Nov. 2, 2014 - Costa Rica - Scarlet Macaw

One of the bird species I really wanted to see in Costa Rica was the Scarlet Macaw. I’ve seen captive birds before but that doesn’t begin to compare to seeing wild macaws in their natural environment. This photo was taken at Lapa Rios Nature Reserve, located on the Pacific coast in southeastern Costa Rica.

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Scarlet Macaws are 32 inches long; the long, flowing tail makes up over half that length. They weigh just over 2 pounds. Macaws have a lifespan of 40 to 50 years but can live up to 75 years in captivity. This is one of the macaws we saw near the town of Jaco.

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This macaw is hanging upside down. It plucked a leaf off the tree and is holding it in its bill. This photo was also taken near Jaco.

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In Puerto Jimenez, we had two macaws right overhead in a tree. This one is reaching for a nut.

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The macaw pulled the nut off and is holding it in its beak.

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The macaws we saw near Jaco weren’t always friendly to each other. These two were fighting. There’s so much color in this photo it can be hard to pick out the two birds. The blue wings belong to the bird on top. The other one is hanging upside down and you can see its tail pointing toward the top of the photo. The underside of one wing is visible at the lower right.

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Here’s another unfriendly encounter between two macaws. This photo was also taken near Jaco.

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