Cotton Thistle vs Red-and-green Macaw

Onopordum acanthium compared with Ara chloropterus

Key Differences

• Cotton Thistle is Endangered while Red-and-green Macaw is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cotton Thistle	Red-and-green Macaw
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Onopordum	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Onopordum acanthium	Ara chloropterus

Conservation Status

Cotton Thistle

EN — Endangered

Red-and-green Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cotton Thistle	Red-and-green Macaw
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cotton Thistle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, tundra, and tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, among 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Georgia, India, Japan), Europe (22 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Red-and-green Macaw

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (United Arab Emirates), Europe (Norway, United Kingdom), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Red-and-green Macaw

Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus) 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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇬🇧 United Kingdom