Common Drone Fly vs Scarlet Macaw

Eristalis tenax compared with Ara macao

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Drone Fly	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Syrphidae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Eristalis	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Eristalis tenax	Ara macao

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Drone Fly and Scarlet Macaw share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Common Drone Fly

LC — Least Concern

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Drone Fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Chile).

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.

Common Drone Fly

<em>Eristalis tenax</em>, the common drone fly, is a hoverfly in the family Syrphidae with a broad global distribution spanning Europe, Africa, North America, and South America, including records from South Africa, five European countries, the United States, and Chile. This species typically inhabits a wide variety of terrestrial and freshwater habitats, from urban gardens and agricultural landscapes to woodland edges and wetlands. The common drone fly is one of the most effective mimics of the honey bee, a resemblance that offers protection from predators. Adults are frequently observed visiting flowers to feed on nectar and pollen, making them important pollinators in many ecosystems. Larvae, known as rat-tailed maggots, are aquatic and typically develop in stagnant, organically enriched water bodies such as sewage drains, manure pools, and polluted ponds, where they breathe through an elongated, tube-like siphon. <em>Eristalis tenax</em> is assessed as Least Concern, with stable and widespread populations. It is regarded as both an ecological indicator species and a valuable contributor to pollination services.

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