The Birds of Costa Rica - (Zona Tropical Publications) 2nd Edition by Richard Garrigues (Paperback)

About the Book

A new, updated edition of the only compact, portable, and user-friendly field guide the novice or experienced birder needs to identify birds in the field in the diverse habitats found in Costa Rica.

Book Synopsis

This is the only compact, portable, and user-friendly field guide the novice or experienced birder needs to identify birds in the field in the diverse habitats found in Costa Rica. It features descriptions and illustrations of all 903 species definitely known from Costa Rica, including pelagics and species regular to Cocos Island.

Fifty-six of these species are placed in a "Rarities" section that includes accidentals, rarer pelagics, and species that have not been reported in more than twenty years. The detailed full-color illustrations show identifying features--including plumage differences among males, females, and juveniles--and views of birds in flight wherever pertinent.

Robert Dean has supplied more than 360 new illustrations, including sixty-four species that are illustrated for the first time in this edition. These include recent additions to the country list, pelagic species, Cocos Island species, and all accidentals recorded from the Costa Rican mainland. Range maps and nomenclature have been updated for this edition, which also has a new user-friendly organizational scheme and an alphabetical quick-find index of groups on the inside back cover.

Review Quotes

A great size to carry in the field, The Birds of Costa Rica offers large illustrations, key field marks in bolded text, and distribution maps enabling rapid identifications. Birders traveling to Costa Rica will welcome this new guide for quick reference in the field.

All ornithologists, birders, hawkwatchers, conservation biologists, and others engaged in bird observations in Costa Rica will want to include this excellent field guide as part of their basic field equipment. Most highly recommended.

Because of its beauty, tropical climate, and tremendous biodiversity, Costa Rica is a popular locale for birding. Therefore, a simple, effective field guide would be an invaluable tool for residents and visitors seeking to observe and identify birds. This is exactly the focus of The Birds of Costa Rica--to assist with identification in the field--and the book succeeds admirably. It is a pleasure to read.

Compact enough to carry in the field while still depicting and describing [903] species, [this] book [is] a cause for celebration.

For the nature lover fortunate enough to vacation in Costa Rica--and for all lovers of beautiful birds--comes this up-to-date, comprehensive field guide to the native and migrant birds to be found in that country. From the distinctive pink spoonbill to the colorful trogons and toucans, Costa Rica is home to a remarkably diverse population of birds.

The foremost objective of The Birds of Costa Rica is to help anyone to correctly and confidently identify the Costa Rica birds. And it succeeds. This is the one field guide the novice or experienced birder needs for identifying birds in the field in the diverse habitats found in Costa Rica.

About the Author

Richard Garrigues is one of the preeminent birding guides in Costa Rica, with more than twenty-five years' experience leading birding and natural history tours. Robert Dean is an avid birder and natural history illustrator. Both live in Costa Rica.