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Becoming world famous for hikers is the coast to coast (Atlantic to Pacific) hiking trail titled El Camino de Costa Rica (WEBSITE link), a 280 kilometer hike through forests, mountains, farms and small villages with many suggested overnight stays in homes, camping or even a few luxury hotels nearby. 🙂
Two of the four basilisks in Costa Rica are easy to identify, the Green or Emerald Basilisk is rather obvious! As is the Helmeted Basilisk! 🙂 But the two I have never been able to easily identify are the Basiliscus basiliscus, Common Basilisk and the Basiliscus vittatus, Striped or Brown Basilisk which is further complicated by many calling both Common Basilisk, all in Spanish of course! 🙂 Then colors and patterns vary according to local and age of the lizard, from baby to juvenile to immature adult to adult and of course some slight differences in the sexes. So, for years my gallery has had just one basket for all of “Common, Brown and Striped Basilisks,” even though the scientific names are two.
I now found a simple way to separate the two species and now have two separate galleries for the two scientific names. Thanks to iNaturalist Costa Rica, I suddenly realized that the easiest to identify difference is where they live! 🙂 One on the Caribbean Slope and one on the Pacific Slope.
The one in this photo made on the Caribbean Coast is a Brown or Striped Basilisk, Basiliscus vittatus (my gallery link). Note that even though most locals say one or the other (Brown or Striped), most books and websites use both for the common name of this one species, Basiliscus vittatus. And similarly, the Spanish common names are two, Basilisco Café or Basilisco Rayado, and the people on the Caribbean Slope often use a shortened name of “Common Basilisk” (“Basilisco Común“), even though that is the official common name of the one on the other coast! See my confusion about what to call these little lizards? 🙂
The one that is officially called Common Basilisk is Basiliscus basiliscus (my gallery link) and is found only on the Pacific Slope! The Spanish name for it is Lagarto Jesucristo Común, and thus the only one to legitimately use the name “Common Basilisk” (“Basilisco Común“). And by the way, even though only in the official Spanish common name of this one, both of these, plus the Green Basilisk, are regularly called “Jesus Christ Lizards,” because all three walk on water! 🙂
And if you are confused, welcome to the club! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
I do have this photo in an “Other Wildlife” sub gallery of my trip gallery, though the bee I shared earlier is the only other good photo, with a so so one of Leafcutter Ants. Since I first wrote this I have completed the entire Trip Gallery! 🙂
I got only half as many butterfly species this October as I did in September of last year at Hotel Banana Azul (16 vs 33), but even then I photographed 5 new species for me, all kind of plain and brownish, and all but 1 Skippers. But they still add to my butterfly photo collection with now about 305 species in my Butterflies & Moths of Costa Rica Gallery. Here’s those 5 new species from my recent Caribe trip . . .
I’m still planning on some more posts from this first week of October trip, but you can see all of my acceptable photos in the trip gallery by clicking this linked title or the image of first page below. 2024 October 1-6, Hotel Banana Azul, Caribe Sur
¡Pura Vida!
And to learn more about Hotel Banana Azul, click that name link! Note that the header photo on their web page was made from “my room,” the one I get on each visit, called “The Howler Suite.” 🙂
There are no big chain hotels or resorts on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica (like the Pacific side). All are small, locally-owned, very friendly and helpful people (muy amable), with simplicity and tranquility. The Caribbean side is not for everyone, but I like it; both the laid back Jamaican atmosphere of the south or the Amazon Jungle atmosphere of the north Caribbean at Tortuguero National Park. The south has Cahuita National Park and Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, making the south also a great place for nature photographers in a different way than Tortuguero where you are mostly on the water. I encourage my fellow expats living in Costa Rica to give this side a try as something different from the Pacific Coast or the mountains. I love every area of Costa Rica because each is different! That is just the way I am! 🙂
Throughout Central America and the northern half of South America you can find this beautiful tropical bird: Blue-gray Tanager, Thraupis episcopus (linked to my gallery) where there are 84 of my photos from 18 different locations in Costa Rica. You can also read about on eBird. This was a favorite shot at Banana Azul this year . . .
I now have the Banana Azul BIRDS 2024 Gallery completed with 19 species this year without going to any of the parks or reserves! 🙂 Just click that linked title above to see them all!
¡Pura Vida!
This is probably one you have seen, found in most of the Eastern and Southern U.S. all the way south to Argentina, the Fiery Skipper, Hylephila phyleus (my gallery link). Like many butterflies, the top and folded wings views are different and distinct. Here’s a shot from the Caribe of both views, and of course the one with a bee in it made me smile! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
These were not a particular goal for me and of course there were many others, had I spent more time at water’s edge of the beach or on any nearby stream, but here are 5 very common ones I did see, with the Cormorant being the most frequently seen this time, though not always the case. And note that all of these can be seen inland on fresh water except the pelican, though all are more frequent near the ocean or nearby mangroves and estuaries . . .
This swallowtail is the species of swallowtails that I see most often in my garden – and I still like it! 🙂 You can see the many that I’ve photographed in my Polydamas Swallowtail Gallery (linked). The scientific name is Battus polydamas and even though most of the other swallowtails are more colorful, he/she is striking! (Male & female are basically identical). Here’s a front view and a side view and you can see several top views in the above-linked gallery which is all black with a yellow dot row. This is my first one to photograph outside my garden. He is found from South Texas and Florida south to Argentina.
¡Pura Vida!
This Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Melanerpes pucherani (my gallery link) is possibly the woodpecker I’ve seen the most of in my 10 years in Costa Rica, out of 13 species found here, and in the above-linked gallery I have photos of this one from 9 different locations (all on the Caribbean Slope). And none from my garden, where the Hoffmann’s Woodpecker is the most common. That may be because they are more common on the Caribbean Slope and I live on the Pacific Slope. 🙂 But they are found on both slopes from Southern Mexico to Ecuador.
In my CR Birds big gallery you will find galleries for 9 of those 13 species (I’m missing 4!) and one Olivaceous Piculet, which is really a tiny woodpecker without the name! 🙂
If interested in more info, see the Black-cheeked Woodpecker eBird Page.
¡Pura Vida!
This is one of my favorite butterfly species and I keep finding them almost everywhere I go in Costa Rica. See more of my photos of this beauty in my gallery: Julia Heliconian, Dryas julia.
¡Pura Vida!