Bird Guide

Military Macaw vs Red-and-green Macaw

Military Macaw (Ara militaris)

Military Macaw

Ara militaris

Large1.1 kgForest

Military macaws measure from 70 to 85 centimeters (28 to 33 inches) long on-average, with a 99–110 cm (39–43 in) wingspan. The birds are mostly green-plumed, with light-blue and yellow flight and tail feathers, and a bright-red patch on the forehead. Their face is bare, as with most macaws, being whitish in colour with black striations. The large, strong bill is a slate-grey, blackish tone, and the iris is yellow. They are very visually-similar to great green macaws, but can be distinguished by their smaller size, completely black bill, and overall darker, deeper plumage.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Military Macaw
Recorded by Rosa Elena Albornoz @rosaelena_naturaleza · Call · Sarare (near Gamelotal), Simón Planas, Lara, Venezuela · CC0
Photo: neiljs · CC BY 2.0
Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus)

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

Where you might meet both

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