Black Vulture
A highly social scavenger whose broad circles and white wing patches are familiar above both cities and wild rivers.
Puntarenas, Costa Rica: places and wildlife
Browse the published Explore collection for Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Open a discovery for its field guide, practical details, and background.
Neotropic Cormorant
A versatile diving bird found from Pacific harbors to Amazon rivers, often drying its wings on the nearest exposed perch.
Roadside Hawk
The small, vocal hawk of tropical roadsides often watches from a wire or bare branch before dropping onto prey.
Great Kiskadee
A loud, adaptable tropical flycatcher whose name echoes its ringing kis-ka-dee call.
Blue-gray Tanager
The calm blue-gray tanager of Amazonian gardens often appears in pairs wherever fruit and open canopy meet.
Long-tailed Weasel
A fast, flexible hunter able to follow rodents into spaces far smaller than its apparent body length.
Brown-throated Sloth
A rounded clump in the Peruvian canopy resolves into long limbs, three hooked claws on every foot, a brown throat, and rain-shedding fur whose grooves host algae.
Common Vampire Bat
The best-known blood-feeding mammal is also a highly social bat that shares food with unsuccessful roost-mates.
Cane Toad
A broad-headed Neotropical toad carries large toxin glands behind its eyes—an effective defense that makes a curious dog, not a quiet observer, the urgent concern.
Green Iguana
A powerful tree-dwelling herbivore that can escape predators by diving from branches directly into water.