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Endemic Bird Species |
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An endemic species is a species with a limited distribution range, a species that can be found in a certain area of the world but nowhere else. Endemic species originate when a population of species becomes isolated by a certain geographical barrier for a long time. As a result of this, the isolated population will gradually evolve into a new species by natural selection. The many endemic birds in th country make birdwatching very popular in Costa Rica.
In Costa Rica we can identify 3 endemic areas: |
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.: The Costa Rica highlands: |
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This area is oriented northwest - southeast and goes from Costa Rica's Central Valley to Western Panama. Many birdspecies coming from cooler climates from the North and from the Southern Andes were able to migrate into Costa Rica and colonize it during the Pleistocene ice age (about 2 millions years ago).
When later the earth heated up again, these birds, more adapted to cooler weather were forced to move to the mountains, where climates were more favorable for them. |
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| Area of endemism in Costa Rica and West-Panama |
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Therefore Costa Rican populations became isolated from other populations of similar species of the highlands in Guatemala and Mexico in the north and of the Andes mountains in the south. Examples of highland endemics are: Yellow-thighed Finch, Black-cheeked Warbler, Ruddy Treerunner, Collared Redstart and Golden-browed Chlorophonia. One species belonging to this area is strictly endemic, meaning that it only lives in Costa Rica and nowhere else. This is the Coppery-headed Emerald. All others can be found in wetern Panama as well. Click here for a complete list of highland endemics. Exellent eco-lodges located in this endemic zone are: Savegre Mountain Lodge, Hotel Bosque de Paz and Rancho Naturalist. |
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.: The southern Pacific lowlands: |
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| This area is located between Parque Nacional Carara and western Panama and is characterized by a wet tropical climate. The south Pacific lowlands used to be covered by extensive rainforest which now are greatly replaced by agricultural area (African Palm platations, cattle fields, sugar cane fields,...) Extensive untouched rainforests can still be found in nature reserves like Parque Nacional Corcovado, Parque Nacional Carara and Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. |
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| Fiery-billed Aracari (Pteroglossus frantzii) |
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The southern Pacific lowlands are bordered in the south by the Talamanca mountain chain and in the norhwest and southeast by dry areas, which makes this tropical humid area isolated. Therefore several populations of forest dwelling birds became isolated from populations from the Caribbean slope, on the other side of the Talamanca mountain chain and evolved over millions of years into new, endemic species. Examples are the Fiery-billed Aracari, Torqoise Cotinga, Riverside Wren and Snowy-bellied Hummingbird. The Black-cheeked Ant-tanager is the only strict endemic species, meaning that his distribution is restricted to only (the southern Pacific lowlands of) Costa Rica. For a complete list of endemic bird species from the southern Pacific, click here. Good eco-lodges in this area are Talari Mountain Lodge, Hacienda Barú, Bosque del Rio Tigre Lodge, Esquinas Rainforest Lodge and Hotel Villa Lapas. |
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.: Cocos Island: |
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Cocos Island is located about 1000 km from Costa Rica's mainland and belongs to the Galapagos archipelago. Three strict endemic bird species can be seen here: Cocos finch, Cocos Flycatcher and Cocos Cuckoo. |
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Costa Rica's 4 Eco-zones |
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| Roughly Costa Rica can be divided in 4 ecozones, based on climatic conditions and distribution of (avi)fauna. This (simplified) division offers a good starting point for planning a birdwatching trip in Costa Rica. The 4 ecozones are: the southern Pacific lowlands, the highlands, the dry Northwest and the Carribean lowlands. |
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| The 4 ecozones in Costa Rica |
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Complete Birdlist of Costa Rica |
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| This list is the official birdlist of Costa Rica as found on the website of the AOCR (Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica): www.zeledonia.org or www.avesdecostarica.org and follows the list of OAU (American Ornithologist's Union): Check-list of Noth-American Birds, 7th edition + 47th supplement. |
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