A common bird of Costa Rica

Streaked-backed Oriole

This bird is feeding on nectar from a male Plantain flower, piercing through the base of the flower tube to get to the liquid. Bees enter through the top and no pollination takes place. The fruit is produced by the female flowers at an earlier stage of the stem growth.

A native of central America.

The colorful Streaked-backed Oriole, with a range from NW Mexico to Costa Rica, is often seen in deciduous and gallery forest roadside and village groves. There are a few similar species, such as the Spotted-breasted or Yellow-tailed, that can be easily identified visually in the field - so you need to look close.

The chances of bumping into me in the Guanacaste rainforest are slim. I tend to take another trail when I  become aware of people moving nearby and get better photos that way.