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It is tempting to call this a Green Iguana, but those do not live in my garden and these do! 🙂 The babies and juveniles of both species are very much alike, so location determines this ID. I see them in my garden a lot! And their parents & big brothers & sisters walk around on my roof and climb the trees! 🙂
See more of my many photos of this species in my GALLERY: Black Spiny-tailed Iguana. And oh yeah, the scientific name is: Ctenosaura similis.
¡Pura Vida!
. . . which is not an exact match to any of the online baby iguanas or baby basilisks, thus I’m not positive it is the correct ID. During a morning garden walk he was crawling through the ground cover plants, partly hidden. I’m always frustrated when I can’t make an exact identification, but that is the way nature is! 🙂 Here’s two shots and you decide . . .
There seems to be more than one juvenile iguana, at different stages of development, living in or near my garden. I think that the main reason they climb my Cecropia/Guarumo Tree is to soak up the sunshine, which all reptiles need as cold-blooded creatures, but as a herbivore, he may also be eating from the leaves and flowers of this tree. The flowers of this tree are also popular with toucans which I’ve photographed in this same tree. Plus the toucans also eat young iguanas! 🙂
See my two Iguana Galleries:
I think these photos are of a Spiny-tailed, but juveniles of both species are similar, so I’m not certain.
¡Pura Vida!
And don’t forget!
Art Show at 105 Roca Verde #2
This SATURDAY, 24 June, 9-12 am
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. . . and one with babies or juveniles – The Purple Gallinule and the Northern Jacana. One photo for the email announcement and two of each bird to follow.
Or maybe that should be “Juvenile” or even “Immature” as some of the words scientists use to describe young wildlife without all the characteristics of their elders, like the big dinosaur fins on their back! I struggled for some time on the ID of this guy I photographed in my garden last Saturday, thinking at first he was one of the many anoles, but after a lot of research, I’m pretty confident of this ID. 🙂
My Emerald Basilisk Gallery with more adults than babies! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Yesterday afternoon three of the juvenile Gray-cowled Wood-Rails lined up at the pond to splash in the water for their bath. Note the sister waiting for her two brothers to finish first in the series of 4 photos below.
The Bronzed Cowbird above fooled me at first because his eyes or irises are not red, but then I read that the juvenile has a dark or black iris. ID is always a challenge but also part of the fun. Both of these birds joined me for breakfast this morning around 6:30 or later, along with a Kiskadee and a Yigüirro.
Below is the Blue-crowned Motmot, one of my favorite birds here. But I have had better shots than this. Here he is in the shadows and a good way off with his magnificent tail partly hidden and it appears broken. Still, this is part of the joy of living in the tropics! And my terrace! Plus this morning is practice for tomorrow’s trip! 🙂 Another post to follow this, introducing my next trip.
And since the header format cropped off his tail, here is another shot of the Bronzed Cowbird:
Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?
~David Attenborough
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| Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron Mangroves off Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
Today’s boat trip was one of the best with Carlos leading and we seeing more animals and birds than seen in the National Park! I am physically exhausted and a tiny bit sunburned from a clear, sunny morning, but tomorrow I rest with only a little bird walk before breakfast and maybe some more exploring on my on. Then Saturday afternoon I return home. Its been a very good week! Great staff at Aguila Inn! It is kind of nice to be pampered a little every once in a while which so many of these lodges in Costa Rica do!
About the photo: Because his is juvenile, he does not have his “yellow crown” which may make you question if he is. He was standing straight which was okay, but then did this one-leg thing with his wing out that I thought made a more interesting photo. And yes, the heliconia flower is growing wild in this particular mangrove forest. Another cool place! And all my photos had to be made on my phone today because the good camera is not working. I have it in a bag of uncooked rice hoping it is just the humidity. Very humid on the coast! And mechanical things can be a pain sometimes!
¡Buenos noches!
My TRIPS Photo Gallery on this Drake Bay Trip
About Corcovado National Park (Wikipedia) and About Drake Bay (Wikipedia)
