Blue-and-yellow Macaw vs Peruvian Pelican

Ara ararauna compared with Pelecanus thagus

Key Differences

• Blue-and-yellow Macaw is Least Concern while Peruvian Pelican is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blue-and-yellow Macaw	Peruvian Pelican
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Psittaciformes (Parrots)	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)
Family	Psittacidae (True Parrots)	Pelecanidae
Genus	Ara (Macaws)	Pelecanus
Species	Ara ararauna	Pelecanus thagus

Evolutionary Relationship

Blue-and-yellow Macaw and Peruvian Pelican share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Peruvian Pelican

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blue-and-yellow Macaw	Peruvian Pelican
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).

Peruvian Pelican

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Ecuador and Norway. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway