White Peacock Avoiding the Wind

White Peacock – Anartia jatrophae – I always prefer photos of the tops of their wings when open and spread out, but we have so much wind this time of year that they won’t risk being blown away by keeping their wings folded every time they land and even then their folded wings are like a little sail sticking up. :-) Though not as common for me as the Banded Peacock, they are fairly common all over Costa Rica on both slopes as you can see in my White Peacock GALLERY, though so far only at lower elevations. Here’s two shots from my garden the other day . . .

White Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Ceraunus Blue

This tiny little butterfly was new to me in a September 2022 sighting at Hotel Banana Azul in Caribbean Costa Rica, which I saw again there and in my garden in 2023, Ceraunus Blue, Hemiargus ceraunus! I liked it so much I chose one of my garden shots for the cover of my newest butterfly book, Pura Vida Butterflies, Second Edition released last month.

Of course I also have a Ceraunus Blue GALLERY with shots from all four sightings. Now here’s what I saw the other day in my garden, with two shots, even though not as good as my earlier photos :-)  . . .

Ceraunus Blue, Atenas, Costa Rica — 
And what looks like a black/dark brown corner of the wing is actually a shadow of the leaf above him. :-)
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Yigüirro

is the locally used Spanish name for the English-named Clay-colored Thrush (Turdus grayi), the National Bird of Costa Rica, supposedly because the indigenous people believed that its beautiful songs in April brought the beginning of rainy season in May. It is mostly a Central American bird, found from South Texas to Columbia in South America. And yes! Their songs in April are beautiful! They sing their hearts out almost constantly until it starts raining, then they stop. :-)

Yigüirro or Clay-colored Thrush, Atenas, Costa Rica

See many more photos in my Clay-colored Thrush GALLERY.

¡Pura Vida!

Cerulean Dancer Damselfly

The Cerulean Dancer Damselfly (Argia anceps), male here, is one of dozens of blue and black damselflies with this one most often confused with the Azure Dancer and the Thorn-tipped Dancer (says the book), but because of the shade of blue, the size and the wing color I am declaring this a Cerulean Dancer! :-) But to be honest, with both damsel and dragonflies, I am seldom 100% certain of the identification and I use a Costa Rica specific field guide with nearly 300 species of damselflies and dragonflies included with photos! You would think that makes it easy, but not for me! The many similarities between species makes identification a challenge for many! This one was photographed on the railing of my terrace in Atenas, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica.

Cerulean Dancer Damselfly, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

See my Dragonflies & Damselflies GALLERY with 50+ species! And many are unidentified! :-)

¡Pura Vida!

Chachalacas Stop By!

The full name of this one is Gray-headed Chachalaca (Ortalis cinereiceps) with the only other one named “Plain Chachalaca” and it’s found only in Guanacaste (dryer NW Costa Rica). This one is a regular “chicken-sized” bird living in my neighborhood, though like other birds, I’ve been seeing fewer for a while. They always come in groups or families and “chatter” a lot, thus Ticos sometimes jokingly call a person who talks a lot “a Chachalaca!” :-)

Here’s three shots of them moving between my trees and you can see more photos in my Gray-headed Chachalaca GALLERY. I see them in many parts of Costa Rica and they are indigenous to Central America.

Gray-headed Chachalaca, Atenas, Costa Rica.
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Plain Longtail with Orange Smudges?

I continue to find what appear to be “new” species for me, though this one is pretty much identical to the “Plain Longtail” with the exception of a slightly shorter tail (he could have broken off the tip as he did the 2nd tail) and the “orange smudges” on the wings, large on top and smaller on bottom or side view. I’ll label this the Plain Longtail, Urbanus simplicius and let one of the coordinators at butterfliesandmoths correct me if they believe otherwise. These little detailed differences continue to be an ID challenge for me! 🙂 Here’s 2 shots, one side view & one top view . . .

Plain Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica
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Saltbush Sootywing

Saltbush Sootywing is the common name and the scientific name is Hesperopsis alpheus. This is a new species for me. And my ID is based on the Glassberg book where it is an exact match, but my photos don’t match the ones on butterfliesandmoths.org for this species, so I will probably be flagged and if so, I hope whomever can give a good identification for this butterfly, IF this ID is not correct. Note that the two photos are of the same insect on the same leaf within seconds apart, but the changing light or capture of the camera has them as two different colors. 🙂

Saltbush Sootywing, Atenas, Costa Rica
Saltbush Sootywing, Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Covadonga Skipper

Pheraeus covadonga is the scientific name and the website uses “Covadonga Skipper” as the common name, while the Glassberg book uses “Etched Solar-Skipper” as the common name. The “etched” in that name refers to the black and white spot that is barely seen in my photo, but that’s what separates it from all of the other little yellow Skippers. And this is a new species for me! 🙂

Covadonga Skipper, Pheraeus covadonga, Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!