There are so many beautiful creatures on our planet that listing them would take forever. In this article you will see the most outstanding photos of the most beautiful birds in the world. After all, we have already written about the most beautiful animals, horses and even fish.
30. Quetzal (or quetzal)
This beautifully colored bird from the trophic order is found in the forests and mountainous woodlands of Central America - from southern Mexico to Panama.
Quezali - rather large birds, grow up to 35 centimeters in length, not counting the tail. They feed on fruits, berries, insects and small frogs. The legs of the quesals are unique in the arrangement of the fingers: two fingers are directed forward and two to the back, which helps the bird to stay high on trees.
29. Mandarin Duck
This is a species of duck that lives in China and Japan, also known as the Mandarin duck and the Chinese duck. A small number of tangerines are in Primorye. However, hunting for them is prohibited, these ducks are listed in the Red Book as a rare species.
In China, there is a saying about a pair of lovers "like mandarin ducks playing in the water." These beautiful birds are considered one of the symbols of love and fidelity for life.
28. Green-headed Tanager
This small colorful bird is a real ninja, able to quietly sneak among tropical foliage. This contributes to the bright blue-green color of the plumage of the green-headed tanager. However, if ninjas usually act alone, then the tanagra are family creatures, and travel in large groups of 6 to 20 individuals.
27. Kingfisher
The real misanthrope of the bird world. The kingfisher does not like other birds, and tries to stay away from them. Yes, and to the habitat, he is very demanding. There must be a clean, not deep and not shallow reservoir with running water, with a cliff and overgrown banks.
If you look at the plumage of a kingfisher close up, you won’t believe that this is one of the most beautiful birds in the world. The thing is that the brightness of the plumage is achieved due to the refraction of light by feathers.
26. Peacock
This large and beautiful bird belongs to the pheasant family. And her fan-shaped tail is as beautiful as her disgusting voice.
25. Crowned Dove
This stunningly beautiful bird hails from the lowland and swamp forests of northern New Guinea. Crowned pigeons usually live in areas that used to be alluvial plains and sago forests.
And her closest relative is an ordinary gray pigeon, which earned the nickname "feathered rat" and is found in many in any city in Russia.
24. Maned Pigeon
One of the largest species of pigeons and the only surviving representative of the genus of maned pigeons.
These birds feed on various seeds, fruits, and small invertebrates and have a muscular stomach that allows them to eat very hard-shelled nuts.
Oxford University scientists have discovered that the maned pigeon is the closest living relative of the extinct dodo bird. If you put a stuffed dodo next to it, with its huge nose, unpretentious body, short legs and elegant, brightly colored maned pigeon by Mother Nature, you would not believe that these two have any relation to each other. However, DNA testing will not lie.
23. Painted Oatmeal Cardinal
A small songbird with spectacular coloring has a very secretive character. It is hard to see and even harder to hear. Moreover, males are more often involved in vocals, at least it is they who are usually observed by singers.
22. Rainbow Lorikeet
Representatives of this species are one of the brightest birds in the world. The plumage of these small Australian parrots contains almost all the colors of the rainbow, with the exception of purple.
21. Small bird of paradise
As with many other species of the most beautiful birds in the world, sexual dimorphism is pronounced in small birds of paradise. That is, males and females have anatomical differences. In this case, this means that only males can boast of bright plumage and a wide tail, but females are “modestly dressed” in brown plumage.
20. Green-headed Oriole
This little bird weighs only 65 grams. Her head, back, and chest are olive green, her abdomen is yellow, her paws are blue, and her beak and eyes are brown-red.
Orioles are songbirds, and the melody of their voices is compared to the sound of a flute. However, before the rain, the melodious singing of the Oriole becomes like a cat meow.
19. Hoopoe
Famous for its arrangement of feathers on its head (resembling a crown), a hoopoe bird is the only surviving species of the Udodov family (Upipidae).
These birds have an interesting feature: during the period of hatching chicks, hoopoes produce an oily liquid with a very unpleasant odor. In the event of an enemy attack, a hoopoe shoots him with this liquid along with droppings. Because of this, hoopoes have a reputation as "unscrupulous birds." But beautiful!
18. Longtail Velvet Weaver
This amazingly beautiful bird species is found in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and southern Zaire. They live in groups of one or two males and more females.
The tail of velvet weavers reaches 60 cm in length, while the body size does not exceed 19 cm.
17. Red-crested Turaco
This bird with a red crest on his head has interesting fingers. They can move both forward and backward. Thanks to this, the red-crested turaco perfectly climbs trees.
16. Blue Jay
If you had a photo of the most beautiful birds in the world laid out in front of you and asked to guess the most "hooligan" of them, would you choose a blue jay? But these little birds are still bullies, they often take food from other small birds and drive them between the trees. And they easily learn to imitate sounds, imitating the cries of birds of prey in order to scare off their enemies.
15. Hyacinth Macaw
Among the parrot family there are many handsome and beautiful women. And hyacinth macaw is no exception. Large, strong birds with powerful beaks have cobalt-blue plumage, and a golden yellow color is visible around the eyes and at the base of the mandible. These parrots are easily tamed and get along well with people.
14. Flamingo
Ever wondered why flamingos are pink? The color of these beautiful birds is determined by their diet. Initially, the color of the flamingo plumage is off-white. But the more the bird eats algae and other food containing carotenoids (natural dyes), the brighter its feathers become. If the flamingo stops eating food with carotenoids, then its plumage acquires its original color.
13. Toucan
A distinctive feature of this bird is its huge, bright beak, which can grow up to one third or even half of a 50-centimeter body of a toucan. Although the beak is light enough due to its porous structure, it violates the proportions of the body, because of this it is difficult for the toucan to maintain balance and to fly hard. Verily, beauty requires sacrifice!
12. Solar arathinga
The fiery yellow color of the parrot makes it very popular among lovers of exotic birds. Brisk, funny birds are really sunny, they are very sensitive to cold and drafts.
11. Calipta Anna
This beautiful little bird is nothing more than a table tennis ball. This species was named after Anna Massena, Duchess de Rivoli, who was the wife of a 19th-century French officer, politician and bird watcher, Duke Victor Massen.
10. Dead End
The Russian name "dead end" comes from the word "dumb". However, it is connected not with the mental abilities of the bird, but with the massive rounded shape of its beak.
9. Waxwing
These birds do not stand out with such bright colors of feathers as the other most beautiful birds in the world, but upon closer inspection, their elegance becomes apparent. A bizarre crest gives waxwings a slightly ridiculous look. The birds got their name for the sounds (“svi-ri-ri-ri-ri”) that resemble the sound of a pipe.
8. Guldova Amadina
A worthy rival of the rainbow lorikeet is generously painted in the brightest and most beautiful colors. Calm and non-aggressive Guldova amadina normally tolerates the content in the cell and can become a living decoration of your home. In Russia there are nurseries that breed and sell these birds.
7. Pitta Gurney
One of the rarest bird species in the world is found only in Thailand and Burma. It is threatened with extinction due to the fact that tropical forests - the home of Thailand's "most elusive bird" - are quickly cut down to make way for palm oil production.
6. White-backed lory
And again in the list of the most amazing and beautiful birds in the world are parrots. Their color varies from pale yellow to fiery orange tones. White-backed loris are very social and intelligent creatures, they can learn human speech.
5. Eastern Crowned Crane
A long elegant neck, a red throat pouch, and most importantly - a chic golden crest on the head - these are the hallmarks of this beautiful crane.
Like other types of cranes, the Eastern Crowned Crane performs a complex mating dance, which includes flapping its wings, shaking its head, and bowing deep.
4. Big bird lyre
The bird’s richly decorated tail feathers resemble a stringed musical instrument known as the lyre. The lyre bird is famous not only for its magnificent tail, but also for its ability to imitate sounds. She can imitate even the noise of a chainsaw.
3. Cuban Todi
Todi baby, which reaches 11 cm in length and weighs no more than 8.5 grams, builds itself 30-cm holes in loamy or sandy river banks. And, proving that size is not the main thing, it can be aggressive towards other insectivorous birds, for example, to the blue-backed forest singer.
2. Rocket-tailed Hummingbird
Watching this wonderful tiny hummingbird it is easy to imagine how fairy tales and myths about birds were created. A rocket-tailed hummingbird rushes through the air faster than it can track the human eye, and seems like a blurry multi-colored spot that flashed through the air.
1. The Golden Pheasant
The homeland of the golden pheasants is the mountainous regions of western China. They are very awkward flyers, so they prefer to run and spend most of their time on earth. Because of their beauty, golden pheasants are one of the most popular ornamental birds in the world.
Despite their spectacular appearance, golden pheasants are rather shy birds and love to hide in dark dense thickets.
