Scarlet Macaw

Ara macao

The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is a bird found in Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador. Rainforest canopy from southern Mexico down to the Amazon. It eats seeds and nuts, leaves and other plant parts and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Ara macao
Region	South America
Found in	Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador

🏡 Where the Scarlet Macaw lives

Rainforest canopy from southern Mexico down to the Amazon.

🍽️ What it eats

🌰 Seeds & nuts30%
🌿 Leaves & plants30%
🍎 Fruit20%
🌸 Nectar20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Macaws eat clay from river banks, which may help them digest tough seeds.

Hear the Scarlet Macaw

Recorded by Paul Driver (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1085829. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Scarlet Macaw

Where does the Scarlet Macaw live?

The Scarlet Macaw lives in Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador. Rainforest canopy from southern Mexico down to the Amazon.

What does the Scarlet Macaw eat?

seeds and nuts (about 30%), leaves and other plant parts (about 30%), fruit (about 20%), nectar (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Scarlet Macaw endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from South America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.