costa_rica_owl
Image by khage
Crested Owl
Our guide, who didn’t speak a word of English, saw this bird perched high up in the canopy, not making a sound.
Within 10 meters (or ‘mt.’, as the Costa Ricans abbreviate it in defiance of all international standards I know) of entering the Santa Elena forest we heard the call of the Black-faced Solitaire. The noise it makes brings to mind either a very well-tuned (but rusty) screen door or a very badly tuned (but loud) violin. Depending on your mood. Soon after hearing it for the first time we passed a couple of German fellows heading the other way on the trail, and we excitedly pointed out this sound to them. They seemed nonplussed, as we soon became. Even the most novel experience, or sight, or sound, can become ho-hum commonplace with enough repetition. And the call of a Black-faced Solitaire is nothing if not repetitious.
