Toucans are one of my favorite birds and Costa Rica is a great place to see them. If you’re a birder or photographer, you’ll definitely want to find out where to see these gorgeous birds.
In this post, you’ll find out when is the best time and where is the best places to see Costa Rica toucans.
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Costa Rica Toucans
There are 6 toucans in Costa Rica: Keel-billed toucan, Black-mandibled toucan (Yellow throated), Yellow-eared toucan, Fiery-billed Aracari, Collarred Aracari and Emerald Toucanet.
Emerald Toucanet
Of the 6 toucans in Costa Rica, the Emerald Toucanet is the smallest standing at 12 inches (30 centimeters).
This is the only toucan with a green chest and stomach. They blend in very well to the forest, so they can be difficult to spot right away.
They have a distinctive dark blue throat, making them different than the other Emerald Toucanets found in Mexico and South America.
Some classify them as a subspecies of the Emerald Toucanet and call them Blue-throated Toucanet.
They live in elevations from 2600-8000 feet (800 to 2400 meters) and are commonly seen in Monteverde, Turrialba and in the Caribbean mountains. These toucans are also found in Nicaragua and western Panama.
We saw Emerald Toucanets in Monteverde at the Children’s Eternal Rain forest Bajos del Tigre station, Treetopia Park hanging bridges trail and around our Monteverde Airbnb.
We also saw them up in the mountains of Turrialba, specifically the small community of Santa Cruz.
Collared Aracari
The Collared Aracari toucan stands 16 inches tall (41 centimeters) and look very similar to the Fiery-billed Aracari except for the coloration on the mandible.
The Collared Aracari has a white beak and a black belly stripe. They have in my opinion, the cutest call!
If you see one, you will most likely see more as they travel in groups of anywhere from 4-12.
They are common in the Guanacaste mountain range like the Tenorio Volcano National Park region, the Caribbean coast and the Northern Lowlands such as Arenal and Monteverde. They’re usually found in elevations up to 3000 feet (1000 meters).
We’ve seen Collared Aracari toucans in La Fortuna, Bijagua and Monteverde.
Fiery-billed Aracari
The Fiery-billed Aracari toucan has the coolest name! They look like the Collared Aracaris except for their chest and beak, which have red and orange stripes instead of white (hence the name Fiery).
They’re around the same size as the Collared ones as well.
You can see Fiery-billed Aracaris only in the Central and South Pacific of Costa Rica so places like Manuel Antonio, Uvita, Dominical, Ojochal, Sierpe and the Osa Peninsula.
They are endemic to Costa Rica and western Panama and don’t usually live up high in elevation.
We’ve seen them in Manuel Antonio and Uvita.
Yellow-Eared Toucanet
The Yellow-eared Toucanet is the hardest toucan to see of the 6 in Costa Rica.
This is the only toucan with a full black throat, breast and stomach but males and females are completely distinguishable, unlike the other toucans. Males have a yellow color on the side of their head whereas females do not.
Yellow eared Toucanets live in the the Guanacaste corridor to the Caribbean lowlands in elevations of 300 to 4000 feet (100 to 1200 meters).
Keel-billed Toucan
The Keel-billed toucan is the one most people relate to Costa Rica since it’s used as the symbol and logo for many companies.
It’s also known as the Rainbow toucan because of the stunning colors of their beak.
Also, the Keel billed toucan has the funniest call. Instead of a high pitch chirp, it has a croak which sounds like a frog.
The Keel billed toucans are found on the Caribbean side, in the Pacific coast mountains of Guanacaste, Monteverde, Turrialba, Cartago, mountains of the Central Valley and Arenal. They prefer an elevation of around 500-1500 meters (1640 – 4920 feet).
We’ve seen these toucans at in Monteverde, Bijagua, Boca Tapada, Puerto Viejo, Tortuguero and Turrialba.
When we stayed at Mawamba Lodge in Tortuguero, we must have seen 50 of the Keel Billed Toucans and the Yellow Throated toucans on the property!
Black-mandibled toucan (or Yellow Throated toucan)
The Black-mandibled toucan is the biggest of the 6 toucans in Costa Rican and they are known as bullies.
Since they are bigger than the others, they will bully the others for food and territory. These toucans are also omnivores and will hunt frogs and other birds.
They have a high pitched call and are the most common toucans to see. They live in Arenal, Monteverde, mountains of Guanacaste (not the coast), the Caribbean side and the South Pacific.
Birding Tours to See Costa Rica Toucans
To see toucans in Costa Rica, you don’t necessarily need to go on a bird watching tour, depending on where you are. However, I do recommend it if you’re a birder or photographer that absolutely wants to see them.
We have seen toucans on several guided nature walks before.
Curi Cancha Guided Day Walk: This reserve is one of the best in Monteverde for birding thanks to its open pastures and mix of primary and secondary transition forest. We saw so many Keel billed toucans here! You can also see Resplendant Quetzals and many hummingbirds.
Birdwatching around Arenal Volcano: Arenal Volcano is home to many birds, both resident and migratory thanks to the primary and secondary rainforest and Lake Arenal. Lots of Yellow throated and Keel billed toucans around.
Birding Lodges/Hotels
Some hotels are designed for specifically bird watching (observation tower, bird watching platform, etc.) such as Birds and Breakfast, Macaw Lodge, Danta Corcovado Lodge, Finca Verde Lodge, Trogon Lodge, Selva Verde Lodge, Villas Lapas Jungle Lodge, Maquenque Lodge and Lapa Rios Lodge.
One of the best bird watching experience we’ve had was at Maquenque Lodge. Their dining area overlooks a lake so while eating breakfast, we saw dozens of birds flying around!
Save 5% on your stay at Maquenque Lodge using our promo code “mytanfeet” on their website!
Another one was down in the Osa Peninsula with Danta Corcovado Lodge. We saw all sorts of birds, from Macaws to Toucans, the amazing Red Capped Manakin and the stunning King Vulture from their observation tower.
Then at Mawamba Lodge in Tortuguero, we saw dozens of Yellow Throated and Keel billed toucans in the tree outside our hotel room every day in December. It was so cool!
National Parks and Places
The best places for bird watching in Costa Rica are Carara National Park, Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge, Curi-Cancha Wildlife Reserve, Palo Verde National Park, Osa Peninsula, Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge and Tortuguero National Park.
If you’re a photographer, don’t forget to bring a telephoto zoom lens (at least 400mm), a steady tripod (we use Manfrotto) and gimbal head to get those sharp photos and videos.
Itineraries
We put together a 2 week Costa Rica birding and wildlife itinerary to make your trip planning easy.
You can follow it exactly because it has everything to plan your trip including transportation, hotel recommendations, where to eat and daily itineraries.
Arwen Kataoka says
got any recs for seeing keel-billed toucans in monteverde?
Sammi says
We saw a whole bunch in the Curi Cancha Reserve!
Emile says
I recently moved very close to Zancudo Beach in the Southern Pacific Zone…and I often see (and hear) the Chestnut Mandibled Toucans in my yard.
I heard they were less common here in the Puntarenas Province, however I spot at least three per day and hear them throughout the day.
Pura Vida
Sammi says
I definitely see them down in the South and Osa a lot! Probably saw several everyday when we were there, and in Puerto Jiemenez one of the hotel we stayed at had a whole tree full. At least you can hear them, if you can’t see them!
Gwen says
This is the best site, it has almost the exact same thing as I saw in Costa Rica