If I Were Going...: Birding in Costa Rica #7: San Luis Reserve

Our target bird

After spending time in the cloud forest, it was time to head towards Arenal. But, before we did that, Juan Diego took us in the opposite direction to the San Luis Reserve to see a unique bird that many on our trip had listed as a primary target bird: the Three-wattled Bellbird.

A beautiful Three-wattled Bellbird

And, as promised, there it was!

A rare moment when he wasn't singing

The bird has a ridiculously loud call that has a metallic – or bell-like – sound to it. And, this guy was using his voice!

But, singing here

Part of the call, referred to as the "bonk," is thought to be among the loudest bird calls on Earth, audible to humans from over a half mile away. The Three-wattled Bellbird is unique in that it learns its song, rather than having the song determined by instinct. Like Whales, the Three-wattled Bellbird changes its song over the years.

A Central American migratory bird of the Cotinga family, the male (which we saw) has a white head and throat and a chestnut brown body. From the base of his beak dangle three long, slender, black wattles that he uses in display.

The wattles were blowing in the breeze

Female; Photo: eBird

The female (which we heard, but didn't see) is completely different, smaller with olive plumage, yellowish streaked underparts and a yellow vent area.

The males are fairly large – about a foot tall – but are difficult to see because they usually hide in the trees.

Hearing them? No problem!

I didn't record it (it's just so tricky to hold a camera and a phone!), but I did find some Bellbirds singing on YouTube.

Beginning his song

Bellbirds have an interesting mating ritual. The male sneaks up behind the female perching on a high branch. As he quietly approaches, he opens his mouth a full 180 degrees to make his distinctive "bonk" sound in her ear, knocking her off of her branch. They repeat this sequence and, after the courtship is over, the female departs to build the nest and raise the chicks alone.

The bird we saw was fairly distant, flying from very far away to a closer tree as we watched it. When I was photographing, I was thinking, "Gee, I hope I get at least one shot with its mouth open." To my surprise, it had its mouth open in almost every shot.

Really funny to watch

And, I have never seen anything open its mouth that wide. It was a very cool bird to see.

And, there were more birds at the Reserve, including a Brown-hooded Parrot ...

Brown-hooded Parrot

... male and female Masked Tityras (I had seen a male back in San José) ...

Left, a male Masked Tityra; Right, a female

... some Canivet's Emeralds ...

A male Canivet's Emerald

... and some Yellow-throated Toucans I couldn't capture.

On the Road

Next, we drove somewhere down a very dusty and hot road to some salt ponds, looking for shorebirds. This foray wasn't particularly successful – and it was beastly hot.

But, I did get a few shots of a lovely Philadelphia Vireo ...

Playing hide-and-seek

... a Black Phoebe ...

Cooling off by the river

... and a White-throated Thrush ...

This one looks like an American Robin (and, indeed, an American Robin is really a Thrush)

Plus, as we drove, we saw the usual contingent of Tropical Kingbirds ...

So common that I didn't take many pictures

... a number of beautiful White-throated Magpie Jays and its less attractive cousin, the Brown Jay ...

Two large Jays

At a brief stop at a shop for those who wanted to buy coffee and chocolate, I photographed a black bird in the parking lot. I never ran it past Juan Diego. But, I think it was a Giant Cowbird ...