Manuel Antonio National Park

National Park · Costa Rica

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Photo © Rodtico21

Photo © Rodtico21 — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Where tropical rainforest descends steeply to a rocky Pacific coastline, Manuel Antonio National Park distills Central American biodiversity into one of Costa Rica's most compressed and dramatically accessible landscapes. Spanning just 1,685 hectares along the Puntarenas coast south of Quepos, the park fuses three distinct habitats—humid lowland forest, mangrove-fringed estuaries, and rocky headlands—into a mosaic that supports an extraordinary concentration of wildlife. The canopy teems with small forest mammals, arboreal primates, and insectivorous birds that exploit every strata from the forest floor to the emergent layer, while the understory shelters ground-foraging species and nocturnal hunters. Offshore, rocky reefs and sandy coves attract wading birds, cormorants, and gulls; the forest edge where vegetation meets beach and boulder hosts a distinct guild of specialized coastal predators and scavengers. This ecological intensity—rare for such a small reserve—stems from the park's steep topography, which creates rapid transitions between wet tropical lowland and drier coastal conditions, each harbouring its own resident and migratory fauna.

For wildlife photographers and serious birders, Manuel Antonio offers unmatched proximity to Central American tropical fauna. The combination of manageable size, well-maintained trails, and the near-certainty of encountering canopy-dwelling primates and mixed feeding flocks of woodland songbirds makes it an ideal introduction to neotropical forest ecology, yet one that rewards repeated visits and patient dawn observation. The seasonal migration patterns of northern neotropical migrants and resident breeding populations create distinct birding windows: late autumn and winter months concentrate species diversity, while the green season activates breeding displays and fledgling activity. The park's coastal setting delivers exceptional quality light during the golden hours, and the dramatic interplay of granite outcrops, forest, and water creates compositional depth unavailable in inland reserves. Access is straightforward—a short journey from Quepos town—and the modest trail network allows naturalists to cover multiple habitats in a single morning, maximizing the probability of productive encounters with canopy fauna, raptors, and marine-edge specialists that define this pocket of biodiversity.

Website sinac.go.cr

Phone +506 2777-5155

Yellow-throated Toucan

Ramphastos ambiguus

Fiery-billed Aracari

Pteroglossus frantzii

Coragyps atratus

Pitangus sulphuratus

Grey-cowled Wood Rail

Aramides cajaneus

American White Ibis

Eudocimus albus

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Tigrisoma mexicanum

Lesson's Motmot

Momotus lessonii

Black-hooded Antshrike

Thamnophilus bridgesi

Rupornis magnirostris

Common Black Hawk

Buteogallus anthracinus

Golden-naped Woodpecker

Melanerpes chrysauchen

Chestnut-backed Antbird

Poliocrania exsul

Orange-chinned Parakeet

Brotogeris jugularis

Butorides virescens

Cantorchilus semibadius

Green Kingfisher

Chloroceryle americana

Red-lored Amazon

Amazona autumnalis

Laughing Falcon

Herpetotheres cachinnans

American Pygmy Kingfisher

Chloroceryle aenea

White-tipped Dove

Leptotila verreauxi

Scarlet-rumped Tanager

Ramphocelus passerinii

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

Thraupis palmarum

Red-crowned Woodpecker

Melanerpes rubricapillus

Blue-grey Tanager

Thraupis episcopus

Golden-hooded Tanager

Stilpnia larvata

Pale-vented Pigeon

Patagioenas cayennensis

Pale-billed Woodpecker

Campephilus guatemalensis

Pelecanus occidentalis

Tropical Mockingbird

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Amazilia tzacatl

Social Flycatcher

Myiozetetes similis

Northern Black-throated Trogon

Trogon tenellus

Coereba flaveola

Crowned Woodnymph

Thalurania colombica

Groove-billed Ani

Crotophaga sulcirostris

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl

Glaucidium brasilianum

Purple Gallinule

Porphyrio martinica

Crested Caracara

Caracara plancus

Cocoa Woodcreeper

Xiphorhynchus susurrans

White-crowned Parrot

Southern House Wren

Troglodytes musculus

Grey-headed Chachalaca

Ortalis cinereiceps

Finsch's Parakeet

Psittacara finschi

Boat-billed Flycatcher

Megarynchus pitangua

Grey-headed Tanager

Eucometis penicillata

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Numenius hudsonicus

Slaty-tailed Trogon

Southern Lapwing

Vanellus chilensis

Clay-colored Thrush

Velvety Manakin

Lepidothrix velutina

Little Blue Heron

Egretta caerulea

Spot-crowned Euphonia

Euphonia imitans

Penelope purpurascens

Montezuma Oropendola

Psarocolius montezuma

Green Honeycreeper

Chlorophanes spiza

Lineated Woodpecker

Dryocopus lineatus

Charming Hummingbird

Polyerata decora

Variable Seedeater

Sporophila corvina

Ruddy Ground Dove

Columbina talpacoti

Ringed Kingfisher

Megaceryle torquata

Orange-billed Sparrow

Arremon aurantiirostris

Neotropic Cormorant

Nannopterum brasilianum

Sarcoramphus papa

Red-capped Manakin

Ceratopipra mentalis

Hoffmann's Woodpecker

Melanerpes hoffmannii

Yellow-crowned Euphonia

Euphonia luteicapilla

White-winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna autumnalis

Boat-billed Heron

Cochlearius cochlearius

Rufous-backed Wren

Campylorhynchus capistratus

Pandion haliaetus

Streak-headed Woodcreeper

Lepidocolaptes souleyetii

Western Cattle Egret

Northern Jacana

Buteo plagiatus

Gartered Trogon

Trogon caligatus

White-necked Puffbird

Notharchus hyperrhynchus

Band-tailed Barbthroat

Threnetes ruckeri

Pulsatrix perspicillata

Grey-capped Flycatcher

Myiozetetes granadensis

Melodious Blackbird

Blue-black Grassquit

Volatinia jacarina

White-collared Swift

Streptoprocne zonaris

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

Grey-breasted Martin

Progne chalybea

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

Great Crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus crinitus

Streaked Flycatcher

Myiodynastes maculatus

Tricolored Heron

Egretta tricolor

Nyctidromus albicollis

Buff-throated Saltator

Saltator maximus

Tityra semifasciata

Black-crowned Tityra

Tityra inquisitor

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Cyanerpes cyaneus

Nyctibius griseus

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Tennessee Warbler

Leiothlypis peregrina

Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterus

Baltimore Oriole

Icterus galbula

Tringa semipalmata

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Nyctanassa violacea

Thick-billed Euphonia

Euphonia laniirostris

Prothonotary Warbler

Protonotaria citrea

Purple-crowned Fairy

Heliothryx barroti

Blue-throated Sapphire

Chlorestes eliciae

Thalasseus maximus

Mangrove Warbler

Setophaga petechia

Crypturellus soui

Lesser Nighthawk

Chordeiles acutipennis

Nyctibius grandis

American Black Swift

Cypseloides niger

Costa Rican Swift

Chaetura fumosa

White-necked Jacobin

Florisuga mellivora

Stripe-throated Hermit

Phaethornis striigularis

Long-billed Hermit

Phaethornis longirostris

Violet Sabrewing

Campylopterus hemileucurus

Scaly-breasted Hummingbird

Phaeochroa cuvierii

Smooth-billed Ani

Mangrove Cuckoo

Short-billed Pigeon

Patagioenas nigrirostris

Blue Ground Dove

Claravis pretiosa

Ruddy Quail-Dove

Geotrygon montana

Pluvialis squatarola

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

Short-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus griseus

Wandering Tattler

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Thalasseus elegans

Leucophaeus atricilla

Mycteria americana

Anhinga anhinga

Fasciated Tiger Heron

Tigrisoma fasciatum

Egretta rufescens

Great Blue Heron

Swallow-tailed Kite

Elanoides forficatus

Geranospiza caerulescens

Pseudastur albicollis

Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatus

Short-tailed Hawk

Buteo brachyurus

Lophostrix cristata

Black-and-white Owl

Strix nigrolineata

Amazon Kingfisher

Chloroceryle amazona

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Collared Forest Falcon

Micrastur semitorquatus

Falco rufigularis

Brown-hooded Parrot

Pyrilia haematotis

Orange-fronted Parakeet

Eupsittula canicularis

Tawny-winged Woodcreeper

Dendrocincla anabatina

Wedge-billed Woodcreeper

Glyphorynchus spirurus

Northern Barred Woodcreeper

Dendrocolaptes sanctithomae

Northern Plain Xenops

Xenops mexicanus

Ochre-bellied Flycatcher

Mionectes oleagineus

Bright-rumped Attila

Attila spadiceus

Lesser Greenlet

Pachysylvia decurtata

Yellow-green Vireo

Vireo flavoviridis

Philadelphia Vireo

Vireo philadelphicus

Yellow-throated Vireo

Vireo flavifrons

Black-bellied Wren

Pheugopedius fasciatoventris

Trilling Gnatwren

Ramphocaenus melanurus

White-browed Gnatcatcher

Polioptila bilineata

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

White-vented Euphonia

Euphonia minuta

Yellow-throated Euphonia

Euphonia hirundinacea

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Seiurus aurocapilla

Northern Waterthrush

Parkesia noveboracensis

Black-and-white Warbler

Mniotilta varia

Mourning Warbler

Geothlypis philadelphia

Kentucky Warbler

Geothlypis formosa

American Redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

Bay-breasted Warbler

Setophaga castanea

Cairina moschata

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Common Nighthawk

Chordeiles minor

Short-tailed Nighthawk

Lurocalis semitorquatus

Chuck-will's-widow

Antrostomus carolinensis

Spot-fronted Swift

Cypseloides cherriei

Chestnut-collared Swift

Streptoprocne rutila

Chaetura pelagica

Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift

Panyptila cayennensis

White-tipped Sicklebill

Eutoxeres aquila

Phaethornis guy

Green-breasted Mango

Anthracothorax prevostii

White-crested Coquette

Lophornis adorabilis

Long-billed Starthroat

Heliomaster longirostris

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

Chlorostilbon assimilis

Violet-headed Hummingbird

White-tailed Emerald

Microchera chionura

Blue-vented Hummingbird

Saucerottia hoffmanni

Snowy-bellied Hummingbird

Saucerottia edward

Common Squirrel Cuckoo

Patagioenas speciosa

Band-tailed Pigeon

Patagioenas fasciata

Red-billed Pigeon

Patagioenas flavirostris

Common Ground Dove

Columbina passerina

Plain-breasted Ground Dove

Columbina minuta

Grey-chested Dove

Leptotila cassinii

Zenaida macroura

Common Gallinule

Gallinula galeata

Fulica americana

Grey-breasted Crake

Laterallus exilis

White-throated Crake

Laterallus albigularis

Aramus guarauna

Tachybaptus dominicus

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

American Oystercatcher

Haematopus palliatus

Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanus

Charadrius vociferus

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Stilt Sandpiper

Calidris himantopus

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos

Western Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusilla

Onychoprion anaethetus

Sternula antillarum

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

Hydroprogne caspia

Larosterna inca

Chlidonias niger

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Eurypyga helias

Red-billed Tropicbird

Phaethon aethereus

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Ardenna pacifica

Galapagos Shearwater

Puffinus subalaris

Red-footed Booby

Sula dactylatra

Blue-footed Booby

Mesembrinibis cayennensis

Roseate Spoonbill

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Gampsonyx swainsonii

White-tailed Kite

Elanus leucurus

Hook-billed Kite

Chondrohierax uncinatus

Grey-headed Kite

Leptodon cayanensis

Black Hawk-Eagle

Spizaetus tyrannus

Ornate Hawk-Eagle

Spizaetus ornatus

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

Microspizias superciliosus

Mississippi Kite

Ictinia mississippiensis

Ictinia plumbea

Great Black Hawk

Buteogallus urubitinga

Parabuteo unicinctus

Swainson's Hawk

Buteo swainsoni

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

American Barn Owl

Tropical Screech Owl

Megascops choliba

Middle American Screech Owl

Megascops guatemalae

Black-headed Trogon

Trogon melanocephalus

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

Galbula ruficauda

White-whiskered Puffbird

Malacoptila panamensis

Keel-billed Toucan

Ramphastos sulfuratus

Olivaceous Piculet

Picumnus olivaceus

Rufous-winged Woodpecker

Piculus simplex

Barred Forest Falcon

Micrastur ruficollis

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Falco columbarius

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Blue-headed Parrot

Pionus menstruus

Amazona farinosa

Scaly-throated Leaftosser

Sclerurus guatemalensis

Ruddy Woodcreeper

Dendrocincla homochroa

Black-striped Woodcreeper

Xiphorhynchus lachrymosus

Chiriqui Foliage-gleaner

Automolus exsertus

Western Woodhaunter

Automolus virgatus

Slaty Spinetail

Synallaxis brachyura

Pale-breasted Spinetail

Synallaxis albescens

Russet Antshrike

Thamnistes anabatinus

Dot-winged Antwren

Microrhopias quixensis

Myrmotherula schisticolor

Barred Antshrike

Thamnophilus doliatus

Great Antshrike

Bicolored Antbird

Gymnopithys bicolor

Cercomacroides tyrannina

Black-faced Antthrush

Formicarius analis

Streak-chested Antpitta

Hylopezus perspicillatus

Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet

Tyrannulus elatus

Greenish Elaenia

Myiopagis viridicata

Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Elaenia flavogaster

Elaenia chiriquensis

Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet

Ornithion semiflavum

Southern Beardless Tyrannulet

Camptostoma obsoletum

Yellow Tyrannulet

Capsiempis flaveola

Mistletoe Tyrannulet

Zimmerius parvus

Northern Bentbill

Oncostoma cinereigulare

Slaty-headed Tody-Flycatcher

Poecilotriccus sylvia

Common Tody-Flycatcher

Todirostrum cinereum

Eye-ringed Flatbill

Rhynchocyclus brevirostris

Yellow-olive Flatbill

Tolmomyias sulphurescens

Golden-crowned Spadebill

Platyrinchus coronatus

Sayornis nigricans

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Contopus cooperi

Western Wood Pewee

Contopus sordidulus

Eastern Wood Pewee

Contopus virens

Northern Tropical Pewee

Contopus bogotensis

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Empidonax flaviventris

Acadian Flycatcher

Empidonax virescens

Willow Flycatcher

Empidonax traillii

Piratic Flycatcher

Legatus leucophaius

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

Myiodynastes luteiventris

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Rhytipterna holerythra

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Myiarchus tuberculifer

Panama Flycatcher

Myiarchus panamensis

Nutting's Flycatcher

Myiarchus nuttingi

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus tyrannulus

Lipaugus unirufus

Three-wattled Bellbird

Procnias tricarunculatus

Turquoise Cotinga

Cotinga ridgwayi

Yellow-billed Cotinga

Carpodectes antoniae

White-ruffed Manakin

Corapipo altera

Orange-collared Manakin

Manacus aurantiacus

Northern Schiffornis

Schiffornis veraepacis

Cinnamon Becard

Pachyramphus cinnamomeus

White-winged Becard

Pachyramphus polychopterus

Rose-throated Becard

Pachyramphus aglaiae

Tropical Royal Flycatcher

Onychorhynchus coronatus

Sulphur-rumped Myiobius

Myiobius sulphureipygius

Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher

Terenotriccus erythrurus

Rufous-browed Peppershrike

Cyclarhis gujanensis

Green Shrike-Vireo

Vireolanius pulchellus

Hylophilus flavipes

Ochre-crowned Greenlet

Tunchiornis ochraceiceps

Vireo olivaceus

White-throated Magpie-Jay

Cyanocorax formosus

Cyanocorax morio

Riparia riparia

Mangrove Swallow

Tachycineta albilinea

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Southern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx ruficollis

Hirundo rustica

American Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Rufous-breasted Wren

Pheugopedius rutilus

Rufous-and-white Wren

Thryophilus rufalbus

Cantorchilus elutus

White-breasted Wood Wren

Henicorhina leucosticta

Southern Nightingale-Wren

Microcerculus marginatus

Hylocichla mustelina

Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush

Catharus aurantiirostris

White-throated Thrush

Turdus assimilis

Passer domesticus

Elegant Euphonia

Chlorophonia elegantissima

Black-striped Sparrow

Arremonops conirostris

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Zonotrichia capensis

Yellow-breasted Chat

Eastern Meadowlark

Sturnella magna

Red-breasted Meadowlark

Leistes militaris

Yellow-billed Cacique

Amblycercus holosericeus

Scarlet-rumped Cacique

Cacicus uropygialis

Black-cowled Oriole

Icterus prosthemelas

Icterus spurius

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Molothrus oryzivorus

Molothrus bonariensis

Bronzed Cowbird

Molothrus aeneus

Worm-eating Warbler

Helmitheros vermivorum

Louisiana Waterthrush

Parkesia motacilla

Golden-winged Warbler

Vermivora chrysoptera

Grey-crowned Yellowthroat

Geothlypis poliocephala

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

Tropical Parula

Setophaga pitiayumi

Blackburnian Warbler

Setophaga fusca

Black-throated Green Warbler

Setophaga virens

Buff-rumped Warbler

Myiothlypis fulvicauda

Chestnut-capped Warbler

Basileuterus delattrii

Cardellina canadensis

Wilson's Warbler

Cardellina pusilla

Scarlet Tanager

Piranga olivacea

Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

Red-crowned Ant Tanager

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Pheucticus ludovicianus

Spiza americana

Blue-black Grosbeak

Cyanoloxia cyanoides

Passerina caerulea

Passerina cyanea

Painted Bunting

Passerina ciris

Shining Honeycreeper

Cyanerpes lucidus

Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

Cinnamon-bellied Saltator

Saltator grandis

Streaked Saltator

Saltator striatipectus

Yellow-faced Grassquit

Tiaris olivaceus

White-shouldered Tanager

Loriotus luctuosus

White-throated Shrike-Tanager

Lanio leucothorax

Morelet's Seedeater

Sporophila morelleti

Thick-billed Seed Finch

Sporophila funerea

Speckled Tanager

Ixothraupis guttata

Bay-headed Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager

Tangara icterocephala

Eurasian Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Sula leucogaster

Amazonian Black-throated Trogon

Brown-billed Scythebill

Campylorhamphus pusillus

Atlantic Plain Xenops

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth

Bradypus variegatus

White-faced Capuchin

Cebus capucinus

Alouatta palliata

Central American Squirrel Monkey

Saimiri oerstedii

Central American Agouti

Dasyprocta punctata

Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth

Choloepus hoffmanni

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

White-nosed Coati

Northern Raccoon

Northern Tamandua

Tamandua mexicana

Mexican Hairy Porcupine

Coendou mexicanus

Derby's Woolly Opossum

Caluromys derbianus

Rhynchonycteris naso

Greater Sac-winged Bat

Saccopteryx bilineata

Lesser Sac-winged Bat

Saccopteryx leptura

Common Tent-making Bat

Uroderma bilobatum

Spix's Disk-winged Bat

Thyroptera tricolor

Megaptera novaeangliae

Spinner Dolphin

Stenella longirostris

Linnaeus's Two-toed Sloth

Choloepus didactylus

Crab-eating Raccoon

Procyon cancrivorus

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