LAUGHING FALCON, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

   We can ID this raptor as a Laughing Falcon by its pale buff head, broad black face mask, blackish brown wings and pale buff underparts.
   The Laughing Falcon is also called the Snake Hawk (although it is not a hawk) because this Neotropical species is a specialist snake-eater.  It catches mainly snakes and lizards, and, to a lesser extent small rodents, bats and centipedes.  This raptor is called a Laughing Falcon because of its call:ha-ha-ha har-har-har or haww harr herrer. This series may be introduced by faster hahahahahaha calls, suggestive of maniacal laughter, particularly when the bird is startled.
   The Laughing Falcon is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 790.

ROADSIDE HAWK, ROUTE 922 & PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK, GUANACASTE,COSTA RICA,6/13/18

   We sighted the Roadside Hawk twice during this birding tour, once along Route 922 and then at Palo Verde National Park.  The first three photos were taken in the park, where the Roadside Hawk was very close to us.  The last three photos were taken along Route 922, where the hawk was quite far away.   The Roadside Hawk in the first three photos is an adult and in the last three photos, a juvenile.
   We can ID the hawk in the first three photos as an adult Roadside Hawk by it's gray head, yellow cere and Rufous baring on the belly.  We can ID the Roadside Hawk in the last three photos as a juvenile by the vertical stripes on its breast.
   The Roadside Hawk is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 789.

WHITE-WINGED DOVE, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE,COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

DOUBLE-STRIPED THICK-KNEE, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

COMMON GROUND-DOVES, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

BREEDING MALE BLUE GROSBEAK, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

   We can ID this bird  as a breeding male Blue Grosbeak by its overall deep blue color; small black mask in front of eyes; large, black-and-silver triangular bill and chestnut wing bars (you can see one of these wing bars in the first photo).
   Blue Grosbecks breed along roads and open areas.  They build their nest low in small trees, shrubs, tangles of vines, or briars.  The Blue Grosbeak is a migratory bird.  It nesting grounds are across most of the United States and much of northern Mexico, migrating South to Central Amerca and in very small numbers to northern South America.
   The Blue Grosbeck is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 788.

GROOVE-BILLED ANI, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/13/18