Birds in Costa Rica

127 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024

Our list for Costa Rica has 127 bird species recorded regularly there: 28 residents, 65 winter visitors, 31 passage migrants and 3 scarce visitors.

The list comes from 19 million birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.

Birds to see in Costa Rica in September

88 species on our list are recorded regularly this month. These are the ones birdwatchers record most often.

All 88 birds in September

Arriving in September: Baltimore Oriole, Tennessee Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, Broad-winged Hawk, Northern Waterthrush, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager and 21 more.

Through the year

Species recorded regularly in Costa Rica each month: most in November (110), fewest in June (42). Choose a month to see its birds.

88110
Show as a table
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruby-throated HummingbirdSmallest · 7cm
to
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue HeronLargest · 137cm
From the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (7 cm) to the Great Blue Heron (137 cm)34 families

Get a monthly guide to birds in Costa Rica

Find out which birds are visiting your area this month, with seasonal tips and garden advice

Get Your Free Digest

All 127 birds on the list

Showing 116–127 of 127 species

Blackpoll Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Setophaga striataNT

Winter visitorRare

Regularly Oct–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
American Herring Gull

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianusLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Nov–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Leach's Storm-petrel

Leach's Storm-petrel

Hydrobates leucorhousVU

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Mar–Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Lincoln's Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

Melospiza lincolniiLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Feb–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Blue-headed Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo

Vireo solitariusLC

Winter visitorRare

Regularly Oct–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerinaLC

ScarceRare
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Bonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphiaLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Dec

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Long-tailed Jaeger

Long-tailed Jaeger

Stercorarius longicaudusLC

Winter visitorRare

Regularly Dec–Feb

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

Spotted something?

Upload a photo to identify it

Identify
Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensisLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Dec

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Nashville Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Leiothlypis ruficapillaLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Jan–Feb

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Mallard

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchosLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Aug–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaeaLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Sep–Oct

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
PreviousPage 6 of 6

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Download citations (7)