Sandoval et al.: Seabirds in Costa Rican highlands 73 Marine Ornithology 36: 73–74 (2008)

The avifauna of Costa Rica is better known than that of other Neotropical countries (Stiles & Smith 1980, Sanchez et al. 1998), although much less information is available for seabirds than for terrestrial species (Stiles & Smith 1977, Steinkamp & Schlatter 2006). The pelagic and nomadic behavior of species such as storm-petrels (Hydrobatidae), shearwaters (Procellariidae) and tropicbirds (Phaethontidae) makes information difficult and expensive to obtain (Harrison 1985, Spear et al. 1995). Information on Costa Rican pelagic species is primarily from sightings and museum collections made off the Pacific coast in the 1970s and 1980s (Stiles & Smit