Since 2004 · Licensed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT)

Agami Heron in Costa Rica

Family Ardeidae

Agami Heron

Agamia agami

In Spanish: Garza Pechicastaña (Agamia)

  • Resident

Deep shade over lowland forest water: swamp forest, mangroves and streams. Uncommon, all year.

Where to see itTrips that find it

The shadiest stretch of a forest stream, under branches that hang low over the water: that is where the Agami Heron stands, and the shade it keeps to is why so few people ever see one.

Find one, and the colours are a surprise for a heron. The neck is chestnut, the wings a shiny green, and the bill, thin as a skewer, is a good deal longer than the head.

Where to see it

Map of the places to see the Agami Heron and the lodges near them
  • Hotspot page
  • Named place
  • Nearby lodge (numbers match the cards)

Nearby lodges

Within 20 km of a place on the map, in the same zone.

  • 1
    Caño Negro Natural Lodge1.7 km from Caño Negro Wildlife RefugeSee the lodge
See all lodges in this zone →

How to recognise it

About 66 to 76 cm long, and short-legged for a heron. The neck and underparts are chestnut, with a white line down the centre of the foreneck, the front of the neck, and the wings are shiny green. Wispy pale blue feathers trim the crown, the sides of the foreneck and the lower back. The thin bill, far longer than the head, settles it. Male and female look alike; young birds are brown above with a white foreneck and brown-and-white streaks below. At breeding time the bare patch between eye and bill can turn an intense red. Mostly, it is a quiet bird.

Where it lives

Swamp forest, mangroves, forest streams and freshwater wetlands, and nearly always low, from sea level to about 300 m. In Costa Rica one known colony sits on a tiny island in the middle of a lagoon in the Pacuare Nature Reserve.

When to see it

All year, as a resident.

Trips that find it

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How we know this 1 sources, each read on the date shown
  1. Wikipedia: Agami heron read 4 November 2026https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agami_heron