A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica

I have lived on the Pacific of Costa Rica for 5 years and find myself constantly referring to this book - one that was recommended to me by virtually every person I spoke to who knew I was relocating to Costa Rica.For other fans of this book, you may be interested to know that one of the authors, Alexander Skutch, recently passed away at the age of 99. He was a long-time resident of Costa Rica and long admired in ornithological circles. A memorial service was held for Mr. Skutch on May 20th - his 100th birthday - at the Tropical Science Center in Perez Zeledon, in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica.Please refer to an article in The Tico Times, May 14, 2004 edition.

A guide with everything you'd possibly wish for. The only thing left after having read this book is go out and watch them, and use this book to easily identify them. You can tell the good (human) guides in Costa Rica from the bad guides by the use they make of this book: bad guides claim they don't need it; good guides now you can't do without it!

Having lived in Costa Rica since prior to the publication of "the book," I can attest to what a joy it is to have all the bird life under one cover, so to speak. (We used to have to tote 3 different volumes into the field!) Still, some find this one book too much to be burdened with and (as another reviewer has mentioned) pull out the colored plates from the book's center. I wholeheartedly recommend this procedure, but with one difference: take the text into the field and leave the plates at home (no offense, Dana). While the paintings are of passable quality, the information contained in the text is nothing short of superlative. No one would ever be able to distinguish between, let's say, a Rufous Piha and a Rufous Mourner by looking at the illustrations. The text, however, gives some very useful pointers, including vocalizations, that just might solve your identification quandary. But the bottom line is, if you're going birding in Costa Rica, don't leave home without it.

Even if you're a rookie birdwatcher like me, make sure this book is always within reach. No matter where you go in Costa Rica, night or day, walking through a rain forest or driving down a dirt road, there are birds to be seen. Most you've never seen before and most can be identified with this book. (P.S. Wear your binoculars all the time!)

A great field guide! After 8 days, my guide was well worn. The "human type" guides that we went birding with on two occasions used the same field guide. They would tell me what plate to go to, from memory, to find the birds we were viewing. My husband, a novice birder, ID'd as many birds as I did using this book. The printed information on the birds was excellent also, as it clinched several ID's.