There’s nothing flashier than a scarlet macaw, making it a popular large bird among fanciers and novices alike. It’s not unusual for someone to begin his or her pet bird journey with a scarlet, though this bird is often not a great choice for the novice. The scarlet is just so gorgeous and filled with personality, it’s tough for someone with a few extra bucks in their pocket to refuse. The scarlet ranges in size from 32 to 39 inches in length, and is primarily red, as its name implies, with a band of yellow in the center of the wings, followed by a band of blue leading to the flight feathers. In some birds, there may be a band of green where the yellow meets the blue. Some people confuse the scarlet and the green-winged macaw, though there are prominent differences. The green-winged, in general, is a much larger bird and has a large band of green on the wing. The primary difference, however, is in the face – the scarlet has a naked face, and the green winged macaw has tiny red lines of feathers circling down from the eyes onto the face patch. Both birds have a similarly colored beak, a black lower mandible and a horn-colored upper mandible (with a little bit of black where the two parts of the beak meet).