Here's Looking at You

Louise, Press, Marie-Andrée, Cory and Émilie are heading to Costa Rica next month to see its diverse flora and fauna. The flamboyant Scarlet Macaw (Lapa Rojo or Ara macao) is a plentiful resident of the Pacific Rain Forest and specifically the Corcovado National Park at the south end of the Osa Peninsula. Macaws are seed predators. Early in the morning they crack open almond nuts and spit the shells out on the beach below.

Barbara Kingsolver's essay "Seeing Scarlet" is a delightful description of her trip to Costa Rica to see this globally endangered species. The first sentence:

Picture a scarlet macaw: a fierce, full meter of royal red feathers head to tail, a soldier's rainbow-coloured epaulets, a skeptic's eye staring out from a naked white face, a beak that takes no prisoners.

Paulette found the link to the entire essay. Hope the guacamayos are still up close and personal during their visit.

I've posted more Costa Rican wildlife pictures on flickr from our February 2004 trip.