More from Costa Rica: Cano Negro, lots of rivers and wetlands . . .

Immature male Anhinga drying his feathers, October 31, 2025.

---

My first post on Costa Rica was on November 20th, on the Resplendent Quetzal, titled Just in from Costa Rica: The Resplendent Quetzal!  This post is on Cano Negro, a preserve at the far northern reaches of Costa Rica in low wetlands very close to the border with Nicaragua.  See the map of Costa Rica to the right, with the red pin at Cano Negro.

Here one finds abundant rivers and wetlands that drain north over the border into Lake Nicaragua (Cocibolca or La Mar Dulce), the largest lake in Central America. This is a prime spot to see some of the special water birds of Central America. Let's go!​

---

Sungrebe

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/5000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 5000.

---

Sungrebes are very interesting birds.*

First, they are not grebes, but finfoots, genetically closer to rails than to grebes. They are in the order Guiformes, family Heliornithidae, consisting of only three species, the African Finfoot, the Masked Finfoot (Asian, and endangered) and the Sungrebe, native to Central and South America, range map to the right.

The finfoots are likely of Old World origin, with movement into the Americas via land bridges (Beringia) explaining the Sun Grebe's presence oceans away from its two closest finfoot cousins.  (Ref: Wikipedia). 

​And, they hate the​ sun! So much for naming conventions! **

*Almost all of my blog references on U.S. birds refer to All About Birds, a Cornell website that is free to users in the U.S.  However, birds that are not seen within U.S. borders are not in All About Birds, but are covered in detail in the academically oriented Birds of the World,  another Cornell website, which requires a subscription. My references in this blog are mixed. I have tried to refer to free websites, but when detail is required, I do refer to Birds of the World. 

**The name in fact comes from the its scientific genus Helionis, (Greek Helios, sun, and Ornis, bird), combined with grebe, because of their lobed feet, similar to grebes. 

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 5000.

---

Sungrebes are similar in appearance to rails, with long slender bills and lobed toes. They are secretive, living on quiet streams among thick vegetation, making them hard to study. Birds of the World begins its Sungrebe section on Diet and foraging with the words, "Little information."  However, studies from 1968, 1989, and 1993, report a diet of snails, insects, spiders, small frogs, lizards and small crabs. Unlike grebes, they are infrequent divers. 

I feel fortunate to have captured these images on October 31st. 

---

---

Sungrebes ride low in the water, with black and white striped necks. Females have a rufous patch on the side of the face. The bird we see here is likely a male, sans patch.

---

---

Like many birds, the back of the head and neck of this male could be mistaken for the front of the head, perhaps making a predator think twice before striking. 

---

---

---

Sungrebes nest in vegetation directly over the water, about a meter above the surface. The female lays 2 to 4 eggs,  hatching after 10-11 days of incubation, the young emerging almost naked and very dependent (altrical*).

The male is unique among world species for having a specialized skin pocket under the wing  (basically in the bird's "armpit") where the young can be carried even during swimming and flying. As the chicks grow, they may move to the dad's back, where they can ride even in dives.   (Ref: Alvarez del Toro 1971, cited in Birds of the World Sungrebe. )

*Altrical refers to chicks that are born dependent, with minimal feathers and no ability to navigate or feed independently. These chicks are generally nest bound, and fed by their parents. Examples include most songbirds like the American Robin, and raptors like owls and hawks.  Precocial chicks are born feathered and ready to go, with eggs hatching all at one time. Examples include Gambel's Quail, and Wood Ducks. 

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1200 sec., f/7.1, ISO 5000.

---

The only good research on the Sungrebe's "pit pocket" was done by Alvarez del Toto in 1971 (Ref: "On the biology of the American finfoot in southern Mexico." The Living Bird, Vol. 10, pp. 79–88). There are few drawings of the pocket itself, and fewer photographs, however it is reported that the male has an extra set of feathers at the base of the wing that helps to create a seal on the pocket. 

In the image of the male Sungrebe below, there seems to be an extra or at least a thicker set of underwing coverts at the base of the wing that might demarcate the pocket. 

---

---

Sungrebes in Costa Rica are reported as breeding at the beginning of the rainy season, about April, so by November when we were in Costa Rica the fledglings have likely matured beyond dependency on the parents.

In the series that follows we see a male working hard to take off!  He is "running" on the water in short hops, leaving a long series of splash marks behind. 

---

---

---

---

---

As he gets in the air, his black and yellow lobed feet appear. Lobed toes can be brought together in the water to simulate webbed feet for swimming.

---

---

---

Above and below, images of the male Sungrebe just getting airborne, with his snazzy black and yellow lobed toes in evidence.

---

---

---

---

Of the ~11,000 species of birds on this planet, the male Sungrebe is the only one known to have a specialized underwing pocket for carrying the young. 

---

Anhinga

---

Canon 7D Mkii,  EF100-400mm with 1.4x III at 560 mm, 1/400 sec., f/8/0, ISO 250, +0.67 EV.

---

Anhingas (the species) are members of the family Anhingidae, one of four families in the Order Suliformes, which includes frigatebirds, boobies, gannets, and cormorants. Note that the word "Anhinga" designates both the species described here as well as the genus it belongs to, which includes three other species, the African Darter, Oriental Darter, and the Australasian Darter. 

​Anhingas, like cormorants, swim and dive to catch fish, and like cormorants have feathers that do not repel water, making diving easier, but requiring time out of water to air dry before they can fly.  

Anhingas live year round close to water, fresh or salt, from the southeast U.S., into Mexico, Central and South America. See the range map above.

The male Anhinga has a black neck and body, with white patterns on the wings, and orange to red sprinkled on the head. The male seen in the images above and below was seen at Brazos Bend State Park in Texas in the spring of 2019.

---

---

Now, back to Costa Rica.  

The Anhingas shown below were all seen in the Cano Negro area on October 31st. The buff colored necks are typical of immature males or females and in the breeding season the male will sport turquoise blue markings around the eye, seen in the two images below. In Costa Rica Anhingas will breed when resources are plentiful, usually at the end of the dry season, March-April. My conclusion (possibly wrong!) is that this is a male at the end of breeding season that still has neck coloration of an immature. Or, perhaps there are subspecies color differences in this area of Costa Rica.  If anyone has the answer, please let us all know in the comments section at the end of this post.

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1600 sec., f/7.1, ISO 8000, EV +0.67

---

Above and below, this immature male Anhinga is perched on a snag drying out his feathers.

Below the Anhinga feet are evident,  fully webbed, with a nail at the end of the toe to facilitate perching.

Anhingas are excellent swimmers, using their bill to spear fish.

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/500 sec., f/7.1, ISO 2000. +0.33 EV.

---

---

Above and below, an immature or female Anhinga with buff neck and no blue markings on the head. These are beautiful birds with long tails said to be similar to a turkey's.

---

---

---

Below, for completeness, a male Anhinga in flight at Brazos Bend State Park in 2019. 

---

Canon 7D Mk ii, EF 100-400mm with 1.4x III at 560mm, 1/1000, f/8/0, ISO 2500, +0.67 EV.

---

Northern Jacana

---

Canon R6 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/2500 sec., f/7.1, ISO 1600, +1.33 EV.

---

The Northern Jacana is in the order Charadriiformes, a large and diverse order known by the collective name "shorebirds", which includes plovers, oystercatchers, stilts, avocets, sandpipers, gulls, terns, skimmers, and jacanas! They are known for their long toes allowing them to walk on surface vegetation. This gives the appearance of walking on water, leading to the nickname "Jesus bird." 

Northern Jacanas feed on insects from emergent vegetation, as well as some fruit. As the range map above shows, they live in southern Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America, always on or near water. They are spotted rarely in the southern U.S. One Northern Jacana took up residence in Tucson in December 2020 under the Ina Street bridge. For more on this see my post from 2020: A rare visitor down under the Ina Street bridge . . . . 

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/2000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 8000.

---

Male and female jacanas look alike, although the female is larger. Here we see a male looking after his brood. Northern Jacanas may breed year round if enough water is present.

Northern Jacanas have a polyandrous breeding system, whereby a female lives in a territory that covers the territories of 1-4 males. The males build multiple nests in their area, and the female mates with multiple males, laying eggs in sequence in the male's nests. The male incubates the eggs and cares for the hatchlings, which unlike Sungrebes are precocious, born able to swim, dive and feed.  (Ref: Wikipedia)

Here we see a male with three chicks feeding in the marsh.

---

---

---

---

Northern Jacanas have very long toes, even as chicks. Above and below we see the brood walking on the growth in the marsh looking for food.  

---

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 5000.

---

Above and  below we get a good look at the chick's really long feet and toes. For more on the anatomy of the bird foot (seriously, this is really interesting!) see this link to the Wikipedia entry Bird Feet and Legs, which includes photos of the African Jacana. 

---

---

The male jacana does all the parenting of the chicks, including tucking them under this wings and actually carrying them away from danger. I did not observe the "tuck and carry" move on this day, but an internet search reveals multiple images and videos of this behavior. Here is a link to a PBS Nature documentary on jacanas which was videoed in Africa, although the behavior is also common in the American species. Jacana Dad Rescues his Chicks from a Crocodile. 

This behavior is similar to that of the Sungrebe, but in the case of the jacana, the chicks are precocious, able to walk and forage almost right away, so the jacana dad has less reason to have a special underwing pocket.

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/2000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 8000.

---

What I did observe was the male Northern Jacana raising his wings repeatedly, as though to fly, only to pivot and bring them back down. Note that jacanas have very menacing looking bright yellow carpal spurs on each wing which are used in defense against predators, including other birds. 

---

---

---

---

---

For any nearby predators it certainly looks like dad is on patrol and not someone to mess with lightly! The young can see that dad's wings are there for protection if needed.

---

---

Southern Lapwing

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 5000.

---

Southern Lapwings are in the plover family, living year round (non-migratory) from Central America all the way to the southern tip of South America. They live on grasslands and pastures, feeding on insects, small fish and aquatic invertebrates. 

Here we see a Southern Lapwing on grasslands adjacent to the river. They are striking birds, with a gray back and neck and a black chest patch that extends up the neck to the forehead. They have a long narrow crest, and like jacanas, a spur on each wing for defense. They breed during the rainy season, April to October, and within a day the chicks are out of the nest and feeding on their own. On this day we did not see any chicks. 

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/400 sec., f/7.1, ISO 1600.

---

During the non-breeding season, Southern Lapwings can be found in large foraging flocks, displaying mobbing behavior against predators such as the Southern Caracara. The wing spurs, evident below, provide an extra level of defense. 

---

---

In the image below we can see that the large black chest patch runs up the neck all the way to the forehead.

---

---

Below we can see the Northern Lapwing in flight with the wing spurs evident.

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/400 sec., f/7.1, ISO 2000.

---

Black-collared Hawk

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/320 sec., f/7.1, ISO 4000.

---

Late afternoon on the river, we spotted this Black-collared Hawk, first perched, then in flight, probably looking for dinner. Black-collared Hawks eat fish with an occasional lizard or rodent, but not other birds. They live near or on fresh or brackish water from southern Mexico into South America. See the eBird range map to the right. Black-collared Hawks sport a black bib, rufous feathers, and a very short tail.

---

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/2000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 51200.

---

In flight the rufous plumage is accented by black primary flight feathers. 

---

---

---

---

Above and below the short tail is evident. 

---

---

Finally, for this season, the Kingfishers Three . . . .

---

Well, Christmas is upon us, and if we have been close to any recorded music, we have been regaled at least once with the three kings! Well, here are three kingfishers.

While there are over 100 kingfisher species worldwide, only 6 species call the Americas home. These six are: Belted, Ringed, Green, Amazon, Green-and-rufous, and American Pygmy.  On this day on a river in Costa Rica we spotted three of the six, gazing across the water looking for their next meal.

---

​Amazon Kingfisher

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 1250, -0.67 EV.

---

Amazon Kingfishers are dark birds with a white collar and belly. The males sport a rufous breast, the females have a narrower green breast band. They live along lakeshores and slow moving rivers from Mexico to Argentina. See the range map to the right. 

​Amazon Kingfishers eat fish and crustaceans, hunting from a perch over the water. They grab their prey, smack it on the perch, and swallow it head first. As we can see in the images above and below, the bill is large and spear-like. 

---

---

​American Pygmy Kingfisher

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/500 sec., f/7.1, ISO 1600.

---

The American Pygmy Kingfisher lives in tropical lowlands along quiet streams and swampy areas of lakes. Their hunting style is to perch low and stay concealed, diving for fish, tadpoles and small frogs. 

These kingfishers are very small as their name suggests. Here we see a male with a dark head and wings and rufous collar, throat and flanks. The female has a dark green breastband with white tips to the feathers (Ref: Birds of the World). 

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/320 sec., f/7.1, ISO 640, +0.67 EV.

---

Green Kingfisher

---

Canon R5m2 with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/320 sec., f/7.1, ISO 4000.

---

The Green kingfisher is slightly larger than the American Pygmy Kingfisher, but smaller than the Belted Kingfisher and the Ringed Kingfisher.  The female (seen here) has a white collar, buffy thoat and breast with speckled green bands across the breast and uppermost belly. The male has a rufous breast. 

Like other kingfishers they hunt from a perch where they can see prey in the water. They eat primarily small fish.  

---

That is it for Cano Negro!  More coming soon!  Stay tuned! 

Happy trails!