I am not an avid birdwatcher, but I really enjoy watching birds in the tropics, as there are so many different species. In particular, one of my favorite birds are the Kingfishers. These medium sized birds typically live along a stream, a slow moving river or a pond.

In tropical America, the number of Kingfishers species living along the same riverbank can sometimes be three or four. Even though their habitats overlap somewhat, each species of Kingfishers are very distinct, have different habits and occupy their own specific niche.

On my most recent trip to South America (Bolivia and Brazil), I went to two locales where Kingfishers are readily observed – Rio Beni and Madidi National Park of Bolivia’s Amazon Basin, and the Pantanal, a very large expanse of marshlands located in western Brazil.

Funny thing - along Rio Beni, I saw only one Kingfisher – I believe it was a Amazon Kingfisher - however while I was staying in the Pantanal, the Kingfishers - in particular the Ringed Kingfisher - was by far the most commonly seen bird along the river. I guess you could say they were so common that they were a dime a dozen. They are very vocal birds, and when disturbed they will often take flight across the river.

I would have liked the tour guide to just park the motorboat somewhere not far from the river bank and just sit there quietly for an hour or so, where I could watch the Kingfishers go fishing. They are so fun to watch.

Truly one of the most memorable highlights of my trip happened while staying in the Pantanal. My tour guide took me out on a late night boat ride along the Rio Miranda. Shining his high beam searchlight across the riverbank, apparently he spotted some creature in the trees. As he quietly parked the boat near the riverbank, he pointed with his flash flight - on low beam of course - into the tree canopy. Lo and behold, I saw a Amazon Kingfisher sleeping on a tree branch about 8 feet from the ground level.

The creature was truly startled from his slumber by the two human intruders, and he made a quick beeline into the nearby bushes. The memory is absolutely priceless!

The answer is very simple actually - there are more bird species in COSTA RICA per square mile than any other country in the world. According to Mongabay.com, there are 838 bird species in Costa Rica, a small country of only 19,800 square miles. This translates to .42 species of birds per square mile. The runner up in this category would be Panama, Costa Rica’s neighbor to the south, which overall has a recorded 904 species (more total species than Costa Rica) but with a total area of 29,762 square miles, so the bird species density in Panama would be .3 per square mile. These figures really shouldn’t surprise anybody!

In Costa Rica (and in Panama) you will find many bird species that are found in either North America or South America, as Central America is a land bridge that connects North America to South America. In fact, over 200 species of birds from North American can be found in Costa Rica during North America’s cold winter months, only to return to their North American homes sometime during the Spring. These birds are called migrants. It is not surprising, that there only 4 bird species endemic to mainland Costa Rica.

While Costa Rica has the most species of bird per square mile, the countries which have the greatest number of bird species are primarily in South America – Colombia is the leader with 1821, followed closely by Peru with 1781 and by Brazil, the South American Giant, with 1712 species. After Brazil, the the rankings continue with Indonesia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela. Now if you take into consideration that Colombia’s total area is 440,000 square miles, that would make the bird species density .04 square mile (compared to Costa Rica’s .4 per square mile). That is a significant difference! Considering that Colombia is 22 times the size of Costa Rica, you will realize why – all things being equal - Costa Rica is considered the best (and most practical) destination for birders in the world!

Other factors which contribute to Costa Rica’s popularity among birders are:

1. It’s a very safe destination
2. Many of the popular birding spots are within 90 minutes – 2 hour radius of the capital, San Jose which is located in the Central Highlands
3. There are many dedicated ecoresorts in the most popular birding areas, many of which cater to birding enthusiasts
4. Ecotourism infrastructure is very advanced

PURA VIDA!

Curiously enough, of the 888 bird species recorded in the USA, more than 1/3 are in Hawaii