Scarlet Macaw Flying from the Carara Canopy

A single Scarlet Macaw flies from the sunlit canopy with both wings extended between a lattice of leaves and branches at Cerro Lodge and the Carara area in Costa Rica. Scarlet Macaws form long-term pair bonds; their red bodies, yellow-and-blue wings and long graduated tails make them unmistakable over Costa Rica's Central Pacific forest. The exposure of 1/2500 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 4000 holds the flight posture and major feather groups sharply while leaving restrained motion in the quickest wing tips; the photograph was made in natural light without flash.