People have always been jealous of birds flying in the sky or hopping from tree to tree, their shrill voices adding life and joy to every place while their colorful feathers decorate the world with rainbow colors. While we're used to seeing birds native to our area, we often aren’t aware of the plethora of magnificent birds to be found around the world. Today we will try to right this wrong and present you with 14 beautiful, unique and colorful birds that will impress you with their extraordinary abilities and spectacular feathers.
Males of this bird species are considered the most beautiful in North America, although they become so only in their second year of life. Until this point, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between males and females, which remain fairly green for camouflage purposes. Although these birds are not endangered, their shy nature makes them very difficult to detect in the wild.
Not only do these birds eat insects, they also use hornets, ants or termites to build their nests, which they do not leave often and where they lay an average of 2-3 eggs. From these eggs, males with blue upper breasts and green back feathers or females with a gray upper chest and a dark gray back will emerge.
Magpies are actually songbirds of the raven family, and this species is known for its bright green colors just as famous ravens are for their black feathers. The common green magpie can be seen in the open nature of Thailand, Malaysia, the Indonesian island of Sumatra and northeastern India, and they can be also heard quite a bit as these birds are quite the little noisemakers.
This prey bird eats plants, animals and even eggs and chicks of other birds that also live in the swamps of the southeastern United States and Central America. They can also be seen in northern countries such as Canada and Iceland, as well as in the Arctic Archipelago of southern Argentina. All of these sightings prove that despite their small size (26-37 cm long), these birds have a huge range of migration.
This bird is named after the three wattles (the dangling skin attached to the necks of certain birds) that can be seen in the picture, giving it an unusual appearance that is easy to identify. This bird is in danger of extinction, which is a problem because not only does this bird have a unique call, it also plays an important role in the distribution of fruit tree seeds in Central and South America.
The average size of this little bird is 13 cm, and as you probably guessed, its name comes from the colors of its feathers. Like other species of swallows, these birds specialize in hunting insects while flying but are known for doing so at a higher altitude than their other “family members.”
Nepal's national bird is sometimes called the Himalayan Monal and is part of the Pheasant family. Its average length is 70 cm, while the males are larger and heavier than the females - and much more colorful. It is easy to spot male Monals thanks to their feathers, which are richly colored and metallic. These birds are most commonly found in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet and, of course, Nepal.
It’s small (18 cm and 36-58 grams in all), cute, and beyond that has eyes and eyelashes that are enviable. It is also famous for being the only bird in the world that goes into a coma in harsh environmental conditions. It can be found mainly in central and Western Mexico, but only if you have very sharp eyes because, in addition to its small size and dark colored feathers, it is also active mostly at night.
It is easy to understand why this species received its name, and its unique and colorful appearance even led to the fact that these birds were once considered immortal and relatives of Quetzalcoatl, the “feathered serpent,” a god from Mesoamerican literature. These birds are very long, up to 65 cm in males, and in general, their feathers are colorful, long and very bright. In earlier times these feathers even adorned the crowns of the Central American rulers.
This bird belongs to the New World warbler family that can be found in America and is different from the warbler family that lives mainly in Europe and Asia. The American yellow warbler is a small songbird (10-18 cm long and weighs 7-25 grams) that is not characterized by special differences between males and females, except for a slight color difference, specifically in the head area.
After seeing this seabird even for a moment, one can understand the origin of its name. Red-footed boobies, which are the smallest kind of booby (length of 64-76 cm), also have a blue-green beak, colored spots on their throats and bright circles around their eyes. They spend most of their lives in the ocean, seeking out land only during the breeding season.
Unlike most of the other birds on this list, the New Zealand Fantail is not a very colorful animal, but it is hard to remain indifferent to its small body structure (16 cm), half of which is its tail and tail feathers. According to Maori mythology, the natives of New Zealand, these birds are the gods’ messengers of death, however, it is a rather sociable animal that has no problem flying around humans while it hunts small insects in the air.
These colorful songbirds can be seen mainly on the African continent in the Equator region, and they often live in forests and other places with dense vegetation. They tend to sit on tree branches and emerge from their vantage point towards insects flying through the air, before catching them and returning to their stalking position.
