Floating Bur-Reed vs Scarlet Macaw

Sparganium fluctuans compared with Ara macao

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Floating Bur-Reed	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Poales (Grasses)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Typhaceae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Sparganium	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Sparganium fluctuans	Ara macao

Conservation Status

Floating Bur-Reed

LC — Least Concern

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Floating Bur-Reed	Scarlet Macaw
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	85 cm
Average Weight	—	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Floating Bur-Reed

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States.

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.

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.