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Trogons, Hoffmann’s and Red-crowned Woodpeckers, and Northern and Central American Beardless

Tyrannulets.

Much of the Pacific coast is rocky, alternating with sandy beaches, and there are extensive areas of

mangroves, home to Mangrove Rail, Panama Flycatcher, Mangrove Vireo, and the endemic Mangrove

Hummingbird. Mainly in the Gulf of Nicoya, large areas of intertidal mudflats, along with bordering salt

ponds, are attractive to migrant shorebirds and other waterbirds. Quite different, most of the Caribbean

coast comprises steep sandy beaches backed by coconut plantations and in some places swamp forest, as

found in Tortuguero National Park on the northern Caribbean coast.

Costa Rica’s marine avifauna is not overly well known, but its secrets are slowly yielding to a small

cadre of pioneering seabird enthusiasts. Pacific offshore waters are home to several widespread tropical

seabirds, mainly boobies and terns, plus seasonally to migrants from distant regions—such as Tahiti and

Parkinson’s Petrels, plus Christmas and Galapagos Shearwaters from breeding grounds to the south; and

Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Black and Least Storm Petrels from the north. Caribbean waters are poor in

pelagic species, home to some boobies and terns, plus the occasional tropicbird or shearwater.

To summarize, the main terrestrial regions in Costa Rica are the Pacific slope (including the drier north

Pacific slope, Central Valley, and wetter south Pacific slope); the highlands (comprising the Northern,

Central, and Talamanca Mountains); and the Caribbean slope, including the wet Caribbean foothills.

Because Costa Rica is such a small country, even a short visit may allow the visitor opportunity to sample

most of these regions and habitats—and with them a remarkable diversity of birds.