SCARLET MACAW

About the Scarlet Macaw

Did you know? Over half of our Rainforest Expeditions guests see this brightly colored macaw!

Dawn has just broken into the Peruvian rainforest, and a group of lucky Rainforest Expeditions guests settles into chairs set up on the river bank. At this hour, the air still retains the quiet of the dark jungle night.  But that calm is soon shattered by the screeches and cries of hundreds of parakeets, parrots, and macaws as they fly to the nearby clay lick (colpa), a clay area that has nutrients they need. This is why most of these guests have gone so far upriver: to spy the brilliant Scarlet Macaw and its friends. Because our Tambopata Research Center clay lick is one of the largest in the world, their trip will be more than worth it.

It doesn’t take long before the Scarlet Macaws begin to arrive. The macaws announce their presence long before they’re seen with dinosaur-like cries. Then, a pair comes flying in on steady wings.  As the first morning rays of the sunlight up their plumage, they seem to glow with red. They continue to fly closer. Everyone marvels at the combination of flaming scarlet, blue, and yellow feathers. Finally, more and more brilliant Scarlet Macaws fly in for their morning colpa visit. It’s a fantastic way to start any day — and at TRC, the spectacle of Scarlet Macaws is commonplace.

Scarlet Macaw Fun Facts

• The macaw with the largest range: Historically, you could find Scarlet Macaws all the way from eastern Mexico south to the Amazon rainforest. Unfortunately, they have disappeared from many areas. Lucky for us, they’re still fairly common in remote parts of the Amazon such as our Tambopata Reserve home.


• Similar to the Red and Green Macaw: Scarlet Macaws look quite a bit like the Red and Green Macaws. But they’re differentiated from their slightly heavier cousin by the yellow in their wings, their long wiggling tail, and their lack of face feathering. Scarlet Macaws also have smaller heads than their cousins.


• Need extensive, old-growth forest: These large birds require huge areas of forest with plenty of big trees for food and nesting sites. They eat a variety of seeds and fruits.


• A small percentage nest each year: Fairly few Scarlet Macaws in Tambopata nest each year. This is due to the lack of adequate nest sites. They require tree cavities of a certain size, which limits their population in the region. Our Tambopata Macaw Project, operating out of our Tambopata Research Center Lodge, discovered this!


• Long-lived: Scarlet Macaws can live for 30 to 40 years in the wild, and some individuals might even reach 60 years of age! This longevity makes up for their low birth rates, allowing the population to stay healthy and stable.