Rare Birds in Costa Rica
Our list for Costa Rica has 66 rare birds recorded regularly there: 7 residents, 29 winter visitors, 27 passage migrants and 3 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Costa Rica in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 66, most common first
Mourning DoveZenaida macrouraResidentRare23–34 cmRecorded all year
Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax trailliiWinter visitorRare13–17 cmRegularly Aug–May
Purple MartinProgne subisPassage migrantRare18–20 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Black TernChlidonias nigerResidentRare22–26 cmRecorded all year
Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoaWinter visitorRare40–50 cmRegularly Jul–May
Common PotooNyctibius griseusResidentRare33–38 cmRecorded all year
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanWinter visitorRare32–36 cmRegularly Oct–Jun
Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellusWinter visitorRare48–66 cmRecorded all year
Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorumPassage migrantRare13–17 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
VeeryCatharus fuscescensPassage migrantRare16–19 cmRegularly Sep–Nov
MerlinFalco columbariusWinter visitorRare24–33 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Wilson's PhalaropePhalaropus tricolorPassage migrantRare22–24 cmRegularly Aug–May
Upland SandpiperBartramia longicaudaPassage migrantRare28–32 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Western KingbirdTyrannus verticalisWinter visitorRare20–24 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimusWinter visitorRare12–14 cmRegularly Sep–May
Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopusWinter visitorRare18–23 cmRegularly Aug–May
Yellow-rumped WarblerSetophaga coronataWinter visitorRare12–15 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Cape May WarblerSetophaga tigrinaWinter visitorRare12–14 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdiiPassage migrantRare14–17 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Apr–Dec
Buff-breasted SandpiperCalidris subruficollisPassage migrantRare18–20 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatusWinter visitorRare24–34 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Common TernSterna hirundoWinter visitorRare31–35 cmRecorded all year
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