Chestnut-fronted Macaw vs Common Tern

Ara severus compared with Sterna hirundo

Key Differences

• Chestnut-fronted Macaw is Least Concern while Common Tern is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chestnut-fronted Macaw	Common Tern
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Psittaciformes (Parrots)	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)
Family	Psittacidae (True Parrots)	Laridae
Genus	Ara (Macaws)	Sterna
Species	Ara severus	Sterna hirundo

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Chestnut-fronted Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Common Tern

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chestnut-fronted Macaw	Common Tern
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).

Common Tern

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 9 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.

Common Tern

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. At high risk of extinction in the wild, with significant population decline and ongoing threats to survival.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

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