African plume vs Scarlet Macaw

Bauhinia galpinii compared with Ara macao

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African plume	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Fabaceae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Bauhinia	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Bauhinia galpinii	Ara macao

Conservation Status

African plume

LC — Least Concern

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

African plume

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Australia, India, Seychelles, Taiwan, and United States.

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 plume

The African plume (Bauhinia galpinii) is a species in the genus Bauhinia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

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.