Brown-headed Parrot vs Scarlet Macaw

Poicephalus cryptoxanthus compared with Ara macao

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown-headed Parrot	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Psittaciformes (Parrots)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family same	Psittacidae (True Parrots)	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Poicephalus	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Poicephalus cryptoxanthus	Ara macao

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown-headed Parrot and Scarlet Macaw share a common ancestor at the Family level: Psittacidae. (True Parrots)

Conservation Status

Brown-headed Parrot

LC — Least Concern

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown-headed Parrot	Scarlet Macaw
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	85 cm
Average Weight	—	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown-headed Parrot

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium and Norway.

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.

Brown-headed Parrot

The Brown-headed Parrot (Poicephalus cryptoxanthus) is a species in the genus Poicephalus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

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 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway