Ara severus
Silhouette: Myriam_Ramirez · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The chestnut-fronted macaw or severe macaw (Ara severus) is one of the largest of the mini-macaws. It reaches a size of around 45 cm (18 in) of which around half is the length of the tail. They can be found over a large part of Northern South America from Panama south into Amazonian Brazil and central Bolivia. A feral population is found in Florida.
Their lifespan is listed as anything from 30 to 80 years of age. The chestnut-fronted macaw was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus severus. This macaw is now one of the eight extant species placed the genus Ara that was erected in 1799 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède. The genus name is from ará meaning "macaw" in the Tupi language of Brazil. The word is an onomatopoeia based on the sound of their call. The specific epithet severus is Latin meaning "grim", "cruel" or "stern". The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The chestnut-fronted or severe macaw is mostly green in colour... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 4 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 7 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 8 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 9 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parque das Aves | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Curitiba Zoo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Parque Zoologico Guátika | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Ukumarí Biopark | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Zoológico la pastroa | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Bioparque Municipal Vesty Pakos | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 7 | Sayaji Baug Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Paphos Zoo | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | |
| 9 | Aviario Nacional de Colombia | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 10 | Loro Parque | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Bioparque Wakatá | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 12 | Zoológico de Fauna Sudamericana | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 13 | Parque de la Conservación | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 14 | Buttonwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Zoo El Pantanal | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 16 | Arequipa zoo | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 17 | Rodadero Sea Aquarium and Museum | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 18 | Agroflori Parque de las Aves | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 19 | El Refugio foundation | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 20 | MaST Center Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Bird Park | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 22 | Cali Zoo | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 23 | Fundação Zoobotânica de Marabá | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 24 | GüiráOga | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 25 | Sea Life Paris Val d'Europe | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 26 | Wiwa Quito | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-fronted Macaw sighting in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park on a given day, based on 91 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 341st most-seen of the 542 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-fronted Macaw in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chestnut-fronted Macaw sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Chestnut-fronted Macaw sightings, Farallones de Cali National Natural Park ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in Manu National Park (Peru, about 50%), Tambopata National Reserve (Peru, about 40%) and Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Psittacidae
The closest relatives of the Chestnut-fronted Macaw that you can see in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park (family Psittacidae, New World and African Parrots) are Blue-headed Parrot (about 10%), Scarlet-fronted Parakeet (about 10%) and Scaly-naped Parrot (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chestnut-fronted Macaw is recorded against all the birds logged in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park (91 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
