“El gorjeo” or “tweeting” or “chirping” is what many of the birds are doing every morning now and earlier than usual, before sunrise! But none of the birds are singing as much as the Clay-colored Thrush or Yigüirro it is called here (feature photo), the National Bird of Costa Rica. Yigüirros have started their pre-rain singing earlier this year, which is usually in April. This chirping is why it is the National Bird with tradition saying they are calling in the May rains or the “green season” as it is called by many here. Hopefully this earlier singing means the rains will come earlier! Listen to a recording of song 🙂 And soon the wind stops blowing which is almost constantly now. I AM READY FOR GREEN SEASON! 🙂
In one sense it is a little like “Spring” in the north, but maybe a backwards spring as we move from hot-dry-windy to daily rains, cooler temps, greenness & more flowers. It is a tropical paradise that most tourists miss because they want to avoid rain. 🙂 But most of us who live here prefer it to the “dry season.”
“Don’t let the rainy season deter your visions of outdoor adventures! This is Costa Rica’s most beautiful time of the year, when every landscape explodes in vibrant colors, with blooming flowers and blossoming fruit trees, not to mention cooler temperatures.” ~costarica.com
¡Pura Vida!
Charlie, I have always been interested in the relationship between this bird and the North American Robin. They both seem to time their nesting to a time when there is an abundance of protein available for their nestlings. Their songs are so similar. They must have a common ancestor from which they split at some point. Do you know anything about this?
Margaret, the “Birds of the World” site has lots of information but tells nothing of its relationship with the Robins, comparing it only with other thrushes. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/clcrob/cur/introduction
They may not let you in without a membership now, as the new site to replace Neotropical Birds site.
But, on the robin relationship, when I first visited Costa Rica in 09 this bird was actually called a robin, “Clay-colored Robin” before they started changing so many of the bird names. So someone thought they were related! 🙂
Thank you Charlie.