American Bald Eagle vs Scarlet Macaw

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Ara macao

Key Differences

• American Bald Eagle is Not Evaluated while Scarlet Macaw is Least Concern.
• American Bald Eagle is carnivore while Scarlet Macaw is herbivore.
• American Bald Eagle is 5.0x heavier than Scarlet Macaw.
• Scarlet Macaw lives longer (50 years vs 28 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Bald Eagle	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom same	Animalia (สัตว์)	Animalia (สัตว์)
Phylum same	Chordata (สัตว์มีแกนสันหลัง)	Chordata (สัตว์มีแกนสันหลัง)
Class same	Aves (นก)	Aves (นก)
Order	Accipitriformes (อันดับเหยี่ยว)	Psittaciformes (อันดับนกแก้ว)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Ara macao

Evolutionary Relationship

American Bald Eagle and Scarlet Macaw share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (นก)

Conservation Status

American Bald Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Bald Eagle	Scarlet Macaw
Diet	Carnivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	28 years	50 years
Average Length	90 cm	85 cm
Average Weight	5.0 kg	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

American Bald Eagle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 10 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (8 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Ecuador).

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.

American Bald Eagle

The national bird of the United States and a symbol of American conservation success, bald eagles have a wingspan of up to 2.4 meters and inhabit forests and wetlands near open water across North America. Powerful aerial predators and scavengers, they specialize in fish but also take waterfowl and carrion. Nearly extinct by the 1960s due to DDT poisoning and hunting, the bald eagle recovered dramatically following pesticide bans and the Endangered Species Act.

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 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇬🇧 United Kingdom