Climbingfig vs Scarlet Macaw

Ficus pumila compared with Ara macao

Key Differences

Climbingfig is Not Evaluated while Scarlet Macaw is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Climbingfig	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Rosales (Roses & Allies)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Moraceae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Ficus	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Ficus pumila	Ara macao

Conservation Status

Climbingfig

NE — Not Evaluated

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Climbingfig	Scarlet Macaw
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	85 cm
Average Weight	—	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Climbingfig

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles), Asia (India, Singapore), Europe (Italy, Portugal, Spain), North America (4 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

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.

Climbingfig

Climbing Fig, Ficus pumila, is a small-leaved, self-clinging vine in the family Moraceae native to eastern Asia, including China, Japan, Vietnam, and adjacent regions. It attaches firmly to walls, tree trunks, and rock surfaces using adhesive root-like holdfasts that grip the substrate tightly. The juvenile foliage consists of small, heart-shaped leaves that cover the climbing surface densely, while adult foliage on mature, non-climbing branches is larger and leathery. Climbing Fig produces the characteristic enclosed fig inflorescences (syconia) on adult branches, filled with small flowers pollinated by specialized fig wasps in a tight co-evolutionary relationship. The small, fleshy figs are produced abundantly on mature plants and are eaten by birds and mammals, facilitating seed dispersal. The species is one of the most widely cultivated ornamental climbers in warm climates worldwide, used to clothe walls, fences, pergolas, and buildings in gardens across the Mediterranean, subtropical, and tropical regions. It can cause long-term damage to masonry when holdfasts penetrate cracks. In suitable warm climates outside its native range, Climbing Fig can escape cultivation and become naturalized. The species is not threatened in its native Asian range.

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.