Bearded Sugarbush vs Scarlet Macaw

Protea magnifica compared with Ara macao

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bearded Sugarbush	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Proteales (Proteales)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Proteaceae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Protea	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Protea magnifica	Ara macao

Conservation Status

Bearded Sugarbush

LC — Least Concern

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bearded Sugarbush

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found in South Africa.

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.

Bearded Sugarbush

The Bearded Sugarbush (Protea magnifica) is a species in the genus Protea. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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.