COSTA RICA - Costa Rican animals

Keel billed tucan (Tucan pico iris)

This toucan is common from sea level to 1 200 m in forest, tall second growth, and pastures that contain some mature trees.
The Keel-Billed lives between southern Mexico and northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela. It is common on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, but less so on the Pacific side, and is rarer in the northern Pacific region of the country, such as in Valle Central. It can be found on the lower slopes of Cordillera de Guanacaste, Peninsula de Nicoya, and the southwest side of Valle Central. It does not live south of the Parita-Quepos region.
National Parks : Tortuguero Nacional Park, Cahuita National Park, La Selva, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

The Keel-Billed Toucan is sometimes called the Rainbow-Billed Toucan, for the progression of yellow, orange, lime, and pale blue to the crimson tip of its exceptionally bright and enormous beak. This bill is deceptively light-being hollow and narrow-and a surprisingly adroit tool for plucking ripened fruits from awkward angles without trusting this large bird's weight to flimsy branches. The bill, white tail feathers, and bright blue legs contrast with the rest of the dark bird. Aside from yellow facial skin and bib lined in red, this large bird's body is mostly black with maroon on its back and neck, and olive on its lower back and underside.

Iguana

The Green Iguana or Common Iguana (Iguana iguana) is a large, arboreal herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana native to Central and South America. The green iguana ranges over a large geographic area, from southern Brazil and Paraguay to as far north as Mexico and the Caribbean Islands; and in the United States as feral populations in South Florida (including the Florida Keys), Hawaii, and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

A herbivore, it has adapted significantly with regard to locomotion and osmoregulation as a result of its diet. It grows to 1.5 metres in length from head to tail, although a few specimens have grown more than 2 metres with bodyweights upward of 9.1 kg.

Commonly found in captivity as a pet due to its calm disposition and bright colors, it can be demanding to care for properly. Space requirements and the need for special lighting and heat can prove challenging to an amateur hobbyist.

Scarlet Macaw (Lapa Roja)

The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is a large, colorful macaw. It is native to humid evergreen forests in the American tropics. Range extends from extreme south-eastern Mexico to Amazonian Peru, Bolivia and Brazil in lowlands up to 500 m (at least formerly) up to 1 000 m . It has been widely extirpated by habitat destruction and capture for the parrot trade, but locally it remains fairly common. Formerly it ranged north to southern Tamaulipas. It can still be found on the island of Coiba. It is the national bird of Honduras.

Strawberry poison dart frog (Rana Roja venenosa)

The strawberry poison frog or strawberry poison-dart frog, (Oophaga pumilio) is a species of poison dart frog found in Central America. It is common throughout its range, which extends from eastern central Nicaragua through Costa Rica and northwestern Panama. The species is often found in humid lowlands and premontane forest, but large populations are also found in disturbed areas such as plantations. The strawberry poison frog is perhaps most famous for its widespread variation in coloration, comprising approximately 15-30 color morphs, most of which are presumed to be true-breeding.

Blue morpho (Morfo azul)

The Blue Morpho Butterfly (Morpho menelaus) is an iridescent blue butterfly that lives in rainforests of South and Central America, including Brazil, Costa Rica, and Venezuela.

The Blue Morpho Butterfly is a species of neotropical butterfly that has brilliant blue wings (the females are are not as brilliantly colored as the males and have a brown edge with white spots surrounding the iridescent blue area). The undersides (visible when the butterfly is resting) are brown with bronze-colored eyespots. The Blue Morpho has a wingspan of about 6 inches (15 cm). Adults drink the juices of rotting fruit using their straw-like proboscis.

The caterpillar of the Blue Morpho is red-brown with bright patches of lime-green on the back, and it eats the plant Erythroxylum pilchrum nocturnally (at night).

Squirrel monkey (Mono Titi)

Squirrel Monkeys are some of the most commonly seen monkeys in the Central American rainforest's, even though they are very shy and skiddish. They average about 1 foot in length, with the their tails adding on another full foot. Squirrel monkeys weigh 1.5-2.5 lbs, and are diurnal, or active during the daytime.

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Postcard sent by Laura, as "LauraCR"
Private swap - Reference CR002

Costa Rican animals :
Keel billed tucan, iguana, scarlet macaw,
strawberry poison dart frog, blue morpho, squirrel monkey

Muchas gracias