Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

OTHER NAMES: American Black Vulture
Latin Etymology: Coragyps ("raven vulture") atratus ("clothed in black")

Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: Coragyps atratus brasiliensis
Weight: 1.2-3kg  /  Length: 56-74cm  /  Wingspan: 1.3-1.67m
NO UK STATUS/ IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Found from New York to nearly the Southern most tip of South America, the Black Vulture (not to be confused with the Eurasian Black Vulture) is a versatile scavenger found across a wide range of habitats and climate zones.  Unlike the turkey vulture, they are a sight based scavenger and will follow other species to carcasses if they cannot find one themselves. They are also known to congregate at landfill sites to feed, and are generally opportunistic in their hunting.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Cathartidae
Genus: Coragyps
SUBSPECIES: C. a. atratus, C. a. foetens, C. a. brasiliensis (none universally recognised)

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA 

A widespread and fairly common resident.
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at Tarcoles

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Laughing Falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Herpetotheres ("mows down reptiles") cachinnans ("laughing")

Laughing Falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: Herpetotheres cachinnans cachinnans
Weight: 400-800g  /  Length: 45-56cm  /  Wingspan: 79-84cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A somewhat taxonomically distinct falcon with it's own family genus - the laughing falcon is a specialist in feeding on snakes which it drops down onto from a high perch. As it's prey is snakes it is mainly associated with lowlands where they are more numerous. As snake hunters, some indigenous cultures associate them with the healing of snake bites. The english name comes from it's somewhat laughing like calls.

Related Species:
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Genus: Herpetotheres
SUBSPECIES: H. c. cachinnans, H. c. fulvescens

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Halcón Reidor
A fairly common resident
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at Tarcoles

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Chaetura  ("bristle spine tail") vauxi (for scientist William Vaux)

Two Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: Chaetura vauxi richmondi

Weight: 18g  /  Length: 10-11cm  /  Wingspan: 30cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A small swift species said to have a cigar shaped torso, Vaux's Swifts breed in the Pacific North West as well as having resident populations in Central America. Unlike many swift species, their natural habitat is nesting in old hollow trees, but in places have adapted to human settlements and will nest in buildings. The subspecies here is apparently occassionally considered a distinct species - the Dusky Backed Swift (Chaetura richmondi).

Related Species:

Order: Apodiformes
Family: Apodidae

Genus: Chaetura

SUBSPECIES: C. v. aphanes, C. v. gaumeri, C. v. ochropyia, C. v. richmondi, C. v. warneri, C. v. tamaulipensis, C. v. vauxi

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Vencejo de Vaux ("Vaux's Swift)
A locally common species.
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at Tarcoles

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Thalasseus ("fisherman") maximus ("greatest")

Two non-breeding Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 350-500g  /  Length: 45-50cm  /  Wingspan: 130cm
NO UK STATUS/ IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The joint second largest of all terns, second only to the Caspian, the Royal Tern is a large sturdy bird with a distinct orange beak that would differentiate it from other large terns within it's range. They are an exclusively coastal species, found around the Carribean and Baja Califoria, as well as the South East of South America year round, as well as Central America in the Winter.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes

Family: Laridae (Formerly Sternidae)

Genus: Thalasseus

SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Charrán Real
Wintering migrant
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at Tarcoles

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Chloroceryle ("green + a bird mentioned by Aristole) americana (of America)

Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana)  at Alajuela, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: Chloroceryle americana septentrionalis
Weight: 35-40g  /  Length: 29cm  /  Wingspan: 27cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A widely distributed species found from Texas to Southern Argentina including almost the entire of South America East of the Andes. It is a fairly typical kingfisher in behaviour, hunting small fish and other aquatic prey by diving from a perch - in this instance, the wires above the crocodile enclosure at Rescarte Wildlife Rescue Centre.

Related Species:
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Genus: Chloroceryle
SUBSPECIES: C. a. hackisukai, C. a. septentrionalis, C. a. americana, C. a. mathewsii, C. a. cabanisii

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Martín Pescador Verde ("Green Fishing Martin")
A locally common resident.
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: One bird seen at Alajuela,

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)

OTHER NAMES: Flinthead, Stonehead, Ironhead, Gourdhead, Preacher
Latin Etymology:  Mycteria ("nose/snout") americana ("of America")

Adult Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 2-3.3kg  /  Height: 83-115cm  /  Wingspan: 140-180cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern 

A species largely found from Nicaragua downwards, but also with colonies in Florida and Cuba, making it the most Northerly distributed Stork of the Americas. It requires large trees near water for esting, particularly being associated with estuaries. It often hunts non visually, using it's bill to detect prey by touch in murkey waters.

Related Species:
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ciconidae
Genus: Mycteria
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Tántalo Americano

A locally common resident.
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at Tarcoles

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology:  Platalea ("spoonbill") ajaja (name in Tupi language)

Adult Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: N/A 
Weight: 1.2-1.8kg  /  Length: 61-86cm  /  Wingspan: 122-133cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Similarly to flamingos, roseate spoonbills gain their distinctive pink coloration from their diet - speciedifically carotenoids found within their primarily invertibrate prey. They are distributed from the Caribbean to Argentina, primarily in coastal regions and wetlands.  They represent part of the oldest branch from the core spoonbill lineage, but while some expects split them into a separate genus Ajaia with the yellow-billed spoonbill, most keep all spoonbills within Platalea.

Related Species:
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Genus: Platalea
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Espátula Rosada (pink spatula)

Locally common in suitable habitat
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at Tarcoles

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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American White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)

OTHER NAMES: White Ibis
Latin Etymology:  Eudocimus ("esteemed") albus ("white")

American White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: Eudocimus albus albus
Weight: 600-1200g  /  Length: 53-105cm  /  Wingspan: 90-105cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A widespread species of countries around the Caribean, although also found on the Pacific Coasts of Central America and into the Orinoco. They can in the right circumstances be found breeding in huge colonies where, like other ibis species, they feed on a mix of aquatic prey and scavenging. While they do frequent esturine areas they do prefer access to freshwater foraging areas and significant colonies have collapsed in the past when hurricanes have altered the salinity of their feeding grounds.

Related Species:
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Genus: Eudocimus
SUBSPECIES: E. a. albus, E. a. ramobustorum

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA 

A localised coastal species.
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: One bird seen at Tarcoles

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Tachybaptus ("quick to sink under") dominicus ("of Hispaniola")

Breeding plumage Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus)  at San Jose, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: Tachybaptus dominicus brachypterus
Weight: 112-118g  /  Length: 21-27cm  /  Wingspan: 48-53cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

As the name suggests, the smallest of all grebes with a range spanning from the Southern Border of the USA down to Uruguay where it prefers bodies of water with extensive vegetation for breeding such as ponds, lakes marshes and even ditches, even sometimes breeding in temporary bodies of water. They are able to breed throughout the year, using a floating nest of vegetation.

Related Species:
Order: Podicipidiformes
Family: Podicipedidae
Genus: Tachybaptus
SUBSPECIES: T. d. brachypterus, T. d. bangsi, T. d. dominicus, T. d. eisenmanni, T. d. brachyrhynchus

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - zampullín macacito

A locally common species on suitable bodies of water.
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen in San Jose

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Neotropical Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum)

OTHER NAMES: Olivaceous Cormorant
Latin Etymology:  Nannopterum ("small wing") brasilianum ("of Brazil")

Neotropical Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: Nannopterum brasilianum brasilianum
Weight: 1.1-1.5kg  /  Length: 64cm  /  Wingspan: 100cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

As the name so conveniently implies, the Neotropical Cormorant is the common cormorant of much of Central and South America, with a range that extends up into the Gulf of Mexico. Similarly to the Great Cormorant in Japan, it has been used by the Uru People of Peru for fishing. Unusually for a cormorant, it can sometimes be found perching on wires.

Related Species:
Order: Suliformes
Family: Phalacrocoracidae
Genus: Nannopterum
SUBSPECIES: N. b. mexicanum, N. b. brasilianum

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Cormorán Neotropical 

A locally common species at the Coast and estuaries
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Numerous at Tarcoles

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)

OTHER NAMES: Snakebird, American Darter, Water Turkey
Latin Etymology: Anhinga (Tupi word approximating "Devil bird") anhinga (Tupi word approximating "Devil bird")

Adult Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) at Alajuela, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: Unclear
Weight: 1-1.35kg  /  Length: 89cm  /  Wingspan: 114cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

One of the more widely distributed of the four darter species ranging from the Southern United States in the North to Uruguay in the South. As with the rest of their family they are fishing specialists, particularly favouring warm shallow waters such as rivers and marshland where they dive for fish and other aquatic prey. 

Related Species:
Order: Suliformes
Family: Anhingidae
Genus: Anhinga
SUBSPECIES: A. a. anhinga, A. a. leucogaster

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Anhinga Americana ("American Anhinga")

A widespread but local resident.
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen  over Hotel Robledal, Alajuela

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca)

OTHER NAMES: Ferruginous Pochard, Common white-eye, White-eyed Pochard, Fudge Duck
Latin Etymology: Aythya (a seabird named by Aristotle) nyroca (Pochard)

Adult female Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) at Brampton Pits, Cambridgeshire - October 2025

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 460-730g  /  Length: 32-42cm  /  Wingspan: 63-67cm
NO UK STATUS/ IUCN Red List: Near Threatened

An easily overlooked species where its chestnut and coppery colour isn't always apparent when not in clear light - they are a species which breeds in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and in scattered enclaves along the Mediterranean and Middle East, Wintering to the South.  It is however, a fairly regular vagrant to the UK, and 2025 seemed to be a somewhat bumper year for them with a number showing up at various sites, often associating with other aythya species liked common pochard and tufted duck.

Related Species:
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Aythya
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A regular vagrant
 - Seen at Brampton Pits, Cambridgeshire in October 2025

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Hume's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus humei)

OTHER NAMES: Hume's Warbler, Buff-browed warbler
Latin Etymology:  Phylloscopus ("leaf seeker") humei (for naturalist Allan Hume)

Adult Hume's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus humei) at Warham Greens, Norfolk, UK- October 2025

Featured Subspecies: Phylloscopus humei humei
Weight: 6.5g  /  Length: 10-11cm  /  Wingspan: 15-21cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A particularly tiny leaf warbler whose native range essentially follows the Western border of China before extending up into Russia and Mongolia. Despite its typical location it can not infrequently turn up in Europe as a vagrant - an impressive distance! They breed in larch and pine forests and subsist almost enitrely on small insects.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Phylloscopidae
Genus: Phylloscopus
SUBSPECIES: P. h. humeii, P. h. mandelli

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A rare vagrant
 - An Autumn vagrant seen at Warham Greens in October 2025.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology:  Calidris (bird named by Aristotle) bairdii (named for naturalust Spencer Baird)

Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) at Rutland Water, Rutland, UK - October 2025

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 38g  /  Length: 18-19cm  /  Wingspan: 43cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A tiny wader that breeds on the most Northerly Tundra of Alaska and Canada, as well as small footholds in Siberia and Greenland.  They are extreme long distance migrants, wintering at the Southern end of South America, and it is this colossal journey that makes them fairly prone to vagrancy, with a handful being found in the UK each year. Their most diagnostic feature is the extremely long wings

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Calidris 
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A rare vagrant
 - Single individual seen at Rutland Water in October 2025

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola)

OTHER NAMES: Common Pratincole
Latin Etymology: Glareola ("gravel") pratincola ("inhabitant of the meadow")

Adult Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola) at Frampton Marshes, Lincolnshire - June 2025

Featured Subspecies: Presumed Glareola pratincola pratincola
Weight: 85g  /  Length: 24-28cm  /  Wingspan: 60-70cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Like other pratincoles, a perculiar wader with a more swallow like form and mode of feeding in the air. The Collared breeds around the Mediterranean and Central Asia, and Winters in Eastern and Equatorial Africa, although some populatons are resident, and, unsually, there are breeding migratory populations in Southern Africa. In the UK, it is the most frequent pratincole vagrant with usually a few records each year.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Glareolidae
Genus: Glareola
SUBSPECIES: G. p. pratincola, G. p. erlangeri, G. p. fuelleborni

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM -  A rare vagrant
 - Vagrant seen at Frampton Marshes in June 2025.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Spur-winged Lapwing (Vanellus spinosus)

OTHER NAMES: Spur-winged Plover
Latin Etymology:  Vanellus ("lapwing") spinosus ("thorny")

Adult Spur-winged Lapwing (Vanellus spinosus) near Side, Antalya, Turkey - March 2025

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 127-177g/kg  /  Length: 28cm  /  Wingspan: 69-81cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A species which only just barely extents into Europe, crossing over the Turkish straights into European Turkey and the very edge of Greece. It's range then covers Turkey and the Levant, then is essentially mainly connected via the Nile to it's Sub Saharan African heartlands. The name refers to a very rare evolutionary feature among birds - they possess a small sharp spur on their forewing which it will use to defend its nest!

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Genus: Vanellus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

TURKEY  -   Turkish:Diken kanatlı kız kuşu ("Thorn winged lapwing")
 - ANTALYA 2025 TRIP - Several groups seen in coastal area near Side

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Western Rock Nuthatch (Sitta neumayer)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Sitta (bird mentioned by Aristotle) neumayer (for Franz Neumayer, an Austrian collector)

Adult Western Rock Nuthatch (Sitta neumayer) in mountains near Side, Antalya, Turkey - March 2025

Featured Subspecies: Sitta neumayer syriaca
Weight: 24-37g  /  Length: 13.5cm  /  Wingspan: 25cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

As the name suggests, the Western Rock Nuthatch takes a more rocky lifestyle than the other species I'd seen to date, being present on exposed mountainsides where they nest and feed among the rocks looking for insects and spiders. A fairly recent split of "Rock Nuthatch" with the other being the Western Rock Nuthatch which is found from Eastern Turkey to Kyrgzstan. Pliny the Elder apparently credited this species as being the one that inspired humanity to build homes of earth in immitation of it's nest.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sittidae
Genus: Sitta
SUBSPECIES: S. n. neumayer, S. n. tschitscherini, S. b. plumbea, S. n. syriaca, S. n. rupicola

 - Sighting Locations -

TURKEY  -   Turkish:Kaya sıvacı kuşu ("Rock plasterer bird")
 - ANTALYA 2025 TRIP - Common in mountains near Side

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Finsch's Wheatear (Oenanthe finschii)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Oenanthe ("vine bloom" for the time of year they arrived) finschii (for  explorer Friedrich Finsch)

Adult male Finsch's Wheatear (Oenanthe finschii) in mountains near Side, Antalya, Turkey - March 2025

Featured Subspecies: Oenanthe finschii finschii
Weight: 21-32g  /  Length: 14cm  /  Wingspan: 25-27cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A species of dry rocky hillsides from Turkey to Krgyzstan, with this individual being on the extreme Western edge of it's range. It's eponymous name is named after the colonial naturalist and explorer Friedrich Hermann Otto Finsch whose ornithological career including books on parrots of the world, but who also was involved in German colonial plans in South East Asia and the Pacific.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Oenanthe
SUBSPECIES: O. f. finschii, O. f. barnesi

 - Sighting Locations -

TURKEY  -   Turkish:Ak sırtlı kuyrukkakan  ("White-backed Whalepecker")
 - ANTALYA 2025 TRIP - One in mountains near Side

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Motacilla ("wagtail") citreola ("golden yellow")

Adult Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola) near Side, Antalya, Turkey - March 2025

Featured Subspecies: Motacilla citreola citreola
Weight: 18-25g  /  Length: 15-17cm  /  Wingspan: 24-27cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

One of my favourite birds of the trip, the Citrine Wagtail is a strikingly yellow species, in contrast the local Western Yellow Wagtails which were of the "Black-headed wagtail" (M. f. feldegg) subspecies.  While its range does cover partso of Ukraine and Belarus and pockets in the Baltic, the bulk of its range is central Asia where breeds from the Arctic Ocean down to Himalayas, and then Winters on the Indian Subcontinent and more Northerly parts of South-East Asia. The bird seen in Antalya would have been on passage, either to the small Turkish population or to Eastern Europe.

Related Species: 
Order:  Passeriformes
Family: Motacillidae
Genus: Motacilla
SUBSPECIES: M. c. citreola, M. c. werae, M. c. calcarata

 - Sighting Locations -

TURKEY  - Turkish: Sarı başlı kuyruksallayan ("Yellow headed wagtail")
 - ANTALYA 2025 TRIP - One near Side

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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