30+ Rare Birds With Astonishing Colors And Unique Appearances.
Nature has the power to blow our minds. No matter how many places you’ve traveled to, how many things you’ve seen, all the experiences you’ve had, nature will always have something new to offer that is likely to surprise you.
As means of reaffirming the aforementioned statement, we’ve put together a compilation of some of nature’s rarest birds. Not only are these creatures rare, but they’re also quite delightfiul to look at. From beautifully colored feathers to striking appearances, these birds were surely created with one thing in mind: Attention!
We invite you to engulf yourself in this…online bird watching experience? Make sure to share this post with your friends!
1. SEVEN-COLORED TANAGER.
abcbirds.org Ciro Albano
One of the most incredible Tanagers. Endemic to an small and threatened area of the Atlantic Forest north from the São Francisco River ( Pernambuco Endemism Center )
2. BANDED COTINGA.
flickr.com
One of the rarest and most amazing Brazilian birds. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss as its population is estimated to number 250-999 mature individuals.
3. RED-NECKED TANAGER.
© Marco Silva eBird S36433309 Macaulay Library ML 56340241
It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Handsome small tanager that inhabits the canopy of humid forests, forest edges, and woodlands; often accompanies mixed-species flocks and visits feeding stations. Mostly green with a blue crown and throat and red cheeks and nape. Males have a black back and females are duller with a mottled black back.
4. SWALLOW-TAILED MANAKIN.
It is found mainly in the Atlantic Forest of south-eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay and far north-eastern Argentina. Its typical habitat is wet lowland or montane forest and heavily degraded former forest.
5. PIN-TAILED MANAKIN.
© João Vitor Perin Andriola eBird S41934179 Macaulay Library ML 82039901
It is the only member of the monotypic genus Ilicura. It is endemic to Brazil, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
6. ARARIPE MANAKIN.
© Thompson Ian eBird S31409733 Macaulay Library ML34147581
This is a critically endangered bird from the family of manakins (Pipridae). It was discovered in 1996 and scientifically described in 1998. Because of its helmet-like crown it has received the Portuguese name soldadinho-do-araripe which means "little soldier of Araripe”.
7. ANDEAN MOTMOT.
Steve Laycock
The Andean motmot or highland motmot is a colorful near-passerine bird found in the forests and woodlands from northern Colombia to western Bolivia. This bird can be also found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the west area of Costarica.
8.
© Cullen Hanks eBird S31431317 Macaulay Library ML 36713201
The Andean cock-of-the-rock, also known as tunki, is a large passerine bird of the cotinga family native to Andean cloud forests in South America. It is widely regarded as the national bird of Peru. It has four subspecies and its closest relative is the Guianan cock-of-the-rock.
9.
© Sanjiv Khanna eBird S41214219 Macaulay Library ML 78744771
indiamike.com
This beauty is native to southern China and the Himalayas. Adults have bright red bills and a dull yellow ring around their eyes.
10. AMERICAN GOLDFINCH.
audubon.org
This bird is migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canada–United States border to Mexico during the winter. While not as rare or endangered, it’s still strikingly beautiful.
11. WIRE-CRESTED THORNTAIL.
© Gerald Friesen birdseye.photo
pbase.com
The wire-crested thorntail is a hummingbird which occurs in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. This species is one of the smallest birds on Earth, with a mature weight of around 2.5 g. Males measure from 10.5 to 12 cm in length, against the females' length of around 6.5 to 7.5 cm long.
12. AMERICAN CARDINAL.
wikipedia.org
The northern cardinal is also known colloquially as the redbird, common cardinal or just cardinal. It can be found in southern eastern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Minnesota to Texas, and south through Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Big Island of Hawai’i. This bird isn’t endangered but thankfully in order to be beautiful, it doesn’t have to be.
13. GOLDEN PHEASANT.
© Vincent Wang eBird S49945826 Macaulay Library ML 128398391
redd.it
This bird is unmistakable with its golden crest and rump and bright red body. The deep orange "cape" can be spread in display, appearing as an alternating black and orange fan that covers all of the face except its bright yellow eye with a pinpoint black pupil. It is native to forests in mountainous areas of western China, but feral populations have been established in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
14. BLUE THROATED BARBET.
meetup.com
The blue-throated barbet is an Asian barbet having bright green, blue & red plumage, seen across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Barbets and toucans are a group of near passerine birds with a worldwide tropical distribution.
15. VOGELKOP SUPERB BIRD-OF-PARADISE.
nationalgeographic Tim Laman
wildlifeworldwide
The recently discovered species of crescent-caped lophorina or Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise, sometimes noted as the curl-caped bird-of-paradise, is a species of the Paradisaeidae family. It is endemic to the Bird's Head Peninsula in New Guinea.
16. RAGGIANA BIRD OF PARADISE.
wildlifeworldwide
natgeofineart
The Raggiana bird-of-paradise, also known as Count Raggi's bird-of-paradise, is a large bird in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae. It is distributed widely in southern and northeastern New Guinea, where its name is kumul. It is also known as cenderawasih.
17. MANDARIN DUCK.
news.cgtn.com
The mandarin duck is a perching duck species native to East Asia. It is medium-sized, at 41–49 cm long with a 65–75 cm wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus Aix.
18. LILAC BREASTED ROLLER.
answersafrica.com
jooinn.com
The lilac-breasted roller is an African member of the roller family of birds. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, and is a vagrant to the southern Arabian Peninsula. It prefers open woodland and savanna, and it is for the most part absent from treeless places.
19. WILSON'S BIRD-OF-PARADISE.
timlaman
fredsullivan
The Wilson's bird-of-paradise is a species of passerine bird of the family Paradisaeidae. The first footage of the Wilson's bird-of-paradise ever to be filmed was recorded in 1996 by David Attenborough for the BBC documentary Attenborough in Paradise.
20.
danieljara.com
danieljara.com
The resplendent quetzal is a bird in the trogon family. It is found from Chiapas, Mexico to western Panama. It is well known for its colorful plumage. There are two subspecies, P. m. mocinno and P. m. costaricensis. The resplendent quetzal plays an important role in various types of Mesoamerican mythology.
21. TWELVE-WIRED BIRD OF PARADISE.
worldlifeexpectancy
googleusercontent
The twelve-wired bird-of-paradise is a medium-sized, approximately 33 cm long, velvet black and yellow bird-of-paradise. The male has a red iris, long black bill and rich yellow plumes along his flanks.
22. COQUETTE HUMMINGBIRD.
flickr
hbw.com LMArce
The tufted coquette is a tiny hummingbird that breeds in eastern Venezuela, Trinidad, Guiana, and northern Brazil. It is an uncommon but widespread species, and appears to be a local or seasonal migrant, although its movements are not well understood. This small bird inhabits open country, gardens, and cultivation.
23. BALI MYNA.
The Bali myna, also known as Rothschild's mynah, Bali starling, or Bali mynah, locally known as jalak Bali, is a medium-sized, stocky myna, almost wholly white with a long, drooping crest, and black tips on the wings and tail. The bird has blue bare skin around the eyes, greyish legs and a yellow bill.
24. WHITE-CRESTED TURACO.
wikipedia
Nikonians
The white-crested turaco is a bird in the family Musophagidae, a group of otidimorphae birds. The white-crested turaco is native to riverine forest and woodland in a belt between eastern Nigeria and western Kenya.
25. ATLANTIC ROYAL FLYCATCHER.
yousense
natgardenlife
natgardenlife
The Atlantic royal flycatcher is a passerine bird in the family Tityridae. Measuring 16–16.5 cm, this large-billed flycatcher has a spectacular, but rarely seen, crest. It has largely uniform dull brown upperparts with pale, bright cinnamon rump and tail, a whitish throat, unmarked ochraceous buff underparts.
26. NORTHERN RED BISHOP.
pixdaus
Flickr
The northern red bishop or orange bishop is a weaver belonging to the family Ploceidae. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the southern red bishop of the southern half of Africa. The two are now usually classified as separate species.
27. VICTORIA CROWNED PIGEON.
thesprucepets
flickr
The Victoria crowned pigeon is a large, bluish-grey pigeon with elegant blue lace-like crests, maroon breast, and red irises. It is part of a genus of four unique, very large, ground-dwelling pigeons native to the New Guinea region.
28. GUIANAN TROGON.
flickr
flickr
The Guianan trogon, is a near passerine bird in the trogon family, Trogonidae. It is found in humid forests in the Amazon basin of South America and on the island of Trinidad.
29. VIOLET-BACKED STARLING.
flickr
Flickr
flickr
The violet-backed starling, also known as the plum-colored starling or amethyst starling, is a relatively small species of starling in the family Sturnidae. This strongly sexually dimorphic species is found widely in the woodlands and savannah forest edges of mainland sub-Saharan Africa.
30. NICOBAR PIGEON.
flickr
photoanimalium
The Nicobar pigeon is a pigeon found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, east through the Malay Archipelago, to the Solomons and Palau.
31. SUPERB FRUIT DOVE.
© Benjamin Van Doren eBird S46200764 Macaulay Library ML 104683231
flickr
The Superb fruit dove, also known as the purple-crowned fruit dove, is a medium-sized, colourful fruit-dove in the family Columbidae. Their population is currently decreasing. Native to Australasia, the superb fruit dove lives in the rainforests of New Guinea, Australia, Solomon Islands, the Philippines and Sulawesi of Indonesia.
32. HIMALAYAN MONAL.
mundoaves
nejohnston
wikipedia
The Himalayan monal, also known as the Impeyan monal and Impeyan pheasant, is a bird in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is the national bird of Nepal, where it is known as the danphe, and state bird of Uttarakhand, India, where it is known as the monal. It was also the state bird of Himachal Pradesh until 2007.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this collection of some of the most beautiful birds on earth. We kindly ask that you share this with your friends so they can enjoy this online bird watching experience! If you think we should have included another bird in our list, please leave the name in the comment section below and we’ll do our best to include it.
Below we’ve brought you a video featuring even more incredible looking birds. Watch the clip and stick around for more entertaining content.
