Root-headed Centaury vs Scharlachara

Centaurea rhizocalathium compared with Ara macao

Key Differences

Root-headed Centaury is Endangered while Scharlachara is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Root-headed Centaury	Scharlachara
Kingdom	Plantae (Pflanzen)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordatiere)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Vögel)
Order	Asterales (Asternartige)	Psittaciformes (Papageien)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Centaurea	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Centaurea rhizocalathium	Ara macao

Conservation Status

Root-headed Centaury

EN — Endangered

Scharlachara

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Root-headed Centaury	Scharlachara
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	85 cm
Average Weight	—	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Root-headed Centaury

Habitat

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

Scharlachara

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.