Exploring the Rainforest

A spectacularly plumaged parrot, tthe scarlet macaw is one of the tropic's most beautiful birds. You are likely to see it flying overhead and sounding off raucously. Its bright red-orange plumage has touches of yellow and blue and does not vary with age or between sexes. Scarlet macaws apparently mate for life which is one reason they are in danger of extinction. Another is their black market value--up to US$500 per bird. A third is habitat destruction: they generally nest in large trees. You'll commonly see them in fruit trees where they may be found pecking through the pulp of fruits and cracking open the seeds, the contents of which they devour. They may also consume the pulp, as well as some leaves and flowers, but the seeds are their bread and butter. The birds can perform gymnastics which would be the envy of any olympic acrobatics team member in pursuit of fruit. For example, they may reach over sideways on one foot to pluck a fruit or they may hand upside down. Its four-taloned feet--two of which face forward and two backwards--enable them to accomplish these feats. Another tool which the birds put to effective use is their remarkable hooked beak which can be used for clumbing. Macaws have also been known to consume riverbank clay which may serve to counter the effects of poisonous seeds which are high in alkaloids and tannins. Since 1992, it's been illegal to import macaws to the US. The birds generally mate in Dec.; the female lays two eggs. During the month-long incubation, her partner brings her delicacies which he has previously swallowed and stored in a throat pouch. Regurgitating, he feeds his mate, and both feed the chicks this way. Chicks fledge at three to four months. Male and female are distinguishable only during breeding and nesting. You may commonly see them preening each other. Macaws may live for as long as 45 years. The only reliable place to see macaws in Costa Rica are in the Corcovado and Carara national parks.

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