Marsh fleabane vs Scarlet Macaw

Pluchea carolinensis compared with Ara macao

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Marsh fleabane	Scarlet 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	Pluchea	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Pluchea carolinensis	Ara macao

Conservation Status

Marsh fleabane

LC — Least Concern

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Marsh fleabane

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Oceanian biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Spain), North America (5 countries), and Oceania and the Pacific (6 countries).

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.