What is the conservation status of the Scarlet Macaw?

The Scarlet Macaw is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant. Not currently at risk of extinction in the wild.

Where is the Scarlet Macaw found?

The Scarlet Macaw is found in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia.

Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) — Conservation Status & How to Help

About the Scarlet Macaw

The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is one of the largest parrots in the Americas, measuring up to 90 centimeters from beak to tail, with vivid red plumage offset by yellow and blue wing feathers. It ranges across a broad arc of lowland tropical forest and woodland from southern Mexico through Central America and into much of South America, with the species split into two recognized subspecies: Ara macao cyanoptera in the north and Ara macao macao further south.

Scarlet Macaws are significant seed dispersers in the forests they inhabit, carrying large, hard-shelled seeds well beyond the parent tree before dropping or caching them. The IUCN Red List currently classifies the species as Least Concern, but its range has contracted considerably at the northern and coastal edges, driven by habitat loss from agricultural expansion, illegal capture for the international pet trade, and hunting. Populations in parts of Mexico, El Salvador, and coastal Honduras are now small and fragmented, even while the species remains relatively numerous across the Amazon Basin.

Things worth knowing

Scarlet Macaws form long-term pair bonds and typically nest in natural cavities in tall, dead trees, which makes them vulnerable to deforestation that removes old-growth timber.
Their powerful, hooked beaks can crack seeds and nuts that are inaccessible to most other birds, including the tough fruits of certain Hymenaea tree species in South American forests.
The species has one of the longest lifespans of any parrot, with individuals in the wild recorded living beyond 40 years.
Scarlet Macaws often congregate at clay licks, riverbank exposures of mineral-rich clay where flocks gather to ingest soil that may help neutralize toxins found in their diet of unripe fruits and seeds.
In El Salvador, the Scarlet Macaw holds the status of national bird, yet the wild population there is estimated at only a few hundred individuals and is the subject of active conservation management.
Illegal trade remains a documented pressure on the species: confiscation records compiled by TRAFFIC show Scarlet Macaws consistently appearing among the most trafficked Neotropical parrots in Latin American markets.

Scarlet Macaw

Things worth knowing

0 organizations protect the Scarlet Macaw