They fly around and come in all colors, and in this post, you’ll discover an amazing list of the most beautiful birds in the world!
Related: Check out some of the most dangerous birds in the world!
1. Flamingo
The flamingo is one of the most distinctive birds on the planet. They are known to stand on one leg with their other leg pulled up. Scientists still haven’t concluded why they do this, even though the common description is that it’s a way for them to conserve body heat as they wade through the cold water.
These pink birds are common all around the world. 4 species are native to the Americas and 2 species are common in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
2. Peafowl
The peafowl is another very recognizable bird, especially if they flaunt their most distinctive feature, their immense tail, also known as a “train.” Only the male peacock has this type of feature which is used to impress the females (or why else would they have this, right?)
It’s not just their plumage that attracts the females though. The males also have a very distinctive call. There are 2 Asian peafowls, one native to the Indian subcontinent called the “Indian peafowl,” and the “green peafowl” native to southeast Asia. The “Congo peafowl” is native to the Congo Basin in Africa.
3. Blue Jay
The Blue Jay is a bird native to the eastern part of North America. They can be found in the east of the United States and also in Newfoundland in Canada. They have very beautiful blue colors with a white chest and underparts.
Its name is derived from its noisy behavior and these birds, along with other family members, are also sometimes referred to as “Jaybirds.”
4. Northern Cardinal
The Northern Cardinal is also sometimes referred to as the “redbird,” the “Common Cardinal,” or simply the “Cardinal.” It can be found in many parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern Canada through the United States up to Mexico and Guatemala.
This type of bird can be classified as a “songbird” and can easily be recognized with its peculiar plumage on top of its head and the distinctive black shade (grey for females) covering its face.
5. Golden Pheasant
The Golden Pheasant is also known as the “Chinese pheasant” or the “rainbow pheasant” and is native to the mountainous areas of western China. These birds have spread all around the world and can now be found in Europe, the Americas, and Australia.
These birds can grow up to 1 meter (40 inches) long and can easily be recognized by the golden crest and rump and their bright red bodies. This only applies to the males because the females look rather dull in comparison to their male counterparts.
6. Keel-billed Toucan
The Keel-billed Toucan, also known as the sulfur-breasted toucan or rainbow-billed toucan, is one of the most colorful members of the famous toucan family and can be found in Latin America.
It is the national bird of the country of Belize, and it’s quite obvious why because these birds look simply amazing. This bird is an omnivore and apart from eating fruits and buts, it also devours lizards, insects, and snakes.
7. Scarlet Macaw
The Scarlet Macaw is a type of parrot that lives in South and Central America and is part of a larger group of parrots referred to as “Macaws.” They live in tropical forests with their range extending from Mexico to Brazil.
An equally colorful bird as the toucan, the scarlet macaw is the national bird of the country of Honduras. Their colorful plumage consists of mainly red, green, yellow, and blue.
8. Painted Bunting
The Painted Bunting is another type of bird in the Cardinal family and is native to North America. One of the most interesting features of this bird is not just that only the males have a bright-colored plumage, but it only develops in the second year of the bird’s life.
During the first year, it’s nearly impossible to differentiate the male and female painted buntings. These birds are hard to spot and for the most part secretive and shy, so if you see one flying around in nature, you can call yourself very lucky!
9. Mandarin Duck
The Mandarin Duck is one of the most beautiful birds in the world and is native to the east of Asia. It has since been spread all across the world and can be found in most parts of Asia and Europe.
This type of duck is closely related to the American wood duck, which is remarkably the only other duck in the genus Aix. The name of the genus dates back to ancient Greece where Aristotle referred to an unknown diving bird as Aix. In China, the duck has a proverb that refers to couples in love saying “two Mandarin ducks playing in the water.”
10. Atlantic Puffin
The Atlantic Puffin is also sometimes referred to as the “common puffin” and is an amazing-looking type of seabird. There are two other types of species in the Auk family to which they belong, the “tufted puffin” and the “horned puffin.” This one is the only one that lives in the Atlantic Ocean.
These birds breed in Iceland, Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland, and the Faeroe Islands, and spend the entire autumn and winter in the cold open northern ocean. Unfortunately, their numbers have declined rapidly which makes them marked as endangered.
11. Bohemian Waxwing
The Bohemian Waxwing is a cute little bird that lives in the northern forests of Europe and Asia and North America. They are characterized by grey plumage and black markings on their faces, along with a pointy crest.
Females look pretty much the same as males and there are only 3 subspecies that have just minor differences as well. Bohemian waxwings love to eat berries and are one of the few birds that can digest fermented fruit. Yes, that’s right, they can get drunk but need to take it slowly because it can sometimes be fatal as well.
12. Hyacinth Macaw
The Hyacinth Macaw is also sometimes referred to as the “Hyacinthine Macaw” and is a beautiful parrot living in east and central South America. The most remarkable feature of this amazing bird is that it’s the biggest type of parrot in the world as it can grow up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) long from the tip of its tail to the top of its head.
These are relatively heavy birds as well with an average weight of 1.2–1.7 kilos (2.6–3.7 lbs), making them the heaviest flying parrot in the world as well. Hyacinth macaws not only look cute, but they are also actually some of the calmest and friendliest parrots in the world, a trait that has earned them the nickname “gentle giants.“
13. Sunbird
Sunbird is the word used to describe a family of birds called the “Nectariniidae.” This family consists of a variety of passerine birds that live in Europe, Africa, and Asia, all the way up to Indonesia and northern Australia. There are a total of 146 species of sunbirds so their range is quite extended.
Most Sunbirds have brightly colored feathers which are particularly shiny which gives them their unique look. These birds just love to suck the nectar out of flowers, which is why their long and sharp beak is very helpful.
14. Indian Roller
The Indian Roller is a common bird in the Indian subcontinent but also occurs widely in West Asia. It’s one of the most popular birds in India and numerous Indian states have named it their state bird.
These birds have a couple of family members with similar names such as the European roller and the Indochinese roller, which look quite similar to the Indian roller. Male birds are famous for their peculiar flying maneuvers to impress the females during the mating season.
15. Blue bird-of-paradise
The Blue bird-of-paradise is one of the most remarkable bird species in the world. They have bright blue colors and they have two long wires only found in males.
With a length of up to 30 centimeters (12 inches), it’s one of the larger bird-of-paradise species. It’s also the only species in the genus Paradisornis. Unfortunately, their beautiful plumage is regarded as highly prized so they have been hunted a lot and are now considered to be an endangered species.
16. Wilson’s bird-of-paradise
The Wilson’s bird-of-paradise is another species in the bird-of-paradise family and looks even more stunning than its blue counterpart. This bird can only be found in Indonesia and is rather small at just 16 centimeters (6.3 in).
The male birds can easily be recognized by their red and black plumage and a yellow area on their neck. One of the most remarkable facts about this bird is that the first footage of Wilson’s bird-of-paradise ever to be filmed happened in 1996 when famous documentary-maker David Attenborough was shooting his BBC documentary Attenborough in Paradise.
17. Snowy Owl
Snowy Owls are some of the most magnificent species of owls on the planet. The males are predominantly white, which is unique for owls, and the females just have some brown stripes on their wings, which makes it easy to differentiate them.
This type of bird is part of the true owl family and lives in the northern Arctic regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. This means their range is huge. Global warming, however, is making their population decline rapidly from over 200,000 individuals originally to less than 100,000 today, so, unfortunately, these majestic creatures are listed as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List.
18. Victoria Crowned Pigeon
The Victoria crowned Pigeon is one of the 4 members of the genus “Goura” or “crowned pigeons. This name is derived from the fact that they feature a distinctive crest on top of their heads, the trademark of this remarkable beautiful bird.
These birds are ground-dwelling creatures that roam around the forest floors of New Guinea and some of the nearby islands. They are near-threatened as only between 10,000 and 20,000 individuals are estimated to still live in their natural habitat today. Luckily, these birds are very popular in zoos all around the world so these beautiful pigeons can be admired there.
19. Rainbow Lorikeet
The Rainbow Lorikeet is native to the east coast of Australia and is one of the most common birds in the country. It’s easily recognizable because of its wonderfully colorful plumage, a characteristic that is present in both male and female birds of this bird species of the parrot family.
These birds prefer dense forests and are therefore common in rainforests, woodlands, and bushland areas along the Australian coastline. They have been introduced in various parts of the world, even as far as Hong Kong. You’ll often see them travel in pairs because these are monogamous birds that are eager to defend their nest as well.
20. Red-Crested Turaco
The red-crested turaco (Tauraco erythrolophus) is a member of the turaco family that is also known as the banana-eaters. These fruit-eating birds are one of the few families of birds that are exclusively endemic to Africa. This particular bird can be found in the western and central parts of Angola.
They live in the densely forested areas of Angola, a large Portuguese-speaking country in the southern part of Western Africa. They are extremely colorful and easily recognizable because of the red crest that tops their heads. The green plumage and long dark-blue tail make this a very fascinating medium-sized bird to admire.
