Brown PelicanCosta Rica bird species · Seabirds
Seabirds in Costa Rica: all 84 species, 31 of them accidental, and where we have seen them
84 seabirds, and 31 of them, 37 percent, are accidental: recorded once or very few times.
Costa Rica's official list has 84 seabirds, about one bird in every eleven on it, and this is the group where the list is most honest about rarity: 31 of the 84, 37 percent, are accidental, recorded once or very few times and far from their normal range. Another 37 are migrants and 14 are residents.
They span 12 families, led by Laridae, the gulls and terns, with 36 species, and Procellariidae, the shearwaters and petrels, with 17, then the boobies (7), storm-petrels (6), jaegers and skuas (4), tropicbirds (3), albatrosses (3), frigatebirds (2) and pelicans (2), with the Anhinga and the Neotropic Cormorant. None is a regional endemic.
We have no seabird page yet, and the one place our hotspot tables name a bird of this group is inland: Caño Negro, where the Anhinga and the Neotropic Cormorant are two of the four water birds the boat is known for. No gull, tern, booby, frigatebird or pelican is in a hotspot table of ours yet, so we leave the places blank rather than guess.
Where to see them
These are the 6 places where we name them, from our hotspot pages and each bird's own page.
Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge and the Río FríoTortuguero National Park and its canalsCarara National ParkThe Tárcoles River mangroves, by boat
© Mapbox © OpenStreetMap- Place where we name them
- Highlands
- Caribbean Foothills
- Caribbean Lowlands
- Northern Pacific Lowlands
- Central and Southern Pacific Lowlands
- 1Arenal Volcano National ParkCaribbean LowlandsNeotropic Cormorant
- 2Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge and the Río FríoCaribbean LowlandsAnhinga, Neotropic Cormorant
- 3Tortuguero National Park and its canalsCaribbean LowlandsBlack-legged Kittiwake, Great Black-backed Gull, White-tailed Tropicbird, Anhinga
- 4Palo Verde National Park and the Tempisque RiverNorthern Pacific LowlandsGull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Anhinga, Neotropic Cormorant
- 5Carara National ParkCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsBlack Skimmer
- 6The Tárcoles River mangroves, by boatCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsLaughing Gull, Black Skimmer, Neotropic Cormorant
All 84 seabirds on the list
The full group as Costa Rica's official list has it, in the list's own order, with the accidentals marked. Tick them off on the printable checklist.
Long-tailed JaegerStercorarius longicaudusA slim, tern-like jaeger, accidental here and best sought on offshore boat trips.
Parasitic JaegerStercorarius parasiticusA sea pirate that passes the Pacific coast, chasing gulls and terns.
Pomarine JaegerStercorarius pomarinusA bulky pirate of the open Pacific, found from a boat, not the beach.
South Polar SkuaStercorarius maccormickiA rare Antarctic wanderer, only ever hoped for far offshore.
Swallow-tailed GullCreagrus furcatusThe night-feeding gull with a forked tail, met far offshore near Isla del Coco.
Black-legged KittiwakeRissa tridactylaSeen at Tortuguero
Sabine's GullXema sabiniA boldly patterned gull that passes Costa Rica's Pacific coast on migration.
Bonaparte’s GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaA small, tern-like gull that reaches Costa Rica only as a rare vagrant.
Gray-hooded GullChroicocephalus cirrocephalusAccidental gull with one mainland record, from Chomes in 2019
Gray GullLeucophaeus modestusA rare Pacific wanderer from the Chilean desert, worth a sharp look among gulls.
Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricillaSeen at Tárcoles River Mangroves
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanA small, pigeon-like migrant gull to scan for off the Pacific coast.
Heermann's GullLarus heermanniAn accidental Pacific gull: a sooty brown young bird far from home.
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisA rare migrant gull with a black-ringed yellow bill, a notable find here.
Western GullLarus occidentalisA dark-backed Pacific gull, accidental here, seen around the Puntarenas ferry.
Kelp GullLarus dominicanusAn accidental gull far from home, with only a few Costa Rican records.
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusA big North American gull that strays to Costa Rica as a rare migrant.
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusSeen at Tortuguero
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusA rare yellow-legged gull, first documented at Tortuguero, later at Tárcoles.
California GullLarus californicusAn accidental gull from North America, first logged at Tárcoles in 2013.
Black SkimmerRynchops nigerSeen at Carara National Park, Tárcoles River Mangroves
Blue-billed White-TernGygis candidaA gentle all-white tern that nests only on remote Isla del Coco.
Brown NoddyAnous stolidusA dark brown seabird that nests on Cocos Island, far out in the Pacific.
Black NoddyAnous minutusA tree-nesting noddy of remote Isla del Coco, smaller than the Brown Noddy.
Sooty TernOnychoprion fuscatusA dark-backed ocean tern that nests on remote Isla del Coco.
Bridled TernOnychoprion anaethetusA dark-backed tern of rocky islands and warm coastal seas
Least TernSternula antillarumA tiny, quick-diving migrant tern of the Pacific coast in late summer.
Yellow-billed TernSternula superciliarisA tiny yellow-billed tern, accidental here, first photographed at Caño Negro in 2018
Large-billed TernPhaetusa simplexA thick yellow-billed river tern that only strays here as a vagrant.
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaSeen at Palo Verde National Park
Caspian TernHydroprogne caspiaSeen at Palo Verde National Park
Inca TernLarosterna incaA slate-gray seabird with a white moustache, a rare stray here
Black TernChlidonias nigerA small migrant tern that gathers in feeding flocks over the Gulf of Nicoya.
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSeen at Palo Verde National Park
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaA rare long-distance migrant, best sought on boat trips at sea.
Common TernSterna hirundoA migrant tern with a black-tipped red bill, scanned for around Puntarenas.
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiA pale, long-tailed tern, accidental here, first recorded on the Pacific coast in 2015.
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisA migrant tern with a black, yellow-tipped bill, found on the Gulf of Nicoya.
Elegant TernThalasseus elegansA shaggy-crested, orange-billed tern that visits the Pacific coast.
Royal TernThalasseus maximusLarge orange-billed tern of river mouths on both coasts
White-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon lepturusSeen at Tortuguero
Red-billed TropicbirdPhaethon aethereusA white seabird with a red bill and streaming tail, met far off the Pacific coast.
Red-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon rubricaudaAn accidental ocean wanderer, on Costa Rica's list thanks to Isla del Coco.
Waved AlbatrossPhoebastria irrorataA huge, yellow-billed ocean wanderer, rare offshore in the Pacific.
Atlantic Yellow-nosed AlbatrossThalassarche chlororhynchosAn accidental ocean wanderer, recorded once off the Caribbean coast.
Salvin's AlbatrossThalassarche salviniAn accidental albatross with a single photographed record off Cabuya in 2022.
Wilson's Storm-PetrelOceanites oceanicusA tiny dark seabird with a white rump, met offshore from boats on the Pacific side.
White-faced Storm-PetrelPelagodroma marinaA bouncing open-ocean seabird, rare and poorly known in Costa Rica.
Leach's Storm-PetrelHydrobates leucorhousA slim, bounding seabird of the open Pacific, best sought far offshore.
Band-rumped Storm-PetrelHydrobates castroA rare ocean wanderer, found only on the sea voyage to Isla del Coco.
Wedge-rumped Storm-PetrelHydrobates tethysTiny dark seabird with a white rump, seen offshore on the Pacific side
Black Storm-PetrelHydrobates melaniaPaiño Negro: a dark seabird skimming Pacific waves, best met from a ferry or boat.
Markham's Storm-PetrelHydrobates markhamiA dusky open-ocean storm-petrel met on the sea crossing to Isla del Coco.
Least Storm-PetrelHydrobates microsomaA sparrow-sized, bat-like seabird of the Pacific, found at sea rather than from land.
Black-capped PetrelPterodroma hasitataEndangered ocean wanderer with a single Costa Rican record, from 1953.
Galapagos PetrelPterodroma phaeopygiaA rare, Critically Endangered seabird of Costa Rica's far offshore Pacific waters.
Tahiti PetrelPseudobulweria rostrataA rare Pacific seabird, looked for on blue-water trips offshore.
Spectacled PetrelProcellaria conspicillataA black South Atlantic petrel with white spectacles, recorded once off Tortuguero.
Parkinson’s PetrelProcellaria parkinsoniA rare, sooty black petrel from New Zealand, met on deep-water boat trips.
Cory's ShearwaterCalonectris borealisA large ocean shearwater, recorded only a few times off the Caribbean coast.
Pink-footed ShearwaterArdenna creatopusA pink-billed seabird of deep Pacific water, met on boat trips.
Flesh-footed ShearwaterArdenna carneipesA deep-ocean shearwater with one Costa Rican record, far off Cabo Blanco.
Great ShearwaterArdenna gravisAn Atlantic seabird, accidental here and first reported from bones
Wedge-tailed ShearwaterArdenna pacificaPacific seabird of the open sea, best met by boat from January to March.
Sooty ShearwaterArdenna griseaA dark long-distance ocean wanderer, listed as a migrant on Costa Rica's Pacific side.
Short-tailed ShearwaterArdenna tenuirostrisA dark open-ocean seabird, rare or accidental off Costa Rica's Pacific coast
Christmas ShearwaterPuffinus nativitatisA slim, dark shearwater, accidental offshore in Costa Rican waters.
Galapagos ShearwaterPuffinus subalarisA small dark-and-white shearwater of the open Pacific, photographed off Quepos
Manx ShearwaterPuffinus puffinusA rare seabird, glimpsed on pelagic boat trips off both coasts.
Black-vented ShearwaterPuffinus opisthomelasA small seabird that wanders south from Mexico, listed as accidental here.
Sargasso ShearwaterPuffinus lherminieriSmall black-and-white shearwater, looked for on Caribbean boat trips
Magnificent FrigatebirdFregata magnificensA seabird of both coasts, often high overhead or around fishing boats.
Great FrigatebirdFregata minorTijereta, the 'little scissors' seabird of Isla del Coco
Red-footed BoobySula sulaA tree-nesting seabird with red feet, breeding on remote Isla del Coco
Brown BoobySula leucogasterDark-chested seabird of island colonies and boat crossings on both coasts.
Cocos BoobySula brewsteriThe Pacific booby named for Isla del Coco, where it nests in large colonies.
Masked BoobySula dactylatraA big white seabird of the open Pacific, nesting on Isla del Coco
Nazca BoobySula grantiA white, orange-billed seabird of Isla del Coco's rocky islets.
Blue-footed BoobySula nebouxiiBlue feet, plunge dives, and a Gulf of Nicoya rock where birders find it.
Peruvian BoobySula variegataA rare seabird from Peru's cold coast, found among Blue-footed Boobies.
AnhingaAnhinga anhingaSeen at Caño Negro, Palo Verde National Park, 1 more
Neotropic CormorantNannopterum brasilianumSeen at Arenal Volcano National Park, Caño Negro, 2 more
American White PelicanPelecanus erythrorhynchosA huge white pelican, only an accidental lone visitor here.
Brown PelicanPelecanus occidentalisA big dark pelican that plunge-dives, easy along the Pacific coast
Names and status: AOCR Lista Oficial 2025-2026, June 2026 update.
Trips that find them
These trips name the Anhinga or the Neotropic Cormorant on the way. None names a gull, tern, booby, frigatebird or pelican.
Is this bird on your list?
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