Mother Nature’s Masterpieces: Top 10 Most Beautiful Birds in the world
Ever find some of the most attractive or beautiful bird species when gazing at the sky? Ever witness some of the top 10 most beautiful birds in the world with captivating and gravity-challenging shimmery beauty? There are around 10,000 different and unique bird species in the world which have different sizes, colors, body shapes, and patterns. So, we are fully surrounded by lovely and glamorous birds, yet most of us don’t know about them.
1. Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise
Wilson’s bird-of-paradise is a small-sized bird with the body height of 12 inches and weight around 52–67 g. It is considered as the most beautiful bird in the world due to its impressive appearance with vibrant body colors. Males have red and black body, fresh blue-colored feet, bottle green chest, naked blue head, yellow mantle on neck, green colored mouth, and 2 curly violet feathers.
On the other hand, females have brownish body color with a plain blue top. This stunning colorful bird is resident of the rainforests of Waigeo and Batanta islands in Indonesia, depending on fruits, arthropods, and small creatures for food purposes.
2. Mandarin Duck
The mandarin duck takes the 2nd position while listing the top 10 most beautiful birds in the world due to its beautiful and stunning appearance. It has a greenish-black forehead, purple crest, creamy white sides of head, and copper under-eye patches. Mandarin ducks are commonly seen in East Asia, enjoying the watery environment around woodlands.
Although it has very small size (16-19 inches), yet its look is very impressive and memorable. Males being more colorful have combination of shimmering green, white, and orange colored feathers. However, females have feathers in the combination of brown, white, and grey colors.
3. Scarlet Macaw
Scarlet macaw is one of the most colorful and smartest birds in the world that is found in the hot rainforests of South and Central America. It is also entitled as one of the most beautiful birds in the world because of its vibrant and unique appearance. Its face is small and featherless in creamy white color (with a patch of black and white).
However, it has a furred body in bright red color with a whitish curved beak. Its wing colors can vary but mostly, it include fresh blue and yellow, lacking green. Its red fuzz, cobalt-blue back, strong curved beak and yellow feathers with green tips make it distinct from other birds.
4. Golden Pheasant
The brilliant red and golden-yellow color combinations of the golden pheasant make it a part of our list of top 10 most beautiful birds in the world. The eye-catching colors of this elegant bird include yellow (crown and lower back), red (underparts and tail) for males and brown for females. Due to its vibrant colors, it is sometimes also known as rainbow pheasant.
The main distinction factor of this bird is its long tail in dark brown stripes, which is about 2/3rd of its body length. The average length of this elegant bird is 39-45 inches with weight around 1.2 kg. The diet of golden pheasant mostly include the seeds, berries, insects, and other small invertebrates.
5. Resplendent Quetzal
The most charming bird with the emerald green color; resplendent quetzal is very important to be discussed in the list of top 10 most beautiful birds in the world. This beautiful bird is considered as a symbol of freedom in Guatemala. Its body is medium-sized with an average length around 14-16 inches and weight around 210 grams. The diet of this true beauty is based of insects, lizards, and frogs.
The true charm of this bird comes from its mesmerizing metallic colors which include green, vibrant red (breast and belly), and blue and golden-green (feathers). Its charm is fully revealed when quetzal feathers shine in different colors including green, cobalt, lime, and yellow. Since its skin is very thin, it needs thick plumage to protect its skin.
6. Spangled Tanager
Tangara nigroviridis (scientific name of spangled tanager) is a one of the most beautiful birds, found in the lush forests of the Andes Mountains. The size of spangled tanager is small, around 4.3 inches and weight around 8.5 g. Spending life in mixed flocks at elevations 1,500-2,500 meters within forests, this tanager can live up to 10 years.
While discussing this stunning bird, it is necessary to put light on its breathtaking appearance. Its body appears in blue-green (males) which is decorated with black speckles and scales, and olive green color with yellowish undersides (females). Its breast and belly look primarily black, adorned with opalescent greenish spotting.
7. Hoopoe
I can surely say that your sight can’t move forward without re-watching the hoopoe if you see it once! The most beautiful and attractive bird, hoopoe has cinnamon-brown feathers, black and white stripes on wings and tail, pinky brown body, black long and down curved bill, short legs, and an orange (or red) fan-shaped crest.
Vibrant crest of hoopoe serves to attract the mates during the mating season. This unique bird is 10-13 inches tall and weighs 60-80 grams. It is commonly found in the open habitats, such as grasslands, woodlands, and savannas across Asia, Africa and Europe.
8. Lilac-Breasted Roller
The Lilac-Breasted Roller is very charming bird whose vibrant colors place it in the list of top 10 most beautiful birds in the world. Its average body size is around 14.5 inches (not too large), yet it is very attractive and captivating. It has a green colored large head, rusty cheeks, a lilac chest, black colored square-tipped long tail, and brown back and wings.
Depending on species, its body parts may appear in different colors such as some species may have olive crown and lilac throat, while others have greenish-blue crown and cobalt breast. Other than its appearance, its flight is very notable which includes side-to-side rolling, thus giving it the name “roller”.
9. Keel-billed Toucan
Above all else, the Keel-billed Toucan is recognized for its remarkably large green bill (with red tip and orange sides). The body length of this beautiful bird is around 17-22 inches (including beak, which is 5.9 inches) and the body weight is 380–500 g. These long-beak birds are omnivores, thus relying on fruits, insects, lizards, and small birds in the rainforests of South and Central America.
This beautiful bird has a black body with yellow neck and cheeks, black heavy feathers, 2 forward and 2 back blue toes, red keel, a blue ring of skin around eyes and yellow-green face. Due to its vibrant appearance, it is sometimes also known as “rainbow-billed toucan”. On the related note, got the scoop of National Bird Day?
10. Blue Jay
Blue jay is a beautiful songbird which is considered as one of the top 10 most beautiful and intelligent birds in the world. The lovely and distinctive sound calls of blue jay is like “jay jay” and it appears in the combinations of blue, black, and white.
The body colors of blue jay include deep blue (back), soft white (belly), and white and grey (head mask covering cheeks and throat). Noticeably, its top-head feathers appear in the standing position when it is emotional. This bird is commonly found in the North America, best known for its spectacular blue feathers (with white patches on wings and tail).
Decoding the Rankings
Our list of top 10 most beautiful birds in the world is based on several factors, mainly on the uniqueness, visual appeal, color combinations and overall beauty of the bird. The top positions are given to the birds which are more colorful and captivating as compared to other birds. The list, starting from Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise, ends on the keel-billed toucan, which is best known for its super long beak.
