Costa Rica has so many colourful birds that it was suprising to discover that the national bird is the rather drab looking clay colored robin. I mean, the bird is not unattractive, but compare it to rainbow toucans, scarlet macaws, various hummingbirds, and on and on…

Early morning in the grounds of our hotel near Arenal volcano gave a different perspective. Here we were sublimely serenaded by the song one of these robins from just outside our patio. The sound is rather akin to that of a British songthrush, which is not entirely surprising as American so-called robins are of the thrush family and much larger than European robins. Indeed, Wikipedia prefers to call it a clay colored thrush.

According to our guides, what really makes this the national bird is that its song is regarded as the harbinger of the rainy season, which is vital to successful farming in some parts.