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Crested Guan (Penelope purpurascens)Crested Guan

Costa Rica bird species · Guans, curassows, quail, tinamous and doves

Guans, curassows, quail, tinamous and doves in Costa Rica: all 45 species, and where to see them

45 guans, curassows, quail, tinamous and doves, 5 found only in this corner of the world.

Costa Rica's official list has 45 guans, curassows, quail, tinamous and doves, across four families: 27 pigeons and doves, 8 quail, bobwhites and wood-quail, 5 tinamous and 5 guans, curassows and chachalacas. Thirty-six are plain residents, two are accidental (the White-crowned Pigeon and the Eared Dove), and two have both a resident and a migrant population.

Five are regional endemics, which means they live only in Costa Rica and its nearest neighbours: the Black Guan, the Black-eared Wood-Quail, the Black-breasted Wood-Quail, the Buff-fronted Quail-Dove and the Chiriqui Quail-Dove. These are birds of the forest floor and the cloud forest, and every one of the 45 has its own page with a photo.

The Black Guan is the one to ask us about. It is a regional endemic, in the oaks and along the river at San Gerardo de Dota, and it shows up in the cloud forest on Poás, at Los Quetzales and at Los Cusingos. The Great Curassow walks the trails at Arenal, the forest floor at Rincón de la Vieja, and the trails at Corcovado and Santa Rosa. The Gray-headed Chachalaca is at Rancho Naturalista, and the Great Tinamou calls from the forest edge at Tárcoles.

Where to see them

The guans and curassows are birds of the forest, so the places are the parks and cloud forests where our guides walk. These are the 20 places where we name them, from our hotspot pages and each bird's own page.

Map of Costa Rica with the 20 places where we name guans, curassows, quail, tinamous and doves, numbered, over the five birding zones
San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre valleyPoás Volcano National Park and its slopesMonteverde Cloud Forest ReserveRancho Naturalista's reserve, above TurrialbaCaño Negro Wildlife Refuge and the Río FríoTortuguero National Park and its canalsCarara National ParkCorcovado National Park and the OsaLos Cusingos and the San Isidro valleyGolfito Wildlife Refuge
© Mapbox © OpenStreetMap
  • Place where we name them
  • Highlands
  • Caribbean Foothills
  • Caribbean Lowlands
  • Northern Pacific Lowlands
  • Central and Southern Pacific Lowlands
  1. 1San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre valleyHighlandsBlack Guan, Spotted Wood-Quail
  2. 2Los Quetzales National ParkHighlandsBlack Guan, Spotted Wood-Quail
  3. 3Cerro de la Muerte and the km 70 lookoutsHighlandsBlack Guan, Band-tailed Pigeon, Maroon-chested Ground Dove
  4. 4Tapantí National Park, above the Orosí valleyHighlandsBlack Guan, Black-breasted Wood-Quail, Ruddy Pigeon
  5. 5Poás Volcano National Park and its slopesHighlandsBlack Guan
  6. 6Monteverde Cloud Forest ReserveHighlandsHighland Tinamou, Black Guan, Black-breasted Wood-Quail, Buff-fronted Quail-Dove
  7. 7Santa Elena Cloud Forest ReserveHighlandsHighland Tinamou, Buff-fronted Quail-Dove
  8. 8Rancho Naturalista's reserve, above TurrialbaCaribbean FoothillsGray-headed Chachalaca
  9. 9Arenal Volcano National ParkCaribbean LowlandsGreat Curassow
  10. 10Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge and the Río FríoCaribbean LowlandsPlain-breasted Ground Dove
  11. 11La Selva Biological Station, SarapiquíCaribbean LowlandsGreat Tinamou, Crested Guan, Ruddy Quail-Dove
  12. 12Tortuguero National Park and its canalsCaribbean LowlandsWhite-crowned Pigeon
  13. 13Tirimbina Biological Reserve, SarapiquíCaribbean LowlandsOlive-backed Quail-Dove
  14. 14Rincón de la Vieja National ParkNorthern Pacific LowlandsGreat Curassow
  15. 15Santa Rosa and Guanacaste National ParksNorthern Pacific LowlandsThicket Tinamou, Great Curassow
  16. 16Carara National ParkCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsGreat Tinamou, Marbled Wood-Quail, Ruddy Quail-Dove
  17. 17The Tárcoles River mangroves, by boatCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsGreat Tinamou
  18. 18Corcovado National Park and the OsaCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsGreat Curassow
  19. 19Los Cusingos and the San Isidro valleyCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsBlack Guan
  20. 20Golfito Wildlife RefugeCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsRuddy Quail-Dove

The regional endemics

The ones you can only see in this part of the world.

Black Guan, Black-eared Wood-Quail, Black-breasted Wood-Quail, Buff-fronted Quail-Dove, Chiriqui Quail-Dove.

All 45 guans, curassows and doves on the list

The full group as Costa Rica's official list has it, in the list's own order. Tick them off on the printable checklist.

Names and status: AOCR Lista Oficial 2025-2026, June 2026 update.

Trips that find them

Every one of our trips names at least one of them on the way, most often the Black Guan or the Great Curassow.

Is this bird on your list?

Tell us the birds you most want to see, your dates and how you like to travel, and one of our Costa Rica specialists comes back to you personally with a first itinerary built around them. That first version is just a place to start.

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Or call us: 1 (800) 996-1139 from the US and Canada, +506 4052-2140 in Costa Rica.

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