Scarlet Macaw vs Sour Prickle

Ara macao compared with Opuntia dillenii

Key Differences

• Scarlet Macaw is Least Concern while Sour Prickle is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Scarlet Macaw	Sour Prickle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Psittaciformes (Parrots)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Psittacidae (True Parrots)	Cactaceae
Genus	Ara (Macaws)	Opuntia
Species	Ara macao	Opuntia dillenii

Conservation Status

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Sour Prickle

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

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.

Sour Prickle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Madagascar), Asia (5 countries), Europe (4 countries), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

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:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇫🇷 France