Customer Reviews

Photographic Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica

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This is a good bird book for Costa Rica. It uses the Stiles and Skutch classification system. Uses real bird photographs. It does not contain every bird but the 252 species within the book are the ones most likely to be seen. It is easy to read and helpful and does not weigh a ton like the other Costa Rica birding books. I highly recommend it. You can buy it in the Juan Santamaria airport and in some resorts.

I didn't want to lug around a big book for our trip to Costa Rica, so I ordered this small guide, hoping it would do. It was terrific - in fact, all our Costa Rican guides coveted it. Almost every bird we saw was in it. There is only one hummingbird and one egret I couldn't find in it, and we saw at least 45 different species. It fit in the pocket of my cargo pants, and it was easy to pull it out and quickly find each bird. I highly recommend this guide if you will be visiting Costa Rica.

Basics: 2005, 144 pp, softcover; 299 color photos of 252 species; brief overview of 12 birding locations; map with habitats and 15 birding sites; no range maps

Of the many photo-guides in the series, this book has one of the better selections of good photographs. The birds are slightly larger in this book than in most of the other guides; and, nearly every photo is in focus and well lit with the bird unobscured by foliage or suffering from a bad pose. In all, there are 299 color photographs of 252 (28%) of the 890+ species found in Costa Rica.

There is a good sampling of families shown in these photos. The most prominent family is the flycatchers with 25 species. Keeping in mind the difficulty of many of the flycatchers, these photos will be helpful when the shown bird is seen in the field. Since most birds are shown with only one photo, there will be many plumages encountered that are not in this book. There are also 26 species from the combined groups of trogons, motmots, jacamars, toucans, and woodpeckers.

My one knock against the selection of photos is more a personal preference. Of the 252 species shown, 55 (22%) are birds expected to be seen in the US. Yes, these birds are typical of Costa Rica, but there are other notable birds of Costa Rica that aren't featured as frequently. There are already so many books with these birds illustrated. How many more photos of the Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Red-winged Blackbird, or Summer Tanager are needed? Of course, this viewpoint is biased by my familiarity with US birds. For non-US birders, this book would be very useful because these in-common birds are common in Costa Rica and will be seen.

The text given with each photograph consists of a single short paragraph. About 1/3 to 1/2 of this is dedicated to descriptions of the bird. The material is not strongly detailed, but it does provide a decent general description of the bird. Some species are also accompanied with brief notes as comparison to a similar species. The remainder of the information consists of brief notes on the bird's habitat or behavior or other natural history comments. Many of the birds have a note recording the maximum elevation at which the bird can be found.

Two nice additions in the beginning pages are a map of Costa Rica and a brief listing of birding locations. A dozen sites are listed along with a very brief overview of what may be seen at each. The map does a nice job of identifying the five major eco-types. Within the map are the location of 15 popular birding areas.

This is a handy practice guide with good photos to practice for a trip to Costa Rica; however, it is not a complete field or identification guide. For that purpose, the book "A Photographic Guide to Birds of Costa Rica" by Garrigues is highly recommended. -- (written by Jack at Avian Review / Avian Books, December 2009)

1) The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide by Garrigues
2) A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica by Stiles/Skutch
3) A Guide to the Birds of Panama by Ridgely/Gwynne
4) Aves De Costa Rica by Skutch
5) Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica by Henderson
6) Hummingbirds of Costa Rica by Fogden
7) An Illustrated Field Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica by Soto

I have traveled extensively through Costa Rica over the years and have tried many birding/wildlife guides. The abundance and diversity of life in this relatively small country creates challenges for the eco-traveler. On one hand you need a comprehensive guide to assist you with identifying life in the numerous eco-zones, but some of these areas are remote and you have to carry the book with your other gear.

Did I mention that it rains some times? No matter how waterproof your gear is it gets wet and so will you. Depending on where you are in Costa Rica and the time of year, be prepared for your gear to get soaked, and your guide books will get wet too. (Ask yourself "what happens when this gets wet?" instead of saying "oh, I will keep this dry". If you are traveling to Guanacaste in January-March, rain is not an issue for the tourist, but there are some areas where it rains regardless of the season (some areas around Arenal Volcano). This is complicated by the fact that the rain is not constant and the weather can be warm at lower altitudes. The higher altitudes are cool and wet and the distances between the two are short. Rain gear is put on when it starts to rain and stowed when it stops. Weight is alway something to consider, especially if you are hiking in the mountains and are not accustomed to the altitude. The guidebook and other gear feels like it gets heavier with each step. Did I mention the traversing of streams? This is part of the fun of the trip, but it is not a great environment for books. The eco-tourist needs to consider the guides books he/she carries as they would the shoes they wear. Guidebooks should fit properly as should shoes.

There are about one-half dozen very fine birding guides available and the Photographic Guide to Birds of Costa Rica ranks among them. Skutch and Stiles' guide is a classic, but as is the case with many classics, it is heavy and bulky. It is an excellent reference, but it is tough to take out in the field (some guides cut the plates from the book and bind them separately). This book costs about $27 and tough for me to chop up or drag around. It is called a guide, but don't take it in the field.

To the other extreme, are the Kavanagh pocket guides that are pamphlets cost $5.95. It is very portable and has some water protection coating, fine illustrations and very little information. It works for identifying very common species and is durable. The price is such that if it last for one trip it is okay, but the pamphlet is far more durable and should last a long time. Alternatively, there are loose leaf double side guides. http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Cloud-Forest-Highlands-Guides/dp/1888538082/ref=sr_1_40?ie=UTF8&qid=1299337369&sr=8-40 These are virtually indestructible and out of print in the US. They can be found in Costa Rica, but not everywhere for about $10.00.

For my money, this guide and Garrigues and Dean--Birds of Costa Rica fit in the middle--providing a balance of information and durability at a reasonable price. The Photographic Guide is small and lighter, than the Birds of Costa Rica, but has less information. The fonts are smaller and tougher to read--the 50 and older crowd will understand). The Photographic Guide will fit into the pocket or cargo pants or shorts easily and into other shirt or pant pockets more tightly. It will be hanging out (3.25 x 7.5 x 0.5 inches). The photographs are great.

The Birds of Costs Rica by Garrigues and Dean will not fit into pockets as readily (5.0 x 7.75 x 0.8 inches). It is better built and relies on illustrations instead of photographs. I prefer it.

The point of this long-winded review is to point out that travel guides should be matched with the interest and experience of the user. Skutch and Stiles is a great book, but not a practical guide to carry around. It has more information than almost anyone needs and is large and heavy. It is also relatively expensive.

If you are a novice, Be prepared to for guidebooks to get wet--it can be a jungle out there (and other things as well). The Kavanagh guide is really a pamphlet and contains the very basics, is affordable and durable.

The photographic guide is a sound choice for almost anyone.

Finally, the best field guides to nature are the guides who are employed by reputable firms in Costa Rica. Many are very experienced, and have a love of the country and its natural history. A good guide is not cheap, but affordable. For many people a book is not a substitute for a professional guide, but a complement. A good guide can make a good trip a great trip.

Enjoy your trip.

I purchased this bird guide among others prior to taking a summer birding tour in Costa Rica. I found it a little helpful to study the photos of the birds prior to the trip, but after a few days I put it away to continue study of the full field guide, The Birds of Costa Rica, a field guide by Richard Garrigues. Basically, this is a novice bird watchers guide to some of the most common birds in Costa Rica. This could be what you are looking for, if so you may be satisfied with this book. I ended up not even taking this book with me on the trip. This would not be the guide you would wish to purchase if you are a serious birder.

Photos are very helpful. Good secondary reference for bird identification. There are 500-600 bird species not in this book so in trying to i.d. a bird you may not be able to do so.

Order my book at the very last minute and got it just on time for our Trip to Costa Rica. Book was a great help identifying birds, pictures are very good and is easy to use. I will recomend you get one if you are going to Costa Rica.