Costa Rica
Cloud forests, cacophony, colour.
What is recorded in Costa Rica
- Species
- 14,384
- Grid cells
- 90,291
- Records
- 21,913,988
- Years covered
- 1980-2026
- Insects 12,615
- Birds 768
- Bony fish 471
- Reptiles 195
- Mammals 160
- Amphibians 148
- Sharks and rays 27
These are species with at least one recorded territory in Costa Rica, not a national checklist: a bird list from eBird or Avibase is more complete. The counts follow recording effort as much as wildlife, so a country with more visitors and more naturalists will show more of both.
Most recorded here
The species with the most open occurrence records in Costa Rica, among those a photograph exists for. Most recorded is not most numerous: it rewards animals that are common, conspicuous and live where people go.
Clay-colored Thrush
Turdus grayi
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Blue-grey Tanager
Thraupis episcopus
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Amazilia tzacatl
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Passerini's Tanager
Ramphocelus passerinii
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Social Flycatcher
Myiozetetes similis
Montezuma Oropendola
Psarocolius montezuma
Hoffmann's Woodpecker
Melanerpes hoffmannii
Great-tailed Grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
Yellow-throated Toucan
Ramphastos ambiguus
Baird's Tapir
Tapirus bairdii
Ancient forest engineer; patience is the only technique.
Blue Morpho
Morpho helenor
Electric blue flashes down forest paths, impossible to photograph in flight.
Green Iguana
Iguana iguana
Basking in the crowns of trees along slow rivers.
Jaguar
Panthera onca
Tracks along the beach at Corcovado; the animal itself is a gift.
Keel-billed Toucan
Ramphastos sulfuratus
Improbable bill, croaking calls above the canopy.
Leopard
Panthera pardus
Cryptic, solitary, and everywhere, if you know where to look.
Mantled Howler Monkey
Alouatta palliata
The sound of the neotropics at first light.
Red-eyed Tree Frog
Agalychnis callidryas
Night walks after rain, leaves at eye level.
Resplendent Quetzal
Pharomachrus mocinno
The green-and-scarlet emblem of the cloud forest, tail streaming behind.
Scarlet Macaw
Ara macao
Pairs streaking above the beach almond trees at Carara.
Strawberry Poison-dart Frog
Oophaga pumilio
Tiny, loud, and unmistakably red on the forest floor.
Three-toed Sloth
Bradypus variegatus
Slow-motion cecropia specialists: look up, then look up again.
White-faced Capuchin
Cebus imitator
Clever, curious troops. Do not feed them, ever.