Greenish elaenia, courtesy of Alastair Rae at flickr

Many thanks to Alastair Rae for  a photo of this one!  I am now staying briefly just up the road in San Rafael at the Quinta California.  It has a well-tended garden of about 7000 m2 with a grand view looking up to the Turrialba Volcano.  The first good news, from don Gerardo who tends the garden, is that the Gray-necked wood-rail is a frequent visitor, though he says only at certain times of the year.  This species also appears at San Antonio, but I have not been able to find it so far.  I have so far had no luck with the species here either, but my first late afternoon check of the grounds brought some good views of the Greenish elaenia  (Myiopagis viridicata), a small dull-olive flycatcher that is a new species for me.  First glimpses brought to mind the Yellow-margined flycatcher (Tolmomyias assimilis) or the Yellow-olive flycatcher (Tolmomyias sulphurescens), species that are difficult to separate but that I have occasionally seen previously.  The dark face of the Greenish elaenia, and in particular the eye, convinced me that this was, for me, a new species.  The call-note also excluded the two aforementioned species.  This bird is said to be uncommon on the Pacific side of the country and not found at all on the Caribbean side with the exception of the Caño Negro area and a tiny enclave near the Reventazón.  That’s us!  Here, however, it is termed rare, so I am more than pleased with my sighting.

This morning, early, I found the same bird, or perhaps a different individual, in a different part of the garden, and I hope to get some even better looks over the next few days.  In the meantime, here’s a pic of the Gray-necked wood-rail as a consolation.

– A pair of Gray-necked wood-rails pecking furtively around