Nature does not stop surprising us as more and more species of different animals are discovered around the world. Among these are exotic and special birds that over the years have become a focus of interest for scientists, researchers, and bird watchers alike, thanks to the variety and unique appearance of these winged creatures.
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On Earth, we can meet birds of many different colors, from ones that look like tiny cotton balls to ones that wear almost all shades of the rainbow on their feathers. We just can’t stop thinking about how much nature loves to experiment with their coats, so we suggest you admire some of their most incredible looks together. We would like to share 16 photos of gorgeous birds that will satisfy your hunger for beauty.
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Frill-necked Monarch: The Frill-necked monarch (Arses lorealis), is a species of monarch flycatcher in the Monarchidae family. It is endemic to the rainforests of the northern Cape York Peninsula. It was considered a subspecies of the related frilled monarch (Arses telescophthalmus) for many years before being reclassified as a separate species in 1999 by Schodde and Mason, and upheld by Christidis and Boles in 2008. The frill-necked monarch measures around 14 cm (5.5 in) in length, and the neck feathers can become erect into a small frill; the male is predominantly black and white, and can be distinguished from the similar and more common pied monarch by its all-white breast-the latter species having a broad black breast band. The throat, nape, shoulders, and rump are white while the wings and head are black.
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The range is the from the top of the Cape York Peninsula southwest to Weipa, and southeast as far as the Iron Range and Coen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Breeding season is November to February with one brood raised. The nest is a shallow cup made of vines and sticks, woven together with spider webs and shredded plant material, and decorated with lichen. It is generally sited on a hanging loop of vine well away from the trunk or foliage of a sizeable tree about 2–10 metres (6.6–32.8 ft) above the ground. Two pink-tinged oval white eggs splotched with lavender and reddish-brown are laid measuring 19 mm x 14 mm.
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Sparkling Violetear: The sparkling violetear (Colibri coruscans) is a large species of hummingbird, which is very vocal and territorial. The sparkling violetear is quite frequently seen in a wide range of semi-open habitats including gardens and parks within major cities. Quito in Ecuador is one place where this bird is seen and it is the commonest species of hummingbird in its range. The sparkling violetear is found in widespread populations across the highlands of northern and western South America, including the Andes, the Venezuelan Coastal Range, and the tepuis. The sparkling violetear is a hummingbird of the Trochilidae family. It is part of the Colibri genus, a part of this family, that has four known species, namely the sparkling violetear, brown violetear, white-vented violetear, and green violetear.
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uropean Starling: The European Starling Sturnus vulgaris is found in all but one of the world’s six biogeographical realms, excepting (so far) the Neotropics. Dispersed mainly over its natural Palearctic region (from Central Siberia in the east and the Azores in the west to Norway in the north and the Mediterranean in the south), starlings were introduced to North America in 1890. Of the one hundred starlings released that year in New York City, only fifteen pairs survived. Over the next hundred years, starlings would increase a million-fold from the original fifteen. Because of their wide range of ecological tolerance, these birds were able to rapidly expand their range across the United States. The European Starling is found today sprawled from the Atlantic to the Pacific (east to west) and from Southern Canada to Northern Mexico (north to south). (Craig and Feare 1999; Feare 1984; Kahane 1988). The European Starling is a bird of lowlands, found mainly on non-mountainous terrain. During breeding season, these birds require holes for nesting, as well as fields of vegetation for feeding. For the remainder of the year, the starling utilizes a larger range of habitats, from open moorland to salt marshes. The usual nesting sites are holes and crevices in trees, buildings, and rooftops. Starlings too plunder on other birds’ nests and use them as their own.
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Tawny-flanked Prinia: It is usually the call of this small bird that first draws attention, as it is at first sight rather unremarkable to look at and usually blends pretty much unseen into the dusty grasses and bushes. They are quick movers, and don’t sit around waiting to be observed and described – except perhaps when singing their hearts out.
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White-whiskered Laughingthrush or Formosan Laughingthrush (Garrulax morrisonianus): The white-whiskered laughingthrush or Formosan laughing thrush (Garrulax morrisonianus) is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to montane forests of the island of Taiwan. White-whiskered laughingthrush is a large (26 to 28 cm (10 to 11 in) long) laughingthrush with a distinctive face pattern. The bill is thrush-like and yellowish to horn-colored. The eyes are black. The legs are strong and brownish pink. The mean body weight is about 77 grams (2.7 oz). It is a sociable species that often occurs in large groups. It is not necessarily afraid of humans. White-whiskered laughingthrush is a somewhat common species in Taiwan, with an estimated population size between 10,000 and 100,000 breeding pairs. Although its population is believed to be decreasing because of habitat destruction and fragmentation, it is not considered a vulnerable species.
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Green Bee-eater: Bee-eaters comprise a group of graceful, brightly coloured, slender bodied, long billed birds in the family Meropidae. They eat a variety of winged insects including bees, wasps, flying beetles and dragonflies. Bee-eaters congregate at high, open perches – particularly dead trees in open countryside, riverine areas or forest edge. From their vantage point their sharp eyes can easily spot insect prey, which is always caught on the wing. Southeast Asia’s bee-eaters typically nest in burrows excavated in sandy cliff faces, or in bare ground, but have also been observed nesting in man-made, abandoned piles of sandy soil. The Red-bearded Bee-eater Nyctornis amictus, is known to nest in termite mounds. Bee-eaters reach their greatest diversity in Africa, however eight species of bee-eater occur within Southeast Asia either as residents or migrants.
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Grey-rumped Treeswift: The grey-rumped treeswift (Hemiprocne longipennis) is a species of bird in the Hemiprocnidae family. Currently, four extant species are placed in the family. Like the other members of the Hemiprocnidae, this species is closely related to true swifts, but unlike true swifts, the treeswifts are arboreal in nature, often seen perched on trees and high-tension power transmission lines, and on pylons. When perched, the wing tips cross over the tail. This species is commonly found in peninsular Malaysia, but has an extremely large range with limited information about the population trend.
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Fairy Wren: With its gleaming, velvety blue-and-black plumage, the male Superb Fairy-wren is easily distinguished. These ‘coloured’ males are often accompanied by a band of brown ‘jenny wrens’, often assumed to be a harem of females, but a proportion of them are males which have not yet attained their breeding plumage. The contents of these birds’ untidy nests — a clutch of three or four eggs — are not necessarily the progeny of the ‘coloured’ male, as there is much infidelity among female fairy-wrens, with many eggs resulting from extra-pair liaisons. Superb Fairy-wrens are found south of the Tropic of Capricorn through eastern Australia and Tasmania to the south-eastern corner of South Australia. Seen in most habitat types where suitable dense cover and low shrubs occur. They are common in urban parks and gardens, and can be seen in small social groups. These groups normally consist of one male and several females and young birds.
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Multi-coloured Tanager: The multicolored tanager is a small-sized passerine bird approximately 12 cm long. Males have a yellow crown, face, mantle, and throat; chestnut and black ear coverts; bright green nape and wings; blue rump, breast, and belly; and a black patch in the center of the underparts. Females are duller and lack the yellow mantle and black patch on the underparts. Immature birds of both sexes resemble females, but are duller. The multicolored tanager is endemic to the interior of wet montane forests of the Occidental and Central Cordillera of Colombia. It is found mainly from 1300 to 2200 meters above sea level; however, some records indicate it can be found as low as 900 meters, especially in the Department of Cauca. It has been recorded in the Departments of Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Choco, Quindío, Risaralda, Caldas, and Antioquia. It seems to prefer mature forests, although it has also been recorded in mature secondary forests and forest edges. Most of the recent records of the species come from the Valle del Cauca Department, where it resides year-round and remains fairly common even in small forest fragments.
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Western Emerald: The Western Emerald Hummingbird (Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus) is a South American hummingbird that is endemc to the subtropical and tropical moist forests of western Colombia and Ecuador. This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 153,000 km; and are fairly common to common in at least parts of its range. The Western Emerald Hummingbird is usually found in subtropical and tropical moist forest and montane areas.
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Horned Sungem: This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence 30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
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Long-tailed Tit: The bird is widely distributed throughout the temperate zones of the Eurasian Continent. Because of the white plumage on its belly, it is also called by the silver-throated tit. It has a tiny, chubby body that is only 13-15 centimeters long (which includes its tail of about seven-nine centimeters) and a stubby bill. The long-tailed tit mainly feeds on eggs and the larvae of insects like moths and butterflies. Currently, it is listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN, which means it is under little or no threat, though there were some population losses due to extreme cold weather before. Let’s take a look at this lovely creature.
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Bare-throated Tiger Heron: The Bare-throated Tiger-Heron occurs in coastal Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. The Bare-throated Tiger-Heron is a medium cryptically colored heron, with a green face and throat. The crown and nape are black. The side of the head is grey. The upper bill is black with a blue horn cutting edge and the lower bill dull yellow. The irises are yellow to silver. The lores, skin around the eye, and featherless throat are yellow green, this color running onto the lower bill. A black line runs from the eye to the throat. The front of the neck is tawny and white striped. The hind neck is finely barred in brown and buff. The back is dark olive brown with very fine buff vermiculation. Flight feathers are black. Under parts are cinnamon and thighs are grey. The legs are dark grey olive to slate green. During nesting the bare throat may become bright yellow to orange. Nothing is known of the population size or trends of this species. It is widespread throughout its range. It is reported to be or have been common in Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica; rare to uncommon and perhaps declining in Panama (Ridgely and Gwynne 1989); and possibly at risk in north Colombia (Kushlan and Hafner 2000).
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Stellar’s Jay: The Steller’s Jay is a striking bird with deep blue and black plumage and a long, shaggy crest. The front of its body is black, and the rear is deep blue. The black extends midway down its back and down its breast. It has faint, dark barring on its wings. Adults have blue vertical ‘eyebrows’ above each eye. The juvenile appears similar to the adult, but has a slightly browner head and lacks the blue eyebrows of the adult. The inland form has a small white patch over the eye. The Steller’s Jay uses mud in the construction of their nests. Steller’s and Blue jays are the only North American jays with crests. Steller’s and Blue jays occasionally interbreed and produce hybrids. The feathers have a banding pattern (click the feather to view larger image). Jays will come to bird feeders and take peanuts. They will stuff 1-2 peanuts in their crops (a sac in the throat where food is stored for digestion) before they fly away. Jays will cache (store in ground)nuts to eat during the winter. They will put a leaf or piece of material to mark the location but forget where they store all of them. Their “forgetfulness” allows the nuts to germinate and grow into young trees.
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Whiskered treeswift (Hemiprocne comata): The Whiskered Treeswift (Hemiprocne comata) is a species of bird in the family Hemiprocnidae. The Whiskered Treeswift is found in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Thailand. The adult male has a dark bronze-brown body with a white belly, flanks and under tail-coverts, long wings and deep blue forked tail, and tertial flight feathers are white. In addition, the underwing shows blue coverts and white tertial flight feathers. The head is blue to glossy black and slightly crested. These specie’s natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. The Whiskered Treeswift is a forest-living bird that frequents small cover breaks such as tracks or streams. The bird follows the vegetation up around the highest emergent crowns in evergreen forest and locally in tall mangroves. This species occurs from plains up to 1000 to 1100 meters on slopes, but it is often seen below 800 meters in N Malay Peninsula.
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Black-throated Loon (Gavia arctica): The black-throated loon (Gavia arctica), also known as the Arctic loon and the black-throated diver, is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere, primarily breeding in freshwater lakes in northern Europe and Asia. It winters along sheltered, ice-free coasts of the north-east Atlantic Ocean and the eastern and western Pacific Ocean. This loon was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It has two subspecies. It was previously considered to be the same species as the Pacific loon, of which it is traditionally considered to be a sister species, although this is debated. In a study that used mitochondrial and nuclear intron DNA, the black-throated loon was found to be sister to a clade consisting of the Pacific loon and two sister species, the common loon and the yellow-billed loon. Overall, the population of this loon is declining, although the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) still rates it as least concern, because the population decline is not rapid enough. The black-throated loon is protected under both the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.
