Barn Owl vs Scarlet Macaw
Tyto alba compared with Ara macao
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Barn Owl | Scarlet Macaw |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Tyto alba | Ara macao |
| Order | Strigiformes | Psittaciformes |
| Family | Tytonidae | Psittacidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 35.0 cm (13.8 in) | 85.0 cm (33.5 in) |
| Wingspan | 90.0 cm (35.4 in) | 110.0 cm (43.3 in) |
| Weight | 350.0 g (12.35 oz) | 1000.0 g (35.27 oz) |
| Diet | Almost exclusively small mammals, especially voles and mice. Hunts using extraordinary hearing to locate prey … | Fruits, nuts, seeds, and flowers from rainforest canopy trees. Visits clay licks to detoxify compounds … |
| Clutch Size | 2-16 | 1-4 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Barn Owl
Open farmland, grasslands, and marshes. Nests in barns, church steeples, tree cavities, and purpose-built nest boxes.
Scarlet Macaw
Humid tropical lowland rainforests, gallery forests, and forest edges. Requires large mature trees with cavities for nesting.
Song & Call Comparison
Barn Owl
An eerie, drawn-out rasping shriek 'shreeeeee' — not a hoot. Also gives hissing, snoring, and bill-snapping when disturbed. Chicks call with a persistent rasping hunger call.
Scarlet Macaw
Very loud, raucous squawking screams 'araak-araak'. Also gives chattering contact calls in pairs. Capable of mimicking human speech in captivity. Highly vocal throughout the day.
Geographic Range & Migration
Barn Owl
The most widespread owl and one of the most widespread land birds, found on every continent except Antarctica.
Scarlet Macaw
Southern Mexico through Central America to Amazonian South America, including Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, and Colombia.
Conservation Status
Barn Owl
Scarlet Macaw
How to Tell Them Apart
Barn Owl
Pale golden-buff upperparts with delicate grey mottling. Pure white heart-shaped face and white to pale buff underparts. Ghostly white appearance in flight.
Pale pinkish hooked bill nearly concealed by the facial disc
Scarlet Macaw
Brilliant scarlet red body with bright yellow wing coverts and blue flight feathers and tail. Large white bare facial patch around the eye.
Large, strongly curved bill — pale horn upper mandible, dark lower mandible
About These Birds
Barn Owl
The barn owl has the most asymmetrical ears of any owl, giving it the finest auditory localization ability in the animal kingdom. It can catch prey in complete darkness using sound alone. The barn owl's distinctive heart-shaped face acts as a parabolic dish, funneling sound to its offset ears.
Scarlet Macaw
The scarlet macaw is one of the most iconic tropical birds with its dazzling tricolor plumage. These highly intelligent parrots form lifelong pair bonds and can live over 75 years in captivity. They play an important ecological role as seed dispersers in Neotropical rainforests.