At first I wondered what these pudgy little brown birds were in a tree behind my cabin. Then on eBird’s Merlin I discovered that they are little White-collared Manakins with no white collar yet if male and if female that brown will turn green with a yellowish breast and the females don’t have white collars like the males. See more photos of these juveniles and my photos of mature males in the gallery White-collared Manakin (linked). I’ve seen them twice now at Maquenque and once at Selva Verde Lodge (across the river in their private forest reserve).
Immature White-collared Manakin, Maquenque Lodge, Costa Rica
With several tourists here from around the world, it seems that one of the first things they want to see is a toucan, and the boldest one here is this Yellow-throated Toucan (my gallery link). Here’s two slightly different views with neither showing his patch of red, but still a handsome bird! We are on the Caribbean Slope here, where this Yellow-throated is more common than the Keel-billed which is more common on the Pacific Slope. Tomorrow I will share another variety of toucans which also has a different “cousin” on the Pacific Slope.
Yellow Throated Toucan, Maquenque Lodge, Costa RicaYellow Throated Toucan, Maquenque Lodge, Costa Rica
There are so many orange with black trim butterflies and most of them are distinctly different, as is this Mexican Fritillary, Euptoieta hegesia (my gallery link).
In my gallery I have 9 different species of Crescents and this one has been mostly seen here in Atenas. See my GALLERY: Pale-banded Crescent, Anthanassa tulcis (linked). Here’s three different views in my garden this June and the damaged wings you may have noticed on other butterfly photos I’ve shared this year. It is the wind! Though not all the time like January, it is blowing just as hard here in June, which is not normal! I believe it is a part of the human-caused climate change. Also note that this one is on one of my few Milkweed Flowers, which is also attracting other species, so I want to find another sunny spot for more.
Pale banded Crescent, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Earlier this month I was seeing a lot of different butterflies but it has turned windy again and not many can handle that. This is one of my favorites . . . Juno Silverspot (my gallery link).
Juno Silverspot, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa RicaJuno Silverspot, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
“A Lifer” means “first time seen species” and this is my first new bird in quite a while! (# 189 in my CR bird gallery) 🙂 He was on the ground in my garden (or front yard) and I first thought it was a young Yigüirro – Clay-colored Thrush (and it is possible that he actually is), but it is instead the iNat AI says it is a juvenile or immature Pale-vented Thrush, and I’m going with that. As they get older they lose those two rows of little orange spots and the belly turns whitish. In Costa Rica they are seen only in the low foothills of the Central Valley (like where I live), so not your every day bird all over Costa Rica! 🙂 And I got only one useable photo the first sighting (read on for the better 2nd sighting) . . .
Pale-vented Thrush Juvenile, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Then, the next day, I saw this same juvenile in a tree waiting for Mom to come feed him as you can see that she did in these two shots the day after the above photo . . .
I’m the #1 observer of this species in Costa Rica’s iNaturalist and earlier I had it lumped with the North American Cloudless Sulphur, but someone decided that we are a different subspecies down here and added the “South American” identifier to the common name in both English & Spanish. Today I had 51 photos in my South American Cloudless Sulphur Gallery. (linked) Phoebis sennae.
South American Cloudless Sulphur, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
When I first planted the Tropical Milkweed I was hoping they would attract the Monarch Butterfly which is not as common here as in the States, but none yet. Then the other day I found 3 caterpillars on one of the Milkweed plants and with the iNaturalist AI have identified them as caterpillars of the Queen – Danaus gilippus butterfly (Linked to my gallery) which is related to the Monarch. Maybe in the near future I will have some fresh Queens birthed in my garden! 🙂 So far, the only two Queens I’ve seen have been elsewhere.
I’m hoping that their eating all the leaves off my best Milkweed plant will not kill it! 🙂 They were first planted between two tall flowers and thus only get sunshine midday which is really not enough sun for milkweed. I just a few days ago planted 3 more Milkweeds in a different part of the garden where they get both morning and midday sun, so hopefully they will do better! I’m on the side of a hill with lots of trees, so plants like this that need lots of sunshine will always struggle on my little lot.
Caterpillar of Queen Butterfly – Danaus gilippus, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica (Note that most leaves are already eaten!) 🙂Caterpillar of Queen Butterfly – Danaus gilippus, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica. (Note that most leaves are already eaten!) 🙂Tropical Milkweed, in my garden, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica — Those caterpillars ate all those leaves!
¡Pura Vida!
I have not focused on caterpillars, but do have a little gallery with what caterpillars I’ve photographed in Costa Rica at CATERPILLARS (linked) with most in the “Unidentified” folder for a total of 15 species, assuming no overlap or duplication.
