Page 123 - CARIBE TOURIST GUIDE

Turkey Vulture
(Cathartes aura)
L: 64-81 cm (25-32 in)
W: 170-178 cm (67-70 in) Mating zone:
América hasta S. de Canadá Overwintering zones: S. de EU, Centro & S. América
Average per season: 936548 English name: Turkey Vulture
Long, narrow tail and wings. Black body plumage contrasting with gray flight feathers. Head appears small. Wings form a dihedral angle. Infrequent flapping with an oscillating flight pattern.
L: 60-68 cm (24-27 in)
W: 137-150 cm (54-59 in) Annual location range: Widely distributed in the US, Mexico, Central and South America. English name: Black Vulture
Resident species of vulture, non-migratory.
Wide wings, short and square tail. Smaller than the turkey vulture, but has a larger head and a more robust stature. Black with a white patch along primaries. Seen in thermal currents with other vultures, but rarely along migration routes.
L: 54-58 cm (21-23 in)
W: 150-180 cm (59-71 in) Reproduction zones: Southern Canada and continental US Overwintering zones: Coasts of southern US, Mexico and Central America, well-distributed in South America to northern Argentina Average per season: 1403,8 English name: Osprey
Long wings in flight, appear bent along the “wrist” into an M-shape. Frequently described as having a gull-like appearance. All of the plumage has a light underside with notable black marks.
L: 58cm (24-27 in )
W: 130 cm (54-59 in)
Reproduction zone: Southeastern US to eastern Peru and northern Argentina.
Overwintering zone: South America Average per season: 474.6
English name: Swallow-tailed Kite
Long, pointed wings. Unmistakable long, forked tail. Underside white, flight feathers black. Graceful, agile flight; floats and turns with few flaps followed by rapid descent with powerful flaps.
L: 24-34 cm (9-13 in)
W: 43-56 cm (17-22 in)
Reproduction zone: Northwestern and central Mexico, US and Canada Overwintering zone: US & Mexico Average number per year: 14.8 English name: Sharp-shinned hawk
Short, rounded wings, long and narrow tail with a square point. Alternates flapping and gliding. Distinguished from Cooper’s Hawk by its faster flaps and a shorter tail with square edges. The sharp-shinned hawk keeps its wings pointed towards its tail, giving the appearance of a proportionally smaller head than that of Cooper’s Hawk.
L: 39-50 cm (15-20 in)
W: 62-90 cm (24-35 in) Reproduction zone: Northwestern Mexico, continental US and southern Canada.
Overwintering zone: US & Mexico Average number per season: 13 English name: Cooper’s Hawk
Short wings and long, narrow and rounded tail. Alternates flapping and gliding. Can be distinguished from the sharp-shinned hawk by its slower flapping and a proportionally longer tail with a rounded outline. Its flight profile with straight wings causes the head of the Cooper’s Hawk to appear proportionally larger than that of the sharp-shinned hawk.
Credits: Costa Rican Tourism Board. Tourism Planning and Development Office. Text by: Mario Badilla, Pablo Camacho. Photos: Fundación Rapaces. Reviewed by: Pablo Camacho, Luis H. Elizondo, Rodolfo Lizano and Rafael Soto. Illustrations: Julio Gallardo. Design: Floria Leiva.
www.ict.go.cr. Tel. (506) 2299-5800
Swallow-tailed Kite
(Elanoides forficatus)
List of the migratory birds of prey and vultures in Costa Rica
Order / Family /Species
English name
Cathartiformes
Cathartidae
Cathartes aura
Turkey Vulture
Accipitriformes
Pandionidae
Pandion haliaetus
Osprey
Accipitridae
Chondrohierax uncinatus*
Hook-billed Kite
Elanoides forficatus
Swallow-tailed Kite
Circus hudsonius
Northern Harrier
Accipiter striatus
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Accipiter cooperii
Cooper’s Hawk
Ictinia mississippiensis
Mississippi Kite
Ictinia plumbea
Plumbeous Kite
Rostrhamus sociabilis*
Snail Kite
Parabuteo unicinctus*
Harris’s Hawk
Buteo platypterus
Broad-winged Hawk
Buteo brachyurus*
Short-tailed Hawk
Buteo swainsoni
Swainson’s Hawk
Buteo albonotatus*
Zone-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
Red-tailed Hawk
Falconiformes
Falconidae
Falco sparverius
American Kestrel
Falco columbarius
Merlin
Falco femoralis
Aplomado Falcon
Falco peregrinus
Peregrine Falcon
Black Vulture
(Coragyps atratus)
Sharp-shinned Hawk
(Accipiter striatus)
Osprey
(Pandion haliaeetus)
Cooper’s Hawk
(Accipiter cooperi)
MIGRA
BIRDS
COST
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Why do they migrate?
Most diurnal birds of prey in North America are migratory, flying south between August and December during the fall migration.
Their return in the spring migration is much more
widely dispersed, taking place on the Pacific and Caribbean
coasts, and less numerous (due to mortality and birds that stay in the
tropics).
This migration is caused by severe climatic conditions during the winter and the resulting scarcity of prey. Young birds of prey in their first
year of life are forced to travel south earlier than the adults, due to their developing physiology and the fact that they are still perfecting their hunting abilities.
Swallow-tailed Kite
Broad-winged
Hawk Buteo platypterus Photo: Juan A. Redondo
Elanoides forficatus
Photo: Juan A. Palma
Kèköldi, in the Caribbean
lowlands of Costa Rica (Talamanca, Cahuita and Puerto Viejo), sees over three million migrating birds of prey in a single season, making it the second-largest migratory path on the planet.
The area has also recorded the highest concentration of Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) anywhere in the world during the fall migration, with over 3,000 individuals per season.
San José
Caribbean sea
Këkoldi
Pacific ocean
Fall migration Spring migration
Of these numbers, 94% are concentrated in 4 species:
Swainson’s Hawk
Source: rapacesdecostarica.org
Turkey
Vulture Cathartes aura Photo: Rodolfo Dodero
Swainson’s Hawk
Buteo swainsoni
14,4% 33,1%
Broad-winged Hawk
Photo: José David Vargas
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Buteo swainsoni
41,5%
4,9%
6%
Others
Mississippi Kite
The migration generally peaks during the first half of October, with numbers of over
500 000
individuals recorded in a single day!
Buteo platypterus Ictinia mississippiensis
The region has been repeatedly recognized, in Costa Rica and abroad, as a priority area for conservation.
T
O
A
October November
September