The parrots

The colorful scarlet macaw belongs to the parrot family. The rainbow-colored parrot can be seen primarily in Corcovado National Park and in the Boca Tapada region. 

With a body length of up to 35 inches and a maximum weight of up to 2 pounds, the scarlet macaw is one of the largest parrots in the world. For this stately size, the Scarlet Macaw has to eat a lot. His favorite foods include buds, fruits, berries and seeds. Nuts are also easy for the macaw to crack because its powerful beak is made for it. The tongue of the scarlet macaw is remarkable for its rough and muscular qualities that allow it to lick the last bits out of a fruit. There is also something like “right-handed and left-handed” among macaws because the macaws prefer to eat from a specific foot. For foraging, the Scarlet Macaws move within a radius of about 6 miles around their own sleeping tree. 

Scarlet macaws can often be seen in groups of up to 20 individuals typically in pairs as macaws are monogamous. During the breeding season, the pairs leave the group and lay two to four eggs in a tree hollow. While the female sits on the eggs, the male takes care of the food supply. After about four to five weeks, the baby macaws hatch and are then dependent on their parents for another four months until they can leave the nest. After two years the young scarlet macaws are sexually mature.

The green counterpart to the Scarlet Macaw is the Great Green Macaw also known as the Buffon’s macaw or the great military macaw. It belongs to the family of the true parrots. Its 33 inches height gives it is an impressive figure and its green plumage with the turquoise and red spots are a marvel. 

The Great Green Macaws are at home in the dense tropical rainforest where they find enough food. Similar to the scarlet macaw this consists of nuts, fruits, seeds and berries. However, 80% of its diet is made up of the so-called fruits of the forest almond. Only the green macaw is able to crack the extremely hard shell of the nut. Not even the Scarlet Macaw can get inside the almond with its powerful beak. 

Parrots live together in small groups of about five to six individuals and are loyal to their territory until they run out of forest almonds and are forced to move. Green macaws usually lay three eggs. After about 100 days, the young fledge and can leave the nest. Green macaws only become sexually mature after seven years which is a long time for a bird.