Birds of Costa Rica and Panama

“This summer I was fortunate enough to spend one month in Costa Rica followed by one month in Panama," writes John David Curlis in sharing the wonderful photos in the slide show below. "When I wasn’t assisting with teaching [tropical ecology] or conducting research [on lizards], I spent just about every waking minute looking for birds. As you might expect, it’s not hard to find some truly amazing ones down there in the tropics. Here’s a sampling of some of my favorites—hope you enjoy!"

We've put John David's identifications of the birds in the caption with each shot. Species include everything from a Lesson's motmot and a great curassow to a golden-hooded tanager, a purple-throated mountain-gem and a fasciated antstrike. What a treat to see them. Many thanks, John David.