Birds to See in Costa Rica in October
106 species listed for October · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
106 bird species on our list for Costa Rica are recorded regularly in October. Of these, the most often recorded are Turkey Vulture, Baltimore Oriole, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Swainson's Thrush and Palm Tanager. New this month: Philadelphia Vireo, Bay-breasted Warbler, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Rose-breasted Grosbeak and 16 more.
New in October20
- Philadelphia Vireo
- Bay-breasted Warbler
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
- Gray-cheeked Thrush
- Franklin's Gull
- Western Kingbird
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Cape May Warbler
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Pomarine Jaeger
- Common Yellowthroat
- Long-billed Dowitcher
- Cinnamon Teal
- American Golden-Plover
- Palm Warbler
- Blackpoll Warbler
- Blue-headed Vireo
Leaving after last month2
Residents
(28)Recorded all year
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes auraLC
Recorded all year
Palm Tanager
Thraupis palmarumLC
Recorded all year
White-winged Dove
Zenaida asiaticaLC
Recorded all year
Roadside Hawk
Rupornis magnirostrisLC
Recorded all year
Cattle Egret
Ardea ibisLC
Recorded all year
Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year
Lineated Woodpecker
Dryocopus lineatusLC
Recorded all year
Scarlet Macaw
Ara macaoLC
Recorded all year
Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year
Great Curassow
Crax rubraVU
Recorded all year
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopusLC
Recorded all year
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year
Muscovy Duck
Cairina moschataLC
Recorded all year
Ferruginous Pygmy-owl
Glaucidium brasilianumLC
Recorded all year
Acorn Woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorusLC
Recorded all year
Mottled Owl
Strix virgataLC
Recorded all year
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensisLC
Recorded all year
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceusLC
Recorded all year
Hairy Woodpecker
Leuconotopicus villosusLC
Recorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxLC
Recorded all year
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensisLC
Recorded all year
Common Potoo
Nyctibius griseusLC
Recorded all year
Black Tern
Chlidonias nigerLC
Recorded all year
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macrouraLC
Recorded all year
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna bicolorLC
Recorded all year
Pied-billed Grebe
Podilymbus podicepsLC
Recorded all year
Eurasian Collared Dove
Streptopelia decaoctoLC
Recorded all year
Arctic Jaeger
Stercorarius parasiticusLC
Regularly Sep–Jul
Winter visitors
(60)Present outside the breeding season
Baltimore Oriole
Icterus galbulaLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Setophaga pensylvanicaLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Swainson's Thrush
Catharus ustulatusLC
Regularly Sep–May
Tennessee Warbler
Leiothlypis peregrinaLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rusticaLC
Regularly Aug–May
Broad-winged Hawk
Buteo platypterusLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Northern Waterthrush
Parkesia noveboracensisLC
Regularly Sep–May
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Empidonax flaviventrisLC
Regularly Sep–May
Bay-breasted Warbler
Setophaga castaneaLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Great Crested Flycatcher
Myiarchus crinitusLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Osprey
Pandion haliaetusLC
Recorded all year
Mourning Warbler
Geothlypis philadelphiaLC
Regularly Sep–May
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Pheucticus ludovicianusLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Prothonotary Warbler
Protonotaria citreaLC
Regularly Aug–Mar
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodiasLC
Recorded all year
American Redstart
Setophaga ruticillaLC
Regularly Aug–Apr
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinusLC
Regularly Sep–May
Black-throated Green Warbler
Setophaga virensLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Willet
Tringa semipalmataLC
Recorded all year
Semipalmated Plover
Charadrius semipalmatusLC
Recorded all year
Least Sandpiper
Calidris minutillaNT
Regularly Jul–May
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpresLC
Recorded all year
Dickcissel
Spiza americanaLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Sanderling
Calidris albaLC
Recorded all year
Grey Plover
Pluvialis squatarolaLC
Recorded all year
Philadelphia Vireo
Vireo philadelphicusLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Solitary Sandpiper
Tringa solitariaLC
Regularly Aug–May
Lesser Yellowlegs
Tringa flavipesVU
Regularly Jul–May
Ovenbird
Seiurus aurocapillaLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Western Sandpiper
Calidris mauriLC
Regularly Jul–May
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Calidris pusillaNT
Regularly Jul–May
Short-billed Dowitcher
Limnodromus griseusVU
Regularly Jul–May
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubrisLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Merlin
Falco columbariusLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Greater Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleucaNT
Regularly Jul–May
Willow Flycatcher
Empidonax trailliiLC
Regularly Aug–May
Least Flycatcher
Empidonax minimusLC
Regularly Sep–May
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Tyrannus forficatusLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Stilt Sandpiper
Calidris himantopusNT
Regularly Aug–May
Marbled Godwit
Limosa fedoaVU
Regularly Jul–May
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Accipiter striatusLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellusLC
Recorded all year
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon niloticaLC
Recorded all year
Northern Shoveler
Spatula clypeataLC
Regularly Sep–Mar
Gray Catbird
Dumetella carolinensisLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Common Tern
Sterna hirundoLC
Recorded all year
Western Kingbird
Tyrannus verticalisLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Magnolia Warbler
Setophaga magnoliaLC
Regularly Sep–May
Red Knot
Calidris canutusNT
Regularly Aug–Feb
Cape May Warbler
Setophaga tigrinaLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Red-necked Phalarope
Phalaropus lobatusLC
Regularly Aug–Apr
Palm Warbler
Setophaga palmarumLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Franklin's Gull
Leucophaeus pipixcanLC
Regularly Oct–Jun
Common Yellowthroat
Geothlypis trichasLC
Regularly Oct–May
Cinnamon Teal
Spatula cyanopteraLC
Regularly Oct–Mar
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Setophaga coronataLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Blue-headed Vireo
Vireo solitariusLC
Regularly Oct–Mar
Blackpoll Warbler
Setophaga striataNT
Regularly Oct–Mar
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus variusLC
Regularly Oct–Mar
Pomarine Jaeger
Stercorarius pomarinusLC
Regularly Oct–Jun
Passage migrants
(18)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migration
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivaceaLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Sand Martin
Riparia ripariaLC
Regularly Mar–Dec
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Catharus minimusLC
Regularly Oct–Nov
Veery
Catharus fuscescensLC
Regularly Sep–Nov
Purple Martin
Progne subisLC
Regularly Aug–Apr
Alder Flycatcher
Empidonax alnorumLC
Regularly Apr–Oct
Pectoral Sandpiper
Calidris melanotosLC
Regularly Aug–May
Wilson's Phalarope
Phalaropus tricolorLC
Regularly Aug–May
Baird's Sandpiper
Calidris bairdiiLC
Regularly Apr–Nov
Upland Sandpiper
Bartramia longicaudaLC
Regularly Apr–Oct
Black-billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus erythropthalmusLC
Regularly Apr–Nov
Sabine's Gull
Xema sabiniLC
Regularly Apr–Dec
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Calidris subruficollisVU
Regularly Sep–Oct
White-rumped Sandpiper
Calidris fuscicollisVU
Regularly Apr–Nov
American Golden-Plover
Pluvialis dominicaLC
Regularly Oct–May
Long-billed Dowitcher
Limnodromus scolopaceusNT
Regularly Oct–Dec
Bobolink
Dolichonyx oryzivorusLC
Regularly Sep–Nov
Arctic Tern
Sterna paradisaeaLC
Regularly Sep–Oct
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made