Blue-and-yellow Macaw vs Thyme Plume

Ara ararauna compared with Merrifieldia leucodactyla

Key Differences

• Blue-and-yellow Macaw is Least Concern while Thyme Plume is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blue-and-yellow Macaw	Thyme Plume
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Psittaciformes (Parrots)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Psittacidae (True Parrots)	Pterophoridae
Genus	Ara (Macaws)	Merrifieldia
Species	Ara ararauna	Merrifieldia leucodactyla

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Thyme Plume

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blue-and-yellow Macaw	Thyme Plume
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).

Thyme Plume

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate coniferous forests, and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Algeria, Morocco), Asia (7 countries), and Europe (35 countries). 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 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway