Scarlet Macaw

Predominantly bright red plumage with vibrant yellow wing coverts and dark blue flight feathers and tail tips. Naked white facial skin with fine black feather lines. No significant visual difference between adult males and females, though juveniles have darker eyes and shorter tails.

Bright red overall body, brilliant yellow wing feathers, blue lower back and tail/wing tips, and white facial skin patch.

Length: 81 to 96 cm (32 to 38 inches); Wingspan: approximately 100 to 105 cm; Weight: 900 to 1,500 grams.

Loud, high-pitched, metallic screeches, squawks, and roars that can carry for long distances across the canopy.

Primarily frugivorous, feeding on seeds, nuts, fruits, flowers, and occasionally clay from river banks to neutralize toxins from their food.

Humid lowland evergreen tropical forests, forest edges, and semi-open woodlands.

Non-migratory resident, though they may make local seasonal movements in search of preferred fruiting trees.

Nests in natural cavities and hollows high up in mature rainforest trees, typically laying 2 to 4 eggs with both parents participating in rearing.

Green-winged Macaw (Ara chloropterus), which has green wing coverts instead of yellow and fine red lines around the facial skin.

Acts as an important seed disperser in tropical rainforest ecosystems, helping regenerate forest trees and maintaining plant diversity.

Least Concern globally, though populations in Central America are heavily fragmented and endangered locally.

Listen for loud, harsh screeches in the forest canopy, especially during early morning and late afternoon when they gather in fruiting trees.

Scarlet macaws form lifelong monogamous pairs and can live up to 50 years or more in the wild.