Family Ardeidae
Boat-billed Heron
Cochlearius cochlearius
In Spanish: Pico Cuchara (Chocuaco, Cuaca)
- Resident
By boat in the Tárcoles mangroves, and on the Tortuguero canals after dark. All year.
Half an hour after sundown, it leaves the roost to feed. The Boat-billed Heron, the chocuaco to Costa Ricans, works the night shift, and by day it rests in the mangroves, which is where the boat goes looking for it.
When the boat finds one, the bill gives it away: massive, broad, shaped like a scoop and mainly black. The English name comes from it.
Where to see it
- Hotspot page
- Named place
- Nearby lodge (numbers match the cards)
- Carara National Parkthe mangrove boat on the river below the park adds it to a Carara day.
- Tortuguero National Park and its canalson the canals after dark.Not on the map above: it sits too far away to show at this zoom.
- The Tárcoles River mangroves, by boatin the mangroves from the boat, with the Great Egret along the banks.
Nearby lodges
Within 20 km of a place on the map, in the same zone.
- 1Photo comingSanta Lucía Jungle Hacienda, Autograph Collection2.7 km from Carara National ParkSee the lodge
- 2
Pachira Lodge0.0 km from Tortuguero National Park (off the map)See the lodge - 3
Cerro Lodge1.1 km from The Tárcoles River mangroves, by boatSee the lodge - 4
Macaw Lodge11.2 km from Carara National ParkSee the lodge - 5
Laguna Lodge0.0 km from Tortuguero National Park (off the map)See the lodge
How to recognise it
About 54 cm long. Adults are pale grey to white, with a chestnut belly and black flanks, the sides below the wings. The huge black scoop of a bill settles it. Females are a little smaller and greyer than males, with shorter crests, the tuft of feathers on the head. Look at the eyes too: big ones, on a bird that hunts after dark. On a bird resting in the mangroves, the black scoop under the crest is what you are checking for.
Where it lives
Seasonal lagoons and estuaries, and it nests in mangroves. That is exactly where we take people: the Tárcoles River mangroves by boat, below Carara on the Pacific side, and the canals of Tortuguero on the Caribbean side, where it comes out after dark.
When to see it
All year, as a resident. At Tárcoles the boat looks for it in the mangroves by day; at Tortuguero the canals after dark are its time.
Trips that find it
- Best of Birding in Costa Rica9 to 10 nightsSee the trip
- Best of Birding in Costa Rica's Caribbean9 nightsSee the trip
- Caribbean Lowlands Birding Tour11 nightsSee the trip
- Dancing with Quetzals11 nightsSee the trip
- Birding in Costa Rica's Eco-Zones11 nightsSee the trip
- The Southern Highlands and Pacific9 nightsSee the trip
- Costa Rica's Top Birding Spots11 nightsSee the trip
Tell us when you are travelling and our team in Costa Rica builds the trip around the birds you want to see.
Plan my birding tripHow we know this 1 sources, each read on the date shown
- Wikipedia: Boat-billed heron read 4 November 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat-billed_heron