On The Wild Side, by Ryan Piercy
What child never heard stories of pirates, with their peg leg, hooked hand, eye patch, and of course their trusted mate, a parrot. Costa Rica has its pirate legends of course, but the parrots at least are not just legend, but a real part of the local ecology.
332 Living Species!
Parrots abound in tropical countries, and there exist about 332 living species, which provides quite a colorful variety. In fact despite the wide variety of names and colors, parrots are structurally uniform and very closely related to one another. Though predominantly green, many boast a spectrum of highlights from blue to red, yellow, orange, and so on. "Parrot" is used mainly for medium sized and mostly short-tailed species in the New World.
However the overall parrot family includes varieties from the tiny 3" pygmy parrot to the immense meter long Macaw. They have long been a favorite pet amongst man, not only for their magnificent colors, but also the uncanny ability that many have to imitate speech.
Unfortunately it is due to their immense popularity that many species in Costa Rica and other countries are in danger. They face not only loss of habitat, like many animals, but are also taken for sale as caged-birds by mankind. Costa Rica is trying hard to protect its wild parrots, which include sixteen confirmed varieties. Among these are both the Great Green Macaw, and the truly spectacular Scarlet Macaw.
The Spectacular Macaws!
Macaws are the largest of the parrot family, reaching up to 33" in length, and are highly colored. Though the variety of colors is more evident on the Scarlet Macaw, the Great Green Macaw itself boasts green, scarlet, blue, olive yellow and iris yellow.
They usually band in small flocks, and due to loss and change of habitat are increasingly difficult to locate. The best chance to spot the Scarlet Macaw may be Carara & the Osa peninsula, with the Great Green possibly being easier to find along the Cordillera de Guanacaste or the Caribbean lowlands. However keep your eyes open as many of the smaller varieties, including parakeets, parrotlets and parrots, may just pop up at your hotel or in your back yard.
Finally, if you are a lover of parrots, please get out and enjoy them in their natural habitat, and help conservationists when you can, so that they don't also become just legends.
© El Residente ARCR Administración S.A. San José, Costa Rica N.B. Like all information on the internet, this article may currently be incorrect or out of date.
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