Bladder Fern vs Scarlet Macaw

Cystopteris fragilis compared with Ara macao

Key Differences

Bladder Fern is Not Evaluated while Scarlet Macaw is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bladder Fern	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Cystopteridaceae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Cystopteris	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Cystopteris fragilis	Ara macao

Conservation Status

Bladder Fern

NE — Not Evaluated

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bladder Fern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (6 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and South America (Colombia).

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.

Bladder Fern

The Bladder Fern (Cystopteris fragilis) is a species in the genus Cystopteris. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

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.