If you take a boat down Peru’s massive Madre de Dios River or one of its tributaries in the western Amazon Basin, you may notice that the river’s banks are dotted with vivid reds and blues: this is the prime habitat of the macaws.
Rainbow-colored parrots congregate on these slopes with other bird species to sample the sodium-rich soil. Tourists flock to see the colorful spectacle, and a group of bird-watching enthusiasts were treated to a particularly rare glimpse earlier in the year.
During a visit to the Banquillo clay lick, the group marveled at the brilliant plumage of a red and green macaw from a hiding place as they watched an ocelot pounce on the parrot and drag it across the clay bank and into the dense jungle.
