Scarlet macaw
Ara macao (Linnaeus, 1758)
The scarlet macaw (Ara macao) is a species in the family Psittacidae, order Psittaciformes. It has been recorded in 46 countries, most often in Costa Rica, Peru and Brazil. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the scarlet macaw
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- fruit, nut, seed, flower, nectarsrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Egg incubation
- 26 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Recorded in
- 46 countriessrc for Recorded in
Photos of the scarlet macaw
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.


Where does the scarlet macaw live?
Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF. This shows where the species has been recorded, including zoos and introduced populations. It is not a definitive range.
The scarlet macaw has been recorded in 46 countries, from 123,202 records.
- None on record
- 1–9
- 10–99
- 100–999
- 1,000+
The same figures as a list, most records first
- Costa Rica82,565
- Peru12,399
- Brazil8,784
- Colombia8,542
- Ecuador5,232
- Venezuela1,662
- Guyana1,436
- French Guiana737
- Panama604
- Bolivia454
- Suriname382
- Mexico172
- United States57
- Belize27
- Guatemala22
- Honduras18
- Nicaragua16
- Germany8
- Japan8
- Netherlands8
- El Salvador8
- Australia5
- France5
- India5
- Puerto Rico5
- Trinidad & Tobago5
- Canada4
- Maldives4
- Guadeloupe3
- Taiwan3
- Argentina2
- Belgium2
- Finland2
- Malaysia2
- Portugal2
- Vietnam2
- Antigua & Barbuda1
- Bulgaria1
- St. Barthélemy1
- Curaçao1
Show 6 more countries
What is the scarlet macaw?
The scarlet macaw (Ara macao) also called the red-and-yellow macaw, red-and-blue macaw or red-breasted macaw, is a large yellow, green, red and blue Neotropical parrot native to humid evergreen forests of the Americas. Its range extends from southeastern Mexico to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Honduras, and Brazil in lowlands of 500 m (1,600 ft) (at least formerly) up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft), the Caribbean island of Trinidad, as well as the Pacific island of Coiba. Formerly, the northern extent of its range included southern Tamaulipas. In some areas, it has suffered local extinction because of habitat destruction, or capture for the parrot trade, but in other areas, it remains fairly common. It is the national bird of Honduras. Like its relative the blue-and-yellow macaw, the scarlet macaw is a popular bird in aviculture as a result of its striking plumage. It is the third most common macaw species in captivity after the blue-and-yellow and red-and-green macaw respectively. In recent years it has become much rarer in captivity and much more expensive due to stricter laws, its price being higher than even red-and-green macaws.
Wikipedia contributors, “Scarlet macaw”, Wikipedia (revision 1382309503), retrieved 2026-11-11. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0; this block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the scarlet macaw endangered?
The scarlet macaw is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the scarlet macaw classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPsittaciformes
- familyPsittacidae
- genusAra
- SpeciesAra macao (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Psittacus macao
Names in other languages (13)
- hellroter AraGerman
- AraracangaPortuguese
- GeelvleugelaraDutch
- Röd araSwedish
- コンゴウインコJapanese
- 緋紅金剛鸚鵡Chinese
- مقو قرمزيArabic
- Красный араRussian
- Guacamayo macaoSpanish
- ScharlacharaGerman
- Ara rougeFrench
- Ara scarlattaItalian
- arara-escarlatePortuguese
GBIFWikidataWikipediaNCBI TaxonomyITISEncyclopedia of LifeiNaturalist
Relatives of the scarlet macaw
Other species in the same class Aves.

Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos

European robin
Erithacus rubecula

Bald eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Peregrine falcon
Falco peregrinus

Common kingfisher
Alcedo atthis

Common ostrich
Struthio camelus
CompareScarlet macaw vs MallardScarlet macaw vs European robinScarlet macaw vs Bald eagleScarlet macaw vs Peregrine falcon
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
Where does the scarlet macaw live?
The scarlet macaw has openly licensed sighting records from 46 countries on GBIF. The most records come from Costa Rica, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.
Is the scarlet macaw endangered?
The scarlet macaw is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What does the scarlet macaw eat?
Its recorded main food is fruit, nut, seed, flower and nectar.
What kind of animal is the scarlet macaw?
The scarlet macaw (Ara macao) belongs to the family Psittacidae in the order Psittaciformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0 · live API 2026-11-11
GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · live API 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base. - GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only) · CC BY 4.0 · live API 2026-11-11
GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records. - Wikimedia Commons · Per file · live API 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file. - English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · live API 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Scarlet macaw (Ara macao). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/scarlet-macaw
“Scarlet macaw (Ara macao).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/scarlet-macaw.
@misc{scarlet_macaw_2026,
title = {Scarlet macaw (Ara macao)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/scarlet-macaw},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}