Bananaquits are unique, busy little birds. Their classification is debated and it is now generally agreed that the Bananaquit belongs to its own family (FatBirder). We saw them often, forgaging among the shrubbery for flower nectar, fruits, and insects (Birds of Costa Rica, p. 324).
These common residents of Costa Rica were frequent visitors to the gardens next to the Arenal Observatory Lodge. The tiny (2.5-4″) Bananaquits added a real bright spot to overcast mornings in the shadows of the cloud-covered Arenal Volcano!
Birder's Journey 
Swell bird and very well stated.
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Thank you, Berny ☺️. Glad you liked it!
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Cute bird and pretty captures with those purple flowers.
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Yes… I love those flowers. They’re also really popular with the hummingbirds on the beautifully landscaped grounds at this Lodge.
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Beautiful. Looks like a honey eater I photographed in Australia.
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Yes! They are reminiscent of honeycreepers / I saw at red-legged honeycreeper at this same spot last year. And the bananaquits do have that sharp little down-turned beak – good for sipping nectar, I guess. ☺️
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Looking at this little miracle of nature , made my day.
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What a beautiful thing to say, Lukasz- thank you!! ☀️
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Great photos! Don’t you love this place? Did you swim in the Arenal hot springs?
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I do love this place, thanks, Sue! It was our second visit but we didn’t try the hot springs either time. Did you stay at Arenal? Have you been there recently?
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Wow, very gorgeous setting and photos…and interesting info!!
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So glad you enjoyed my post – thank you for your visit and comments. It certainly was a fabulous setting!
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Such a pretty little thing – very reminiscent of our sunbirds and clearly a great example of convergent evolution.
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Yes, so it seems! I see what you mean about the sunbirds . . . . I’m fond of the beautiful Palestinian Sunbird, which I’ve seen many times in Israel.
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Lovely little birds, beautifully photographed!
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Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment, Belinda!
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Pretty bird, nice shots!
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Thank you, Donna! They really are lovely and such a little bright spot, popping about in the gardens ☀️!
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I tried to find the origin of quit as a kind of bird but apparently it’s unknown.
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Thanks for looking into that – great thought! I never really investigated the name or the idea of ‘quit’ as an identifier. Check out this terrific post by Rolling Harbour Abacoa on the Bananaquits! https://rollingharbour.com/2020/02/15/bananaquits-ahead-of-the-curve/
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He (she?) included some nice portraits in that post. I appreciate the play on words with uniquity, which is a real word, an uncommon synonym of uniqueness.
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I’ve been looking forward to seeing these… a shared enthusiasm!
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I’m so glad you found them! I remember very well your beautiful Bananaquits, and it took me awhile before I got around to getting mine posted, as promised 🙂
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Bananaquits are so beautiful and cheerful, wonderful to see them. One of my favorite things (there are many) about CR is seeing so many bananquits. I believe the plant is purple porterweed, in the Verbena family. Lovely photos, BJ.
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It’s always such a delight to hear from you, Jet☺️. Thank you for the info on the purple porterweed … I didn’t recall what our guide told us about those lovely plants, but they were also a haven for SO many hummingbirds!!
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