Curi Cancha Wildlife Refuge is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

wildlife refuge A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in the central part of

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, and protects

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

in the

Cordillera de Tilarán Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It has 212 km of Caribbean Sea coastline and 1,016 on the North Pacific Ocean. The area is 51,100&nb ...

near

Juntas A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

. The refuge entrance is about a kilometer before the famous

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve ( es, Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde) is a Costa Rican reserve located along the Cordillera de Tilarán within the Puntarenas and Alajuela provinces. Named after the nearby town of Monteverde and fo ...

. The lower portion is drier, with few epiphytes, but the upper portion is cloud forest. While the forest is not quite so pristine as Monteverde, the most spectacular birds are much easier to see. The refuge is particularly good for the

resplendent quetzal The resplendent quetzal (''Pharomachrus mocinno'') is a small bird found in southern Mexico and Central America, with two recognized subspecies, ''P. m. mocinno'' and ''P. m. costaricensis''. These animals live in tropical forests, particularly ...

, the most sought-after bird of the cloud forest. The refuge is also a good place to find

keel-billed toucan The keel-billed toucan (''Ramphastos sulfuratus''), also known as sulfur-breasted toucan or rainbow-billed toucan, is a colorful Latin American member of the toucan family. It is the national bird of Belize. The species is found in tropical jungl ...

Lesson's motmot Lesson's motmot (''Momotus lessonii'') or the blue-diademed motmot, is a colorful near-passerine bird found in forests and woodlands of southern Mexico to western Panama. This species and the blue-capped motmot, whooping motmot, Trinidad motmot ...

, orange-bellied trogon, and

three-toed sloth The three-toed or three-fingered sloths are arboreal neotropical mammals . They are the only members of the genus ''Bradypus'' and the family Bradypodidae. The four living species of three-toed sloths are the brown-throated sloth, the maned sloth ...

, as well as monkeys. Campephilus guatemalensis CR.jpg,

Pale-billed woodpecker The pale-billed woodpecker (''Campephilus guatemalensis'') is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Mexico to Panama. Taxonomy and systematics The pale-billed woodpecker has these three subs ...

along Morpho trail Thryophilus rufalbus Curi Cancha 07.jpg,

Rufous-and-white wren The rufous-and-white wren (''Thryophilus rufalbus'') is a small songbird of the wren family. It is a resident breeding species from southwesternmost Mexico to northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Th ...

at the junction of Guacharo and Ficus trails Tiaris olivaceus CR 03.jpg,

Yellow-faced grassquit The yellow-faced grassquit (''Tiaris olivaceus'') is a passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae and is the only member of the genus ''Tiaris''. It is native to the Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Taxonomy In 1760 the ...

in the parking lot Strangler fig Curi Cancha 02.jpg, A

strangler fig Strangler fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species in the genus ''Ficus'', including those that are commonly known as banyans. Some of the more well-known species are: * ''Ficus altissima'' * ''Ficus aurea'', ...

in the refuge

References

External links

Curi Cancha Wildlife Refuge
at Costa Rica National Parks {{CostaRica-protected-area-stub Nature reserves in Costa Rica Geography of Puntarenas Province