Traveler Photo Roundup: Birds & Sloths of Costa Rica

Nat Hab has spent more than 30 years scouting Costa Rica’s Pacific and Caribbean coastlines, rain forests, cloud forests, national parks and wildlife refuges for nature encounters off the standard tourist track. Many travelers return home with stunning pictures of their Central American adventures, and we’re sharing some of our favorite shots of birds and sloths below. One featured photographer, Will Bracken, recalls how helpful his Expedition Leader was with identifying exotic birds, while another traveler, Edward Mann, recounts, “There it all was first hand—the pungent odor of an ocelot, the colorful vision of an eyelash viper, an alert agouti, a venomous millipede and the rain in the rain forest. In Costa Rica, the rain forest is only one of the systems we explored. We also wandered through the cloud forest with its resplendent quetzals, exquisite hummingbirds and so much more to see and photograph.”

Fiery-throated hummingbird © Doug & Tish Beach

Two-toed sloth © Bruce White

Resplendent quetzal © Eric Lutkin

Red-fronted parrot © Will Bracken

Red-capped manakin © Eric Lutkin

Three-toed sloth © Eric Lutkin

Blue-throated Toucanet © Will Bracken

Three-toed sloth © Will Bracken

Parakeet with a grub © Will Bracken

Collared aracari © Edward Mann

Three-toed sloth © Will Bracken

Snowy-bellied hummingbird © Doug & Tish Beach

Scarlet macaw © Will Bracken

White-throated hummingbird © Edward Mann

Visit secluded ecolodges, private sanctuaries and biological reserves filled with sloths, scarlet macaws and much more. Join our small-group expedition to explore remote places you’re unlikely to get to on your own and encounter Costa Rica in a whole different way.