Galliformes, or chickenlike birds
Costa Rica has 13 species of the order Galliformes, descriptively called chickenlike birds, which look and taste a bit like domestic fowl. They are hunted, which makes them rare in populated areas, though they are seen in remote areas and in some national parks. They include guans, chacalacas, curassows, and various members of the pheasant family.
One of the more common game birds is the black guan (pava negra; Chamaepetes unicolor), a 65cm-long glossy black bird with a long tail. It has bare blue facial skin and red legs. Look for it walking along branches in forests above 1000m, such as in Monteverde, where it isn't much hunted and is seen fairly often.
Text and pictures by Angela and Jörn Malek. The team of 1-CostaRicaLink wishes you the best of times in our little paradise called Costa Rica.
Text by Lonely Planet. To buy the complete book
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