Satiny Parrot Snake

On our Costa Rican tour, we often made night hikes, with hopes of seeing frogs. During a walk at the Arenal Observatory Lodge on 9 July 2017, Erika was startled by a strange-shaped tree branch. It turned out to be a Satiny Parrot Snake. These reptiles feed on lizards, frogs and small snakes (Wikipedia). The species is found from Central America and most of northern South America.

Creamy Crescent

The butterfly people on our dragonfly tour enjoyed an incredible diversity of butterflies along the road leading from the Arenal Observatory Lodge on 10 July 2017. I am now disappointed that I did not pay more attention to our butterfly experts during the tour—there was a lot to be learned. At the time, however, I had my hands full with the diversity of dragonflies and birds.  I may have mentioned earlier that this year seemed to support a surprising number of butterflies in Costa Rica. This Creamy Crescent (Eresia clio) is found from southern Mexico to Brazil and Bolivia. This butterfly feeds on nectar and also comes down to feed on minerals on river sandbanks.

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

While we hunted for dragonflies along the road near the Arenal Observatory Lodge on 10 July 2017, we flushed up a Rufous-tailed Jacamar. This family of birds inhabits Central and South America. They sally forth from perches in forest clearings, often eating dragonflies. You may notice the jacamar was successful competing against us—the bird has captured a Slender Skimmer.

Jacamars are primitive birds, related to kingfishers, trogons or puffbirds, Ornithologists are uncertain of the exact taxonomic relationships of jacamars.

Costa Rican Wedgetail

Costa Rican Wedgetails are relatively new to science, described in 1985. They are, nevertheless, relatively common in their Costa Rican and Nicaraguan range. They do not require specific habitat, preferring a variety of wetlands like ponds and streams.

We saw them several times, but here, near the Arenal Obseratory Lodge on 10 July 2917, I was able to capture an image of the wedge-shaped structure at the end of its abdomen.

Blue-abdomened Moth

Along the Arenal Lodge road on 10 July, we photographed this creature in some bushes. I assumed it was a rather stunningly colored butterfly. My butterfly expert, however, noticed that the antennae are not clubbed. So this is a moth. “Good luck identifying it,” he said, “there are hundreds and hundreds of moths in Costa Rica.” 

Grinning Heliconian

 

Heliconius cydno goes by several different common names, including Grinning Heliconian and Cydno Longwing. This butterfly ranges fro Mexico to northern South America. It is usually found in the forest understory.

Grinning Heliconians may be examples of Müllerian mimicry, when clusters of distasteful or poisonous creatures look similar—and thus warning potential predators. These heliconians also have wing clicking behavior, which is relatively rare in butterflies. The sound may distract predators or attract mates.

Iris Calephelis

Calephelis iris is a handsome butterfly found from Guatemala to Colombia. Other butterflies in the genus are called sintellants. I am sorry that little other information on this creature exists in the Internet. This one adorned the roadside near the Arenal Observatory Lodge on 10 July.

Brilliant Greenmark

This Brilliant Greenmark (Caria mantinea) is the most stunning butterfly I have ever seen. The genus is said to be common but elusive (Learn About Butterflies). Adults are usually found in rainforest canopies. Sunny days often bring them lower, even to feed on the ground. Various species of the geus are found from Central to South America. We found this butterfly along the roadside near a small stream as we took an afternoon drive from the Arenal Observatory Lodge on 10 July 2017.

Fasciated Tiger-Heron

On the afternoon of 10 July, we took a short bus ride down the road leading to the Arenal Observatory Lodge in Costa Rica. We spent most of our time near a river. Along the road, in a tiny, overgrown seepage, one of our guides, Tom Bird, found a young Fasciated Tiger-Heron.

Fasciated Tiger-Herons are found in rapids of rocky rivers. There they stab fish and large arthropods. This species is found from Costa Rica through the South American Andes to northwestern Argentina, and east through northern Venezuela to Guyana. Despite this large range, this species is uncommon and local (Cornell; Wikipedia).

Montezuma Oropendola

Montezuma Oropendolas are huge blackbirds that enjoy a non-continuous range from southeastern Mexico to central Panama. These photos are from the 10th and 14th of July 2017 at the Arenal Observatory Lodge and at the Laguna Lagarto Lodge. They are common at forest edges and farmlands. They nest colonially in tall trees and make large, hanging basket nests. Only the females build the nests.The average number of nests in a colony is in the low 20s, but sometimes contain over 130 (Sample and Kannan 2016).

Montezuma Oropendolas are polygynous.  Dominant males sire most of the young in a colony. Less dominant males are able to mate with females, if they are away from the colony and the dominant bird. So you can see, it is important to be a dominant male. They display by screeching a loud, gurgling call. Then the male bows, cocks his tail, spreads his wings, and ends up hanging up-side-down. Check out the following images!