojo
Scientific name
Cyanerpes cyaneus
Birds Farms & Cultivated Land · Forest Edge · Gardens · Tropical Dry Forest · Tropical Rainforest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “Why are its feet so red?”

Tati: “Those red legs help us identify it, even when the body colors differ.”

Identification

Key Features of the Red-legged Honeycreeper

  • Bright red legs

  • Slender decurved bill

  • Breeding male blue with turquoise crown

Habitat & range

Wooded lowlands, forest edges, gardens and plantations. Common in northern Pacific areas and parts of Rio Frio; elsewhere on the Caribbean slope it is more local. Also occurs in the southern Pacific.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Spanish name
Colibrí rabirrufo
Scientific name
Amazilia tzacatl
Birds Farms & Cultivated Land · Forest Edge · Gardens · Tropical Rainforest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “That hummingbird has a rusty tail!”

Tati: “Let’s check its bill and belly too.”

Identification

Key Features of the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

  • Rusty rufous tail

  • Green head and chest

  • Reddish bill with dark tip

Habitat & range

Widespread on both slopes from sea level locally to about 1850 m. Flowering gardens, secondary growth and river corridors are useful habitat; occurrence is more local in the dry northwest.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Scarlet-rumped Tanager

Spanish name
Tangara de Passerini
Scientific name
Ramphocelus passerinii
Birds Forest Edge · Gardens · Tropical Rainforest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “I saw a bright red flash near its tail!”

Tati: “That rump patch is the clue. The male’s head stays black.”

Identification

Key Features of the Scarlet-rumped Tanager

  • Male black with scarlet rump

  • Pale silvery bill

  • Female plumage differs strongly

Habitat & range

Humid lowlands and foothills, secondary growth and wooded gardens on the Caribbean and Pacific slopes. This profile follows the current Costa Rican checklist's combined Scarlet-rumped Tanager treatment, including the southern Pacific form formerly called Cherrie's Tanager.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Summer Tanager

Spanish name
Tangara veranera
Scientific name
Piranga rubra
Birds Forest Edge · Gardens · Open Woodland · Tropical Dry Forest · Tropical Rainforest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “Even its wings are red!”

Tati: “That helps us compare it with the scarlet tanager.”

Identification

Key Features of the Summer Tanager

  • Adult male entirely red

  • Hefty pale bill

  • Female yellowish and young males patchy

Habitat & range

A migrant and nonbreeding visitor, generally mid-September through April. Uses forest, edges and wooded gardens on both slopes, with fewer birds at higher elevations.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Migrants depend on suitable habitat across their full annual journey. Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Torch Ginger

Spanish name
Bastón de emperador
Scientific name
Etlingera elatior
Other Plants Gardens

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

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

Tati: “Let’s notice the leaves, flowers and habitat without disturbing the plant.”

Identification

Key Features of the Torch Ginger

  • Tall ginger-like leafy canes

  • Separate leafless flowering stalk

  • Pink torch-shaped bracts

Habitat & range

Cultivated tropical gardens, including a documented example near Las Horquetas in Sarapiquí, Heredia.

Conservation & care

Explore with an adult on permitted paths. Observe and photograph without picking leaves, flowers or fruits. Do not taste plants or let pets chew them. Avoid climbing trees and disturbing roots, seedlings or visiting wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect suitable habitat, mature trees and natural regeneration. Avoid trampling, unauthorized clearing and collection.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Tropical Kingbird

Spanish name
Tirano tropical
Scientific name
Tyrannus melancholicus
Birds Farms & Cultivated Land · Forest Edge · Gardens · Open Woodland

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “That bird keeps returning to the same branch!”

Tati: “A perch gives a flycatcher a place to watch for food.”

Identification

Key Features of the Tropical Kingbird

  • Gray head without bold white eyebrow

  • Yellow underparts

  • Long dark bill and brown tail

Habitat & range

Widespread in open country, farms, towns and forest clearings, mainly below about 1850 m and less commonly higher. Regional tags apply only where suitable open habitat exists.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Wagner Heliconia

Spanish name
Platanilla
Scientific name
Heliconia wagneriana
Other Plants Forest Edge · Gardens · Tropical Rainforest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “Broad pink-and-cream bracts form a colorful upright flower display.”

Tati: “Let’s notice the leaves, flowers and habitat without disturbing the plant.”

Identification

Key Features of the Wagner Heliconia

  • Large paddle-shaped leaves

  • Upright inflorescence

  • Broad pink-red bracts with pale margins and green tips

Habitat & range

Humid Caribbean lowlands and Northern Plains, the Central Pacific and Osa, as well as cultivated gardens.

Conservation & care

Explore with an adult on permitted paths. Observe and photograph without picking leaves, flowers or fruits. Do not taste plants or let pets chew them. Avoid climbing trees and disturbing roots, seedlings or visiting wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect suitable habitat, mature trees and natural regeneration. Avoid trampling, unauthorized clearing and collection.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

White-necked Jacobin

Spanish name
Jacobino nuquiblanco
Scientific name
Florisuga mellivora
Birds Forest Edge · Gardens · Tropical Rainforest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “Its tail opened like a little white fan!”

Tati: “The white tail and blue hood are useful clues in a male.”

Identification

Key Features of the White-necked Jacobin

  • Male has blue hood

  • White belly and tail in males

  • Green back and white nape collar

Habitat & range

Humid lowlands and lower slopes of the Caribbean and southern Pacific, especially forest canopy, clearings and flowering edges. It is not a general dry-northwest garden hummingbird.

Conservation & care

Observe quietly from trails or established viewing areas. Give nests, roosts and feeding birds space. Do not handle, chase or lure birds with playback. Keep pets away from wildlife.

Threats & pressures

Protect native vegetation, reduce collision hazards around glass and keep cats away from birds. These are practical prevention priorities, not a claim of a measured decline at a specific Costa Rican site.

View full profile →

Nature Field Guide

Yellow-headed Gecko

Spanish name
Geco cabeza amarilla
Scientific name
Gonatodes albogularis
Reptiles Gardens · Tropical Dry Forest · Tropical Rainforest

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico: “What clues help us recognize this reptile?”

Tati: “Let’s notice its shape, markings and habitat from a respectful distance.”

Identification

Key Features of the Yellow-headed Gecko

  • Adult male with yellow-orange head

  • Darker male body

  • Small slender toes and round pupils

Habitat & range

Warm lowland woodland, forest edges and sheltered garden settings on both slopes.

Conservation & care

Observe with an adult from permitted paths. Do not catch, chase, touch or feed reptiles. Leave bark, logs, rocks and leaf litter in place. Keep pets away and allow animals an open escape route.

Threats & pressures

Protect habitat connections and natural shelters. Avoid road mortality, collection and deliberate killing. Leave reptiles in their habitat rather than keeping or relocating them.

View full profile →

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Our Pura Vida Promise

At Tico Explorers™, we encourage families and children to explore with curiosity, learn with kindness, and care for God’s creation.

Our adventures invite families to notice the world together, respect local communities, and leave the places they visit cared for.

 

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My Tico Explorer Experience

Save nature, towns, discoveries and learning adventures for your next experience.

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