We saw Toucans, as well as Scarlet Macaws, Howler or White Faced Monkeys (I forget which), dozens of Iguanas, and several other species of bird, mammal, amphibian and insect primarily of interest to folks such as I (often referred to as Nerdy Bird Watchers by the uninitiated) at Carara National Park, just beyond what is often called Crocodile Bridge, the bridge over RÃo Tárcoles about 10 – 15 miles outside of Jáco. We also saw Toucans in Monteverde during the Skywalk, a series of suspension foot bridges just above the forest canopy.
This is probably more information than you are looking for, but I believe there are 3 different species of Toucan in CR; Chestnut Billed Toucan, Something-or-Other Toucanete (I forget what exactly) and Keel Billed Toucan, the one on the Fruit Loops package and hence the one most folks think of when they think of Toucans. The Keel Billed Toucans are the ones I am referring to here.
Of course there are at least two major hurdles to cross if you are looking for Toucans, or many other bird species for that matter:
1)They spend practically all their time in the canopy of the forest rather than eye level.
2)Just because somebody saw 8 of them “In that tree right over there!†yesterday is no guarantee they aren’t 15 miles away by today. Birds do have wings and will occasionally use them.
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