Bird Guide

Chestnut-fronted Macaw vs Scarlet Macaw

Chestnut-fronted Macaw (Ara severus)

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

Recording: Rosa Elena Albornoz · CC0
Photo: Unknown · Public domain
Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)

Scarlet Macaw

Ara macao

Large1.0 kgForest

It is about 84 centimeters (33 in) long, of which more than half is the pointed, graduated tail typical of all macaws, though the scarlet macaw has a larger percentage of tail than the other large macaws. The average weight is about 1 kilogram (2 lb 3 oz). The plumage is mostly scarlet, but the rump and tail-covert feathers are light blue, the greater upper wing coverts are yellow, the upper sides of the flight feathers of the wings are dark blue as are the ends of the tail feathers, and the undersides of the wing and tail flight feathers are dark red with metallic gold iridescence.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Richard Borrmann · CC BY 4.0
Photo: Letartean · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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