There is an abundance of wildlife in Costa Rica, and while traveling with a naturalist guide, we were shown the best hiding places for elusive animals.  Though I usually looked to the trees for birdlife—quetzals, toucans, toucanets, hummingbirds, motmots, and more—one look up led me to this Mexican hairy porcupine (Coendou mexicanus).  A nocturnal, arboreal, solitary animal, the porcupine was slumbering in a tree when we found it hidden amongst the branches.

Walking through the rainforest at night leads to many surprises.  I went on a night hike with a naturalist guide and his ten-year-old son, who easily caught tiny frogs before the rest of us recognized their whereabouts.  We were searching for frogs, in fact, and I searched for small snakes in each bromeliad I passed, but what we found was this lizard and another just like it, the two resting on a vine that hung from the canopy.  When you don your headlamp and head out to the trail, there is much more beauty to be found than just the stars above you.

On a search for the elusive Resplendent Quetzal, my group heard its distinctive cooing high in the canopy.  We kept turning our heads, following the sound, until finally we saw the beautiful bird fly over a gap in the canopy, its long, elegant tail feathers trailing behind the rest of its body.  It landed in a tree and our guide quickly located it in the spotter, allowing me to take this picture.  Its feathers, iridescent in the sunlight, gave its color and form extra beauty.  Later, we would be lucky enough to watch a mated pair build a nest together, but this first glimpse is unforgettable.