Vignette #3: Ornithology, or, PRETTY BIRDS

Disclaimer: I am a terrible, terrible ornithologist

I enjoy birds, I do. I love it when people point out cool birds and tell me what they are. But unless it's a penguin you've just seen that's inexplicably migrated to Costa Rica, odds are I'm going to carry on staring at the baby monkey that's sticking its tongue out at me.

As a result, while I have, I believe, enough bird photos to warrant its own mini-post, anyone expecting a full run-down on the birds of Costa Rica, their feeding habits and migration patterns, may be disappointed. Seriously, I have, like, five birds here. Anyway, here we go.

So amongst the most common birds around here are the back vultures. These smelly creatures just ooze evil, I mean look at them:

I am darkness

I bring you death

After nap-time, I will bring you some more death

We live around farm-lands, and there are lots of cattle, horses, and even a pig-farm not too far around river. Sometimes, these things die. Always, they get surrounded by these creepy death-pigeons and slowly torn to shreds even as they decompose in the most horrifically smelly way imaginable.

I do not like them in a boat. I do not like them with a goat. That is all  I have to say.

----

 This kingfisher, which is definitely not recycled material, is known for being pretty and for rescuing drowning monarchs.

---

Now, we come to some of the photos I am genuinely pleased about. This little guy, apart from being very uncommon, also has without a shred of doubt the best name of any of the birds you will ever read about in a monkey-themed blog. It seems to be stolen from a Terry Pratchet, or at least a mediocre children's magician.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Great Potoo:

For my next trick, I will sit around here for hours and hours
 on end because apparently that is all I ever do

----

This little guy is a Long-Tailed Manakin

Distinguishing features:
1. Teeny-tiny
2.  Bum-antennae

 ----

Now these photos I'm genuinely proud of. These are of a Caracara, a bird of prey seen here chin-wagging with a horse:

Here playing with a stick:

 And here getting mobbed by smaller birds:

Sorry for the horn-tooting but... come on. This is cool.

Ok folks. Thems are all the birds.