Grayish Saltator vs Scarlet Macaw

Saltator coerulescens compared with Ara macao

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Grayish Saltator	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Thraupidae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Saltator	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Saltator coerulescens	Ara macao

Evolutionary Relationship

Grayish Saltator and Scarlet Macaw share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Grayish Saltator

LC — Least Concern

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Grayish Saltator

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

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.

Grayish Saltator

A medium-large, stocky bird with grey upper parts, whitish underparts, and a distinctive white throat bordered by a black malar stripe, grayish saltators inhabit forest edges, gardens, and secondary woodland across a vast range from Mexico through Central America to Bolivia and Argentina. Highly adaptable, they thrive in suburban parks and gardens across tropical Latin America. They produce rich, varied melodious songs and are among the more commonly observed large songbirds in disturbed neotropical landscapes.

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 4 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway 🇻🇪 Venezuela