African Openbill vs Scarlet Macaw

Anastomus lamelligerus compared with Ara macao

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African Openbill	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Ciconiiformes (Ciconiiformes)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Ciconiidae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Anastomus	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Anastomus lamelligerus	Ara macao

Evolutionary Relationship

African Openbill and Scarlet Macaw share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

African Openbill

LC — Least Concern

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African Openbill	Scarlet Macaw
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	85 cm
Average Weight	—	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

African Openbill

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Germany, and Norway.

Scarlet Macaw

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Population trends indicate a declining trajectory in parts of its range.

African Openbill

The African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is a species in the genus Anastomus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Scarlet Macaw

One of the most brilliantly colored birds in the Americas, scarlet macaws display vivid red, yellow, and blue plumage with wingspans reaching 1 meter. Found in humid lowland forests from Mexico to Bolivia, they are highly intelligent, long-lived — up to 75 years — and form lifelong pair bonds. They travel long distances to clay licks where they consume mineral-rich soil to detoxify seeds. Listed as Least Concern but locally threatened by habitat loss and the pet trade.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway