Rufous-tailed Jacamar

How to find it

Look along sunny trails, forest edges, clearings with many insects and water channels, where it perches on thin exposed branches. Good light and patience help. Listen first, then scan exposed perches at mid-height, such as vines, where it sits upright. At La Selva, a displaying jacamar was easy to locate because of its repeated call. Near San Ramon, birders heard one calling along a roadside, walked toward the sound and found it quickly. Dense second growth is harder: at Pocosol in the northern lowlands, jacamars were heard from dawn to dusk, but only a few in the group glimpsed one.

How to recognise it

Look for a slim, long-tailed bird with a long, thin, pointed black bill and shiny plumage.

The male is glittering green above, with a broad green breast band. His throat is white, and his belly and outer tail are rufous.

The female has a buffy throat and usually a paler belly.

In Costa Rica it is about 9 inches long. Descriptions of the species across its whole range give 23 to 25 cm in length, with a bill around 5 cm.

It usually holds its bill tilted upward, a handy clue on a distant perch. Its bill is noticeably slender, unlike the stouter bill of the Great Jacamar.

What it sounds like

Recording: anasacuta, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

This is a patient hunter. It perches quietly on a thin, exposed branch and waits for prey to pass, then sallies out to catch insects in flight. Its menu includes large butterflies, dragonflies and shiny beetles. Across its range it hunts from a branch about 1 to 3 m above ground.

You will see it alone or in pairs. Both sexes dig a nest burrow in a bank, gully side or termite mound, and lay 2 to 4 eggs.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it lives in the lowlands and foothills of the Caribbean slope and the south Pacific. Its regular range reaches north to Carara National Park, and it rarely reaches the head of the Gulf of Nicoya.

It regularly reaches about 750 m elevation and only rarely 1200 m. Skutch found it in both humid second growth and primary rain forest, from sea level to about 3,000 feet (roughly 900 m).

Look in shaded forest edges, especially along streams, and in open understory and tall, partly open second growth. It is especially fond of cacao plantations.

When to see it

Near San Isidro del General, nest burrow searching begins in dry February. Eggs are laid from late March to June and the last young fledge in July.

Similar birds

Costa Rica has only two jacamars. The Great Jacamar is rare, mostly Caribbean lowland and stouter-billed. One verified sighting at Monteverde, around 800 m, was well outside its normal range. North American visitors may mistake a jacamar for a kingfisher, and Europeans may think of a bee-eater, because the behaviour and looks are similar.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The Costa Rican common names are Jacamar Rabirrufo and Gorrión de Montaña. A shorter spelling, Yacamar rabirrufo, is also listed as a Costa Rican Spanish name.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a resident (R), fairly common in its Costa Rican range, and BirdLife International lists the species as Least Concern.

Photography tips

Sunny trails, forest edges and water channels give good light, and it sits on thin exposed branches. Wait patiently at a low, open perch, since it returns to sit upright and watch for insects.