Birds & Birding in Costa Rica: – Costa Rica’s national motto and tourism slogan, “La Pura Vida” loosely translates to Live Life or Enjoy Life. With over 900 bird species recorded in Costa Rica, there is certainly lots to enjoy! With 12 of the world’s 18 life zones, its diverse landscapes, including tropical rainforests, cloud forests, mangroves, and savannas, provide habitat for a wide range of iconic birds A Reflections of the Natural World Blog Post Series by Jim Gain
ABOUT THIS SPECIES
BLACK-HEADED TROGON – (Species Account Blog #101)
TAXONOMIC TREE:
- ORDER: Trogoniformes,
- FAMILY: Trogonidae, Trogons
- BINOMIAL NAME: Trogon melanocephalus
This beautiful yellow-bellied trogon is found in open forests from southern Mexico south and east through Central America to northwestern Costa Rica. It easily is distinguished by its solid black upperparts, black tail with broad white tips to the outer rectrices, and dark eye with a pale blue eye ring. (from Birds of the World)
SIMILAR SPECIES
Easily distinguished from all other yellow-bellied trogons by 1) solid black tail feathers broadly tipped with white (not barred); and 2) dark iris with pale blue eyering.
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION
PERSONAL OBSERVATION ANECDOTES
In Costa Rica we observed 1 Black-headed Trogon near Espiritu Santo, Mata de Limón, Puntarenas.
PHOTO GALLERY
**Some of these Photo Gallery images (all taken by me) have been taken in other nearby countries.
RECENT BLOG POSTS
View the five most recent Birds & Birding in Costa Rica series blog posts below.
- A Streak-headed Woodcreeper Feeds its Offspring Near the Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica
- PALE-BILLED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- SMOKY-BROWN WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- HOFFMANN’S WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
Reflections of the Natural World 
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