Five New Species of Birds Found in Costa Rica
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
This according to experts from the Asociación Ornitológica Costarricense (AOCR) as announced in the most recent edition of their magazine, Zeledonia. These species aren’t new in the sense that they weren’t before known to science. They are “new” in the sense that none of them had ever before been seen in Costa Rica. The first is the “pardela de pascua (scientific, Puffinus nativitatis). This bird is normally seen around the Hawaiian islands and it is estimated that only around 5,000 remain in existence. The species was observed in April of this year flying above the ocean surface some 50 kilometers to the west of Cabo Blanco in Puntarenas. The second is the “azor ventigrís” (scientific, Accipiter poliogaster). This is a bird of prey and is usually found in tropical forests of low lying areas. They are found in many parts of South America. It is known to have a grayish colored breast. Experts observed this specie in a secondary forest of the river Puerto Viejo, in Sarapiquí. The third is the “gaviota tridáctila” (scientific, Rissa tridactyla). This specie is charaterized by its large yellow beak, white head and body, and greyish colored back and wings. This is a bird always found near the ocean, normally of the Northern Hemisphere. However, bird experts observed this specie in the mouth of the river Tortuguero located in Tortuguero National Park. The last two birds new to Costa Rica are colibris. The first is the “veraguan mango” (scientific, Anthracothorax veraguensis). Previously thought to be unique to Panama, this specie was observed in a garden in Golfito, Puntarenas. The vergaun mango is listed as a specie in danger of extinction. The fifth is the specie of colibri (or hummingbird) with the scientific name, Lepidopyga coeruleogularis. This specie was observed in the same general area as the veraguan mango. Both species of colibris are generally found feeding on the red flower known as the Erythrina and have a green metalic color with beaks almost as large as their bodies.
