Chestnut-fronted Macaw vs Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

Ara severus compared with Merops oreobates

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chestnut-fronted Macaw	Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Psittaciformes (Parrots)	Coraciiformes (Coraciiformes)
Family	Psittacidae (True Parrots)	Meropidae
Genus	Ara (Macaws)	Merops
Species	Ara severus	Merops oreobates

Evolutionary Relationship

Chestnut-fronted Macaw and Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Chestnut-fronted Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chestnut-fronted Macaw	Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

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).

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Norway.

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.

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

The cinnamon-chested bee-eater (Merops oreobates) is a colorful, aerial insectivore in the family Meropidae, endemic to the highlands of East Africa. It is found in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DRC, typically at elevations between 1,500 and 3,000 meters in montane forest edge, woodland clearings, and cultivated areas with tall trees. Like all bee-eaters, it is a masterful aerial hunter, catching bees, wasps, and other flying insects in fast pursuit flights from open perches. The plumage is brilliant—green upperparts, a bright blue rump and undertail, a distinctive cinnamon-rufous chest, and a black gorget separating the throat from the breast. The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with stable populations across the East African highlands. It often nests colonially, digging burrows into earthen banks or flat ground. The cinnamon-chested bee-eater is absent from Europe; Norwegian database records are data entry errors. This bee-eater is a popular species with birdwatchers visiting the East African highlands, often observed conspicuously from perches at forest edges. Conservation of highland forest and woodland habitats, and the retention of earthen banks for nesting, are beneficial for this species.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway