It turned out that there were a lot of different birds in Costa Rica! We were met by noise, chaos, screams, feathers and birds of such colors as if several cans of various paint had been poured on them. Here's what was waiting for us after a walk through the mangroves. Now, first things first!
To be perfectly honest, we saw parrots that weren't really living in the wild. We only saw birds, like the one above, in the wild. It's clear that predators will exist with so many birds around.
This strange looking creature was the first to greet us in a sanctuary.
Spider monkey also live in the sanctuary. One was following us, climbing through branches and across roofs. I must say that their cries were absolutely terribly. If you hear that at night, you will not be able to sleep!
We also saw a pond with koi.
However, these big parrots - scarlet macaws - were the most interesting ones here. Actually, they were the main attraction in the sanctuary. The number of these beautiful birds has significantly decreased in recent years because for various reasons. Employees at the sanctuary have helped them adapt to a free life, before releasing them into the wild.
They are very sociable, although it's strictly forbidden to touch and feed them. If you do not make any sudden movements and just sit on the ground for some time, they will easily come close to you.
Macaws are terrible bullies. Although there is enough food, they constantly fight with each other. These two handsome guys grappled for some fruit that was lying on the ground.
At the same time they are really very "chatty". They make loud, sharp sounds.
They are probably slightly more than a meter in length, including their tail. Or even a meter and a half.
Local Indians hunt these parrots. Their meat is considered to be very tasty and their feathers are used to create different ornaments.
They settle in tree hollows in the wild. They are really confident about their place within their habitat. Therefore, the locals gave us information about the parrots' nests, which are passed from father to son; a valuable inheritance.
By the way, it's very difficult to distinguish a male from a female. Only a specialist can do this. As we were told, it's almost impossible to judge until they reach puberty. Macaws are able to propagate from the age of 5 years.
Generally, they can live up to 60-80 years.
The locals often feed them. They can live for years with people and they don't fly away.
The Macaw is a very smart bird. Living in captivity, they can easily learn hundreds of words.
However, their living in captivity leads to numerous problems. They are big and noisy. They need a large aviary. If your are going to keep them outside the aviary, you can say goodbye to your furniture. Therefore, not everyone can stand to be in close proximity to them for long periods of time.
They eat nuts, seeds and fruits.
They spend most of the time in the wild in tree crowns, playing an important role in the ecosystem overall. Thanks to them, nuts and seeds fall to the lower tiers of the jungle.
Most birds in the sanctuary could move around freely. Let's continue our journey . . . (
