Blue-and-yellow Macaw vs Common Spreadwing

Ara ararauna compared with Lestes sponsa

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blue-and-yellow Macaw	Common Spreadwing
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Psittaciformes (Parrots)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family	Psittacidae (True Parrots)	Lestidae
Genus	Ara (Macaws)	Lestes
Species	Ara ararauna	Lestes sponsa

Evolutionary Relationship

Blue-and-yellow Macaw and Common Spreadwing share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Common Spreadwing

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blue-and-yellow Macaw	Common Spreadwing
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Common Spreadwing

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

One of the most striking and widely kept macaw species, blue-and-yellow macaws display brilliant cobalt blue upper parts contrasting with vivid yellow underparts and green forehead. They inhabit forest, woodland, and savanna from eastern Panama through Venezuela, Brazil, and Bolivia to Peru and Ecuador. Highly intelligent, they live in pairs or small flocks, feeding on palm nuts, seeds, and fruit. Popular in aviculture for over 400 years, they can live 80+ years in captivity.

Common Spreadwing

Common Spreadwing (Lestes sponsa) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway