Guanacaste

When most people visit Guanacaste, they head to the beach. But the real magic of this area of Costa Rica lies in the dry forest habitat that makes up most of this region.

Dry tropical forest covered most of the Pacific side of Central America before colonization. While many parts of Costa Rica are lush and verdant year-round, Guancaste has a wet season (June through December) and then an intense dry season (January through May). The vegetation here is deciduous and is the area is barren, hot, and dry before the rains begin.

While this harsh environment isn't as diverse as some other regions, there are some very interesting species found here.

Some of the special birds here:

• Yellow-naped Amazon
• White-fronted Amazon
• Orange-fronted Parakeet
• Lesser Ground-Cuckcoo
• Turqouise-browed Motmot
• Long-tailed Manakin
• Thicket Tinamou
• Spot-bellied Bobwhite
• White-throated Magpie-Jay
• Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
• Northern Potoo
• Cinnamon Hummingbird
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• Stripe-headed Sparrow
• Double-striped Thick-knee

This area has some really nice birding spots that