Costa Rica - Scarlet Macaws - Another Item Off My Checklist

We were enroute to our last activity of the tour, another tram ride through a rain forest. Traveling down the road our guide, blessed with good eyes, yelled "Scarlet macaw!" Although we had seen    them as silhouettes in the distance several times we had not seen one up close. The brilliant red bird flew by the bus window then spread it's wings and banked to the right displaying the spectacular colors of the stripes that ran across them. A second macaw was spotted. The bus driver pulled into a scenic overlook and turned the bus around in an attempt to follow their flight path. There was another scenic overlook a short distance away. As luck would have it not one, not two, but an entire group of the birds were in a tree there, tussling and playing, their bright red bodies and striped wings creating a kaleidoscope among the leaves.