Brown Pelican vs Chestnut-fronted Macaw

Pelecanus occidentalis compared with Ara severus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Pelican	Chestnut-fronted Macaw
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Pelecanidae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Pelecanus	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Pelecanus occidentalis	Ara severus

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Pelican and Chestnut-fronted Macaw share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Brown Pelican

LC — Least Concern

Chestnut-fronted Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Pelican	Chestnut-fronted Macaw
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Pelican

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, United States, and Venezuela.

Chestnut-fronted Macaw

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (Belgium, Norway), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) 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.

Chestnut-fronted Macaw

A medium-sized macaw of Central and South American tropical forests from southern Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil, chestnut-fronted macaws have predominantly green plumage with a chestnut forehead, red shoulder patches, and blue flight feathers. The smallest of the true macaws, they inhabit forest edges, savannas, and secondary woodland and often raid crops, making them locally unpopular with farmers. They are popular aviary birds, but wild populations face pressure from trapping and deforestation.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway 🇺🇸 United States 🇻🇪 Venezuela