Hi, everyone - my husband and I went to CR last year and caught a little bit of birding fever in Cano Negro. The guide was pointing out so many species that we were wishing we had a place to check them off, so we could keep a list of what we saw. Now we're heading off to the Osa, and I was thinking again that it would be nice to have some sort of organized list and a birding book that lists the CR species. Can you recommend a specific book that is easy to transport and easy to use? Do books like that come with a list to check off the things you've seen, or can someone recommend where to get one? Many thanks!

volcanogirl:

Please do this:

Go to Google
then

Type in Birds of Costa Rica... and you will see many pictures of the birs as well as the most up to date books.

then

Jot down the ISBN of the book and go to your local bookstore and give them the ISBN of the book(s) you want!!!

Percy

Hi, Percy - I did do a bit of googling myself, but I would like to get first-hand recommendations from people who have actually used the field guides. I bought the Sibley guide to North America for use in the states, and in retrospect realized I should have purchased something easier for a beginner to use and something more portable.

The Skutch (?) one is the one I see the most down in CR, but not exactly very portable!

btw - the LA board & CR board are the same, it only really matters if people go to the LA board and then select CR, but they'd miss out on half the posts that way!

The definitive bird guide to Costa Rica--which is NOT the one you want--is the Stiles and Skutch "Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica". This is the gold standard, however it is huge, heavy, and way more detailed than you need as a beginner. Until recently there wasn't much in the way of alternatives. However, just this spring a new book was published "The Birds of Costa Rica" by Richard Garriques (available at amazon.com, http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Costa-Ri.../dp/080147373X
I have not used this in the field but have looked through it and it looks great for a beginner and even for someone more advanced that wants something more portable than the Stiles book. According to the Table of Contents shown on Amazon, it does have a checklist. I'd check this one out.

Also, another book that has a decent birding section with all the most common birds, as well as mammals, reptiles, etc. is "The Traveller's Wildlife Guide: Costa Rica" by Les Beletsky. Great book with perhaps enough birds to get started with.

http://www.amazon.com/Costa-Rica-Tra.../dp/1566565294

JCzinn has provided some good direction. We do have the 'big book' [Stiles and Skutch]which is invaluable for a serious birder. However it 'might' be too much for some beginners.

Beletsky's book is a very good general guide to Costa Rican wildlife with a decent selection of birds, well illustrated and with notes on distribution. I've not yet seen Garriques' book but have heard good reports about it.

Pay special attention to the range and habitat notes in these books and your birding will be a bit easier.

You can find a few Costa Rican checklists that can be downloaded from the internet.

cheers

Jerry

Thanks, everyone; I plan to hit the bookstore this weekend, and your input has helped me a lot. Pura vida.

volcanogirl,
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Skutch book (although yes, it is big and cumbersome) as a beginner. Or at least as a beginner 4 years ago! It is, as Jerry said, invaluable. I take it with me everywhere I go in Costa Rica. You would be happy to have it, I think, primarily because of the detailed information.

However, jczinn has indeed given you good direction with the Garriques book, The Birds of Costa Rica. The photos (illustations) in it are exceptional--better than the SKutch book. It is smaller, more concise, but lacks the detailed descriptions that a serious birder would want, such as in the Skutch-Stiles book.

I would definitely recommend you order the Garriques book for starters. It is excellent, and I am getting it as soon as I return! Just saw it for the first time at Rancho Naturalista.

Hello Volcangirl. thanks for a great question. I was wondering the same thing myself. My only problem is we are leaving for CR in a day.

Does anyone know where you can buy the Garriques book like right now? haha.
It sounds like the right book for me now

Does anyone know a place that you can purchase the book in CR, and if its alot more if you do so there? This is my first time going there so if you do i will need a pretty good desciption of where to pick it up.

Thanks for any help, Bill

Bill,
When you arrive at the San Jose airport, you walk past the gift stores before you go through customs. They have a lot of books there, although I don't know how the prices compare. They accept dollars or colones. Have a good trip.

I bought Birds of Costa Rica by S. Fogden; I got it at Tirimbina Refuge, but saw it elsewhere. It is only 7X4" so it fits easily. I'm no pro but thought it very good.

I suggest jotting a list on say an index card, then when you get a sec circle your bird's name by its picture in whatever guide you have, write where you saw it etc.

Thanks MarciaM and Emmajm for your help. I guess i couldnt wait till i got there and take a chance. I called around and found it at Borders (last copy). I ll be putting it to use. We are flying out tomorrow for our first trip. Cant wait.

Thanks everyone for all the great help.
Pura Vida, Bill

Buen viaje crlover -- Have a great trip!

We went to Barnes and Noble last night and bought the Garrigues book - it was exactly what we were looking for. It's pretty fun to flip through it and look at all the birds we could potentially see. I think we'll get the Stiles and Skutch book eventually to keep at home, but that one would have put us over our Sansa weight limit - LOL.

Tully, I'm one of those people that has always linked right in to Costa Rica, so I'm probably missing some posts. Thanks for the tip.

As always, thanks to everyone for the good advice. Not much longer to go! Pura vida.