Birds of Costa Rica

Genus Micrastur, Forest Falcons, are secretive birds that live inside mature forest hunting birds, rodents and reptiles. Note bare skin on face and distinctive parrot-like head. They may visit ant swarms, or may be found when they are being mobbed by smaller birds.


Slaty-backed Forest Falcon (Micrastur mirandollei) Immature Panama Rainforest Discover Center, Colón province, Panama
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas) © All Rights Reserved.


Barred Forest Falcon (Micrastur ruficollis interstes) Male Costa Rica
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Barred Forest Falcon (Micrastur ruficollis ruficollis) Female Araripe, Ceará, Brazil
Photograph by Hector Bottai Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0). In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it under this or a similar cc-by-sa license.

At 38 cm., among the smaller forest falcons.


Collared Forest Falcon (Micrastur semitorquatus naso) Costa Rica
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.

A large hawk-sized forest falcon which is the most often seen and most widespread forest falcon. Frequently heard, and likes to call at night as well.

© Tom Friedel - All Rights Reserved, except for images and data otherwise noted.       Colombia       Panama       Ecuador       Costa Rica       Mexico
Experimental sites:       Peru       Venezuela       The World       Brazil       Bolivia
Really Experimental sites:       Guyana       Cuba