Black wattle vs Scarlet Macaw

Acacia mearnsii compared with Ara macao

Key Differences

• Black wattle is Not Evaluated while Scarlet Macaw is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black wattle	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	Acacia	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Acacia mearnsii	Ara macao

Conservation Status

Black wattle

NE — Not Evaluated

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black wattle

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests and montane grasslands and shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (17 countries), Asia (7 countries), Europe (8 countries), North America (Jamaica, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand, Papua New Guinea), and South America (5 countries).

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.

Black wattle

The Black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) is a species in the genus Acacia. Inhabits tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests and montane grasslands and shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations, found across Algeria, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Burundi, and more.

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 7 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇬🇧 United Kingdom