Chestnut-fronted Macaw vs Red-and-green Macaw

Chestnut-fronted Macaw

Ara severus

Large343 gForest

The chestnut-fronted or severe macaw is mostly green in colour with patches of red and blue on the wings. The head has a chestnut brown patch just above the beak. The beak is black and the patches around the eyes are white with lines of small black feathers. It is the only one of the miniature macaws that has lines of feathers in the bare patches around its eyes. In the wild their typically gregarious personality can become more aggressive at puberty, giving them the name "severe macaw". This tendency can be curbed in captivity but the species requires significant handling to make a tame pet.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Rosa Elena Albornoz · Flight call · Chacao, Chacao, Distrito Capital, Venezuela · CC0

Photo: Claude Kolwelter · CC BY 4.0

Red-and-green Macaw

Ara chloropterus

Large1.2 kgForest

The green-winged macaw can be readily distinguished from the scarlet macaw. While the breast of both birds are bright red, the upper-wing covert feathers of the green-winged macaw is mostly green (as opposed to mostly yellow, or a strong mix of yellow and green in the scarlet macaw). In addition, the green-winged macaw has characteristic red lines around the eyes formed by rows of tiny feathers on the otherwise bare white skin patch; this is one of the biggest differences from a scarlet macaw to the casual viewer. Iridescent teal feathers are surrounded by red on the tail.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Miguel A. Paixão · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Chestnut-fronted Macaw and Red-and-green Macaw.