The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is a large red, yellow, and blue Central and South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. It is native to humid evergreen forests of tropical Central and South America. Range extends from south-eastern Mexico to the Peruvian Amazon, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela and Brazil in lowlands of 1,640 ft (at least formerly) up to 3,281 ft. 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. Formerly it ranged north to southern Tamaulipas. It can still be found on the island of Coiba. It is the national bird of Honduras. Like its relative the blue-and-yellow macaw, scarlet macaws are popular birds in aviculture as a result of their striking plumage.
It is among the largest of all macaws. Like most parrots, it can live for a long time, with the oldest known living up to 80 years. They mate for life, with mated pairs commonly seen flying together over the canopy.