The 20 Most Brilliantly Colored Birds in the World
List of some of the most attractive birds.
Birds are the only animals with feathers. All have feathers and most birds can fly. It is the possession f feathers, not the ability to fly, that distinguishes birds from other animals. There are about 10,000 species of birds from all over the world. Here are 20 of the world’s most colorful birds.
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Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus)
The golden pheasant of Asia is a brilliantly colored game bird. It is native to forests in mountainous areas of western China but feral populations have been established in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
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Birds of Paradise (Paradisaeidae)
The greater bird of paradise found in New Guinea has elongated flank feathers that form ornamental plumes. Bird of Paradise is a tropical bird known for the brilliant plumage of the male. They live mostly in New Guinea and neighboring islands. The brilliantly colored feathers of the male were once widely sought as decorations for women’s hat.
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Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus)
Hyacinth Macaws are native to central and eastern South America. It is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species in the world, though the flightless Kakapo of New Zealand can outweigh it at up to 3.5kg. In terms of length it is larger than any other species of parrot. Their popularity as pets has taken a heavy toll on their population in the wild. Birds in captivity fetch a price of around $9,000-$12,000 US.
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Flamingo (Phoenicopteridae)
Flamingos are found in both the Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. Flamingos frequently stand on one leg. The reason for this behavior is not fully known. Flamingo tongues were considered a delicacy in Ancient Rome. Also, Andean miners have killed flamingos for their fat, believed to be a cure for tuberculosis
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Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)
The scarlet tanager is a medium-sized American songbird. Adult males are bright red with black wings and tail; females are yellowish on the underpants and olive on top, with olive-brown wings and tail.
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Northern Oriole (Icterus galbula)
Northern oriole is formerly known as Baltimore oriole in the east and Bullock’s oriole in the west. This is a small icterid blackbird which is 18 cm long and weighs 34 g. It is one of the brightest local birds and has a voice to match its distinctive plumage.
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Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides)
The bluebirds are medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Sialia of the thrush family Turdidae. These are attractive birds with blue, or blue and red, plumage. Female birds are less brightly colored than males.
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Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
The northern cardinal is also known as the Redbird and the Virginia nightingale. The Northern Cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a body length of 21-23 cm (8.3 to 9 inches). It has a distinctive crest on the head and a mask on the face which is black in the male and gray in the female.
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American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
The American goldfinch is also known as the Eastern Goldfinch and Wild Canary. The male displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate. The courtship rituals of the American Goldfinch include aerial maneuvers and singing by males.
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Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typical adult is about 19 inches in length with an average wingspan of 29 inches. The adult male has distinctive multi-colored iridescent plumage and red eyes. The female, less colorful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat.
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Kingfisher (Halcyonidae)
There are about 90 species of kingfisher. All have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. They are found throughout the world.
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Green Wing Macaw Parrot (Ara chloroptera)
The superficially similar Scarlet Macaw has no eye lines and a yellow bar on each wing. Some macaw owners and experts call the Green-winged Macaw the “gentle giant”, as it is larger in size than the Scarlet Macaw and Blue-and-yellow Macaw, but have a more docile, sweet nature which often makes it a more desirable pet or companion parrot.
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Troupial (Icterus icterus)
Troupial or trupial is the national bird of Venezuela. The Troupial is fairly large in size, with a long tail and a bulky bill. It has a black head and upper breast. Troupials are obligate nest pirates, meaning they make no nest of their own, and are thus required to steal or occupy a vacant nest in order to survive. Troupials are capable of violent attacks against native nesters, and once they possess these territories they defend them fiercely against intruders. They may even ingest the eggs or young hatchlings of a newly acquired nest.
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Blue Throated Bee-Eater (Merops viridis)
The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. They are characterized by richly colored plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. It is a species of bird in the Meropidae family. It is found in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and countries in Southeast Asia.
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Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris)
The male Painted Bunting is often described as the most beautiful bird in North America. Its beautiful colors, dark blue head, green back, red rump and underparts, make it easy to identify.
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Keel-billed Toucans (Ramphastos sulfuratus)
This bird is the national bird of Belize. Toucans belong to family Ramphastidae
They are brightly marked and have large, colorful bills. It is also known as Sulfur-breasted Toucan, Rainbow-billed Toucan, and colloquially “the bill bird” (though this might refer to any toucan). It is a colorful South American bird with a large bill.
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Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)
The Rainbow Lorikeet is very colorful as its name suggests. Almost every color of the rainbow is found on the feathers of the rainbow lorikeet. Captive lorikeets have a long lifespan, often in excess of 20 years.
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Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)
The Scarlet Macaw is a large, colorful parrot. It is native to humid evergreen forests in the American tropics, from extreme eastern Mexico locally to Amazonian Peru and Brazil. It’s the national bird of Honduras.
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Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis)
This is a stork-billed kingfisher from South India. Stork-billed kingfisher is a tree kingfisher which is widely but sparsely distributed in tropical south Asia from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia.
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Peafowl or Peacock (Pavo)
Peafowl, a large bird of the pheasant family, is among the most colorful of birds. Asian peacocks have long been domesticated. The males are noted for their display of brilliant plumage. To attract attention, during courtship and at other times, the male lifts the train and spreads it out in a fan that arches over the bird’s back and touches the ground on either side.
For more colorful animals in the world see
World’s Most Attractive and Colorful Reptiles
The Worlds Most Colorful Snakes
World’s Most Brightly Colored Fishes
Top 10 Most Beautiful Caterpillars
Not All Flies Are Yucky: 10 Most Colorful Flies
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38 Responses to “The 20 Most Brilliantly Colored Birds in the World”
On July 27, 2008 at 11:41 am
Lovely birds.
On July 27, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I just wanted to say birds are beautiful and colorful.
On July 27, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Wonderful article with brillant pictures. Thank you for your hard work.
On July 27, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Beautiful birds.
On July 27, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Wonderful birds, but the (male) resplendent quetzal would have been a good choice too.
On July 27, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Wonderful birds!
On July 28, 2008 at 10:12 am
Great pictures. Thanks for sharing this.
On July 28, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Wonderful article!! My favorite is the King Fisher – so small, cute and just stands out with exceptional beauty and uniqueness!
Best wishes.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
On July 28, 2008 at 9:18 pm
We have painted buntings this year and they are beautiful, along with the cardinals and Mexican bluebirds.
On July 30, 2008 at 11:07 am
Just learned of the Gouldian finch in Australia. Check it out.
http://www.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/Gouldian_Finches.jpg
On July 30, 2008 at 9:25 pm
thank you very much to all of you guys, i appreciate your support so much
On July 31, 2008 at 7:33 am
Spectacularly colorful birds! Great work!
On July 31, 2008 at 11:06 pm
.. Hi there, another great article. These
colors are just amazingly beautiful. Great
job in total.
On August 3, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Beautiful collections of beautiful birds, Norbert..
On August 3, 2008 at 7:05 pm
great article beautiful pictures! great job!
On August 7, 2008 at 9:04 am
Awesome article & beautiful photographs! Thanks for sharing!
http://trianglerentacar.com/blog/
On August 16, 2008 at 7:06 am
all are wonderful.. actually RAINBOW LORIKEET is unbelievable
On August 17, 2008 at 12:22 am
These are gorgeous. Again, Nature has provided awesome beauty for us. Thanks
On September 10, 2008 at 2:43 pm
cool birds!!!
On September 20, 2008 at 11:00 pm
OMG i see a few of these beautiful birds every day! i guess you have to stop and look huh.
On December 19, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Nobert,
Thanks for sharing this wonderful peice with us. My favorite is Rainbow Lorikeet. I love its bright contrasting colors.
On March 14, 2009 at 12:20 am
I honestly think that the Impeyan pheasant is one of the most stunning birds as well.
On March 21, 2009 at 5:26 am
nice collections,thank u
On March 21, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I completely agree with you, but was surprised you didn’t mention the Lilac Breasted Roller. In the sun they are iridescent and breathtakingly stunning. http://www.pbase.com/calliedewet/lilacbreasted_rollers
On April 7, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Colorful and cute birds,great article.
On April 12, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Very Touching page. Those Birds are SOOooooo… Beautiful!! This shows how Beautiful our World is. I LOVE the Golden Pheasant bird, it’s Magnificent!!!
On May 16, 2009 at 2:15 am
I’m really excited to find these startling photos of these rare birds. In fact, I’m in a fix to pick up for which one is the best – Scarlet Tanager, Scarlet Macaw, Rainbow Lorikeet, Painted Bunting, etc. etc.; all are the wonderful collection which anyone would love to see them all at one place.
Thank you very much.
On May 25, 2009 at 4:59 am
Great collection for colorfull Birds, thAnk U.
On June 4, 2009 at 12:31 am
Amazing, that’s all I can say for such beautiful birds and great pictures
On July 20, 2009 at 12:46 pm
To whom may concern,
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of fauna and flora in Veracruz, Mexico. we publish semi-annually a bulletin to let know people about our conservation efforts progress. In this issue we have an article about the Painted Bunting, a beautiful bird that for its beauty is been caught by poachers to sale illegally in Mexico and overseas. It is in the “near threatened” list in the world. We would like to have your permission to use your beautiful photo displayed in this site. Your contribution will be very much appreciated. Looking forward hearing from you in th enear future, sincerely,
Jorge G. Barrios
Ecotourism Coordinator
Pronatura Veracruz A.C.
On July 21, 2009 at 5:19 am
Hi George,
That will be nice, I am very grateful for that if you’re going to utilize this article of mine for that purpose. I am granting you permission to use it. More power!
nobert s. bermosa
On July 26, 2009 at 10:48 pm
I personally would have chosen, say, a Quetzal or a Himalayan Monal (http://i1.treknature.com/photos/4304/himalayan_monal.jpg) instead of a Northern Oriole- but still, great selection
On July 26, 2009 at 10:49 pm
I personally would have chosen, say, a Quetzal or a Himalayan Monal instead of a Northern Oriole- but still, great selection
A picture of a Himalayan Monal:
http://i1.treknature.com/photos/4304/himalayan_monal.jpg
On August 17, 2009 at 11:15 pm
I like this type birds thanks a lot for sharing this post
On August 20, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Wheres the Quetzal??? the most beautiful bird in the world acording to the NatGeo Magazine and the October 2003 Special Edition of the Times Magazine
On September 3, 2009 at 11:41 am
The Himalayan Monal definitely needs a place in this list. You also need an example of a Hummingbird: many are very brightly coloured- just pick one example. The cassowary is not coloured all over but may deserve a place just for the colour of his neck.
On January 1, 2010 at 4:14 pm
I personally think you could’ve added the Scarlet Ibis. It’s a lovely little bird.
On January 9, 2010 at 1:31 am
non compare to the lilac breasted roller bird of africa
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