Birds of Manuel Antonio
SINAC counts about 352 bird species in Manuel Antonio National Park, from toucans and aracaris in the forest canopy to pelicans and frigatebirds over the offshore islands. You don’t need to be a birder to enjoy them: the big, colorful species are often heard first and seen from viewpoints, beach edges and hotel balconies. This page is a field guide to the birds visitors ask about most, and how to watch them well.
Why there are so many birds here
Travel Guide › Wildlife › Birds
Manuel Antonio packs very different habitats into a few square kilometers: humid forest, mangroves and estuaries, sandy and rocky shores, and twelve small islands. Each draws its own birds. The park’s management plan notes that most species are year-round residents, that about 93 migratory species use the park to rest, feed or breed, and that large birds of prey have become scarce as the surrounding forest has been fragmented.
This page is about which birds you might see and how to recognize them. For where and when to go birding, read our post Birdwatching in Manuel Antonio: Where, When and What to See.
Toucans and aracaris
SINAC names toucans among the park’s outstanding animals, and the park’s bird list includes three members of the toucan family.
Yellow-throated toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus)
The big toucan of the Central Pacific. In Central America it was long called the chestnut-mandibled toucan (Ramphastos swainsonii), and the park’s management plan lists it as tucán de Swainson. Adults reach 50 to 60 cm, and the bill alone can be 15 to 20 cm. Look for a black body with a bright yellow bib edged below by a thin white line and a red band, a white rump, and a two-toned bill: the upper part largely yellow, the lower part dark red at the base turning blackish toward the tip (Animal Diversity Web).
Listen for its yelping call. Animal Diversity Web notes that local people hear it as “Dios te dé, te dé, te dé” (“God give you”). Pairs and small groups keep to thick foliage in the heat of the day and become more active toward sunset, when groups may call in chorus from tall trees. They eat mostly fruit, plus insects and the occasional lizard, snake or nestling. IUCN status: Least Concern (assessed 2023).
Fiery-billed aracari (Pteroglossus frantzii)
A smaller, slimmer relative of the toucans, called cusingo in Costa Rica. According to Cornell’s Birds of the World, it lives only on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica and far western Panama, which makes the Central Pacific one of the few places in the world to see it. SINAC’s Spanish page names the tucancillo among the park’s outstanding species. IUCN status: Least Concern (assessed 2022). The park’s management plan lists it among the animals affected by conflicts with visitors, so please never offer it food.
Keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus)
The park’s bird list also includes the keel-billed toucan, whose Spanish name, tucán pico iris, means “rainbow-billed toucan”. IUCN status: Near Threatened (assessed 2021).
Scarlet macaw (lapa roja)
Scientific name: Ara macao. The scarlet macaw is on the park’s bird list, and at ECOTICA, a few minutes from the park, scarlet macaws are part of daily life. They are loud, big and hard to miss when they fly over.
Identification
About 89 cm long, and a third to a half of that is tail. Scarlet on the head and shoulders, a band of yellow on the back and wings, and blue wing tips and tail. The face is bare and white around pale yellow eyes. The bill is pale on top and black below (Animal Diversity Web).
Behavior and diet
Pairs stay together for life and are usually seen flying or feeding as a couple, while larger groups gather to sleep at night. They eat mainly fruit and nuts, sometimes nectar and flowers, and can crack very hard seeds; they often eat fruit before it ripens, before other animals can reach it. Animal Diversity Web describes them as important seed predators of large tree fruits, with a possible influence on which trees grow in the forest.
A Central Pacific comeback
A 14-year study published in Bird Conservation International (Vaughan and colleagues, 2005) followed one of Costa Rica’s two viable scarlet macaw populations, in the Central Pacific Conservation Area. Counts were falling in the early 1990s. After local groups began environmental education, nest protection and artificial nest building in 1995, August counts rose by about 37 birds in two years to an average of around 243, and stayed roughly stable through 2003.
IUCN status: Least Concern globally (assessed 2022). The park’s management plan lists the scarlet macaw among its birds of conservation concern, based on national and international listings.
Other notable birds of Manuel Antonio
All of the birds below appear in the national park’s bird list (management plan 2013–2018). Being on a list doesn’t mean you will see one on any given day.
Over the sea and the islands
- Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), brown booby (Sula leucogaster) and bridled tern (Onychoprion anaethetus). The park’s management plan records these seabirds, along with white ibis (Eudocimus albus), using the offshore islands, with Olocuita and Toro Amarillo the most used for nesting.
In the mangroves and estuaries
- Mangrove hummingbird (Amazilia boucardi). Found only in the mangroves of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, and listed as Endangered by the IUCN (assessed 2020). The management plan records it in the park’s mangroves near the Naranjo and Savegre river mouths.
- Herons, egrets and the boat-billed heron (Cochlearius cochlearius), plus kingfishers (the park list has five species) and, in some estuaries, the roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja).
In the forest
- Baird’s trogon (Trogon bairdii). A forest trogon listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN (assessed 2022). The park list includes four trogon species in all.
- Parrots and parakeets, including the orange-chinned parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis) and the red-lored parrot (Amazona autumnalis).
- Laughing falcon, guaco (Herpetotheres cachinnans), a bird of prey of forest edges.
- Common potoo (Nyctibius griseus), a well-camouflaged night bird.
- Tanagers and honeycreepers, such as the blue-gray tanager (Thraupis episcopus), the palm tanager (Thraupis palmarum), the red-legged honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus) and the green honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza): small, colorful birds of forest edges and gardens.
- Hummingbirds at flowering plants, and woodpeckers such as the lineated woodpecker (Dryocopus lineatus) and the pale-billed woodpecker (Campephilus guatemalensis).
How to watch birds well
- Go early. Many birds are most active in the first hours after sunrise, before the heat. The national park opens at 7:00 a.m. (check current days and hours in our national park guide).
- Bring binoculars and walk slowly. Stop often and listen: calls tell you where to look.
- Keep your distance from nests, and never handle eggs or chicks.
- Don’t use recordings to call birds in, and don’t feed them. The park’s management plan flags calling animals in and feeding them as problems in the park.
- No flash.
- Stay on the trails and keep noise low, as SINAC asks of every visitor.
Where visitors may encounter these birds
Birds move with the fruit, the tides and the weather, so no spot comes with a promise. These are good places to start.
- Manuel Antonio National Park, especially in the morning: forest trails for toucans, trogons and tanagers; the mangrove edges behind Playa Manuel Antonio and Playa Espadilla Sur for waterbirds; and the viewpoints for seabirds over the islands. See our national park guide.
- The coast for pelicans and frigatebirds, and a boat trip for a closer look at the islands. Our concierge can book ocean and boat tours.
- Forest around your hotel. At ECOTICA, toucans and scarlet macaws are part of daily life, never on a schedule. Our post on seeing wildlife where you stay has more.
- With a guide. A naturalist guide will find and name birds you would never pick out alone. See our wildlife and nature tours.
More wildlife: the wildlife guide, monkeys and sloths.
Sources and further reading
- SINAC – Manuel Antonio National Park (official page, English)
- SINAC – Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio (página oficial: horario, tarifas, servicios, recomendaciones)
- SINAC – Plan General de Manejo, Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio 2013–2018 (PDF; species lists, habitats, visitor impacts)
- Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan) – Chestnut-mandibled toucan (Ramphastos swainsonii)
- Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan) – Scarlet macaw (Ara macao)
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Birds of the World – Fiery-billed Aracari
- Vaughan, Nemeth, Cary & Temple (2005). Response of a Scarlet Macaw Ara macao population to conservation practices in Costa Rica. Bird Conservation International 15(2): 119–130
- IUCN Red List – Ramphastos ambiguus: Least Concern (assessed 2023)
- IUCN Red List – Ramphastos sulfuratus: Near Threatened (assessed 2021)
- IUCN Red List – Pteroglossus frantzii: Least Concern (assessed 2022)
- IUCN Red List – Ara macao: Least Concern (assessed 2022)
- IUCN Red List – Amazilia boucardi (mangrove hummingbird): Endangered (assessed 2020)
- IUCN Red List – Trogon bairdii (Baird’s trogon): Near Threatened (assessed 2022)
Last reviewed: September 2026. Conservation categories come from the IUCN Red List assessment shown next to each name; categories can change when species are reassessed. Park rules and opening details belong to SINAC, so check its official page before you go.
