Belize Scarlet Macaw

Tour Itinerary

There is a place in Belize where you could go and see Scarlet Macaws by the dozens, every year! Scarlet Macaws are large parrots- with vivid red, yellow, green & blue feathers.

Red Bank Village (pop. 700), in Stann Creek District, is the seasonal home of one of the largest concentrations of Scarlet Macaws (Ara macao) in Belize, and in fact- all of Central America. The story of this sleepy Maya village first came to light about three years ago, after a group of researchers reported an apparent slaughter of Scarlet Macaws on a riverbank nearby. A project was subsequently undertaken, educating the local population about the rarity of the Scarlet Macaw and it's new value as a tourist attraction for the area.

The macaws are seen in this area for only a brief period of time each year. They emerge from the depths of the Chiquibul forest and congregate around Red Bank, with a voracious appetite for the ripe fruit of the annato and the locally-named, "pole wood" trees, which cover the hillsides. When this fruit season has passed, they depart, only to return the following year. This season fluctuates, as does the reappearance of the macaws. How do they know when the fruit is ripe? Well, evidently, the macaws have "scouts;" a small group of birds come early in the season, to survey the situation, and determine the appropriate time for the entire flock to return.

Join this amazing trip to search for the macaws. Nothing beats viewing these magnificent birds in the wild!