And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” – Genesis 1:20
They are the most beautiful creatures of God, birds enhance the beauty of our world. It´s impossible to imagine Earth without their songs or their flight in the sky. Let´s fly on the wings of beauty.
Welcome to the Top List of 15 Most Amazing Exotic Birds!
Note: It´s hard too choose which one takes the first prize as the most beautiful, so you’re free to think differently 🙂
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
“Exotic” refers to a species which is not native or indigenous to foreign country.
1. Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)
For many considered a plague, this species has an extremely large range and compete with native birds by dominating their food sources and nesting sites.
With its bright red beak and colorful plumage the Rainbow Lorikeet is hard to miss.
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2. Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus)
The Golden Pheasant is one of the most popular of all pheasant species kept in captivity, and exhibits an absolute balance of colors, beauty and nature. The male pheasants, are less colorful, flashy and smaller in size.
These are game birds, native to western China, and attract almost everyone with their beautiful colors and alluring build.
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3. Quetzal (Pharomachrus Euptilotis)
The Quetzal bird and the rattle snake shared the position of most revered creatures by the ancient Maya.
The resplendent quetzal is an aptly named bird that many consider among the world’s most beautiful, these dressy colored animals live in the mountainous, tropical forests of Central America where they eat fruit, insects, lizards, and small creatures.
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4. Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
The remarkable black and white tipped crest attracts a throng of admirers. With an exotic looking, this bird that is the size of a mistle thrush, it can climb in tight circles, on the ground the head bobs to and fro as it walks.
It has a pinkish-brown body, striking black and white wings, square tails crossed by a wide white band, and long erectile crests. It can be found in southern Europe, Africa to southeastern Asia.
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5. Bali Bird of Paradise (Paradisaeidae)
The birds of paradise can be found in the tropical rain forests of south east Asia, mainly in the jungles of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and parts of eastern Australia.
Males of the greater Bird-of-paradise measure up to 43 cm (17 in), excluding the long twin tail wires. The female is smaller, at only 35 cm (14 in). Best known for the beautiful array of feathers which are existent on the male birds of paradise, Their plumage is also sexually dimorphic with an iridescent green face and a yellow glossed with silver iridescence crown, head and nape. The rest of the body plumage is maroon-brown.
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6. Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)
Dubbed “sea parrots” as well as “clowns of the sea, the Atlantic puffin was once known as the common puffin. It is a short and stocky diving sea bird about 30.5 cm (12 in) in length with a wingspan of 50.8 – 61 cm (20-24 in).
With brightly-colored beaks on their substantially-sized heads, it’s black on its upper sides and white on its chest and belly, and it has bright orange webbed feet. Males and females look alike.
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7. Lear’s Macaw (Anodorhynchus leari)
The Lear’s Macaw is also known as the Indigo Macaw, and you can only find it in the northeastern Brazil. First described by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856, the Lear’s Macaw is 71-76 cm (28-30 in) long and weighs around 950 g (2.1 lb.).
The outstanding plumage of this bird It is metallic blue with a faint, often barely visible tinge of green, and a yellow patch of skin at the base of the heavy, black bill. Facing several severe threats, the lear’s macaw requires constant protection from the illegal wild bird trade.
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8. Kingfishers (Coraciiformes)
Kingfishers are small unmistakable bright blue and orange birds of slow moving or still water, there are nearly 100 different species of the kingfisher bird. Hunting fish from riverside perches, they fly rapidly, low over water.
The African Dwarf Kingfisher is the smallest species of kingfisher, with a an average of 10.4 g in weight and just 10 cm (4 in) in length. The Giant Kingfisher, the largest of the Kingfishers, gave a average of 355 g (13.5 oz) and grows to 45 cm (18 in).
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9. Peacock (Pavo Cristatus)
The peacock is a medium sized bird most closely related to the pheasant, the male is a peacock, and the female is a peahen.
The beautiful male has a 90-130 cm (35-50 in) body and 150 cm (60 in) train of enormous tail feathers feathers that are colored a brilliant metallic green. This omnivorous bird feeds on insects, flower heads, plants, and seeds.
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10. Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
The male has a vivid red body and a black mask, and they are responsible for getting more people to open air then any other bird.
Medium sized bird, they are between 21-23 cm (8–9 in) in length, they have a wingspan between 25-31 cm (9.8-12 in) and they weigh between 42-48 g.
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11. Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)
The scarlet macaw can be found from southern Mexico to Peru, as well as Bolivia, eastern Brazil and the island of Trinidad.
This amazing macaw has a creamy white almost featherless face, with bright red plumage covering most of its body, wings and long tail. Brilliant blue and yellow feathers also adorn the lower wings. This largest parrots are about 81 cm (32 in) long, from beak to tail, and the average weight is about 1 kg (2.2 lb.). The bird’s strong beak is adapted to breaking hard nuts found in the rainforest.
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12. Toucan (Ramphastidae)
The Toucan is a very interesting looking bird and is oversized, colorful bill has made it one of the world’s most popular birds. Toucans are found in South and Central America in the rainforest regions in the canopy layer of the forest.
The colorful and large bill, which in some large species measures more than half the length of the body, is the hallmark of toucans. Their big bill might scare away predators but it would not be able to protect them. But the toucan’s bill is useful as a feeding tool. The birds use them to reach fruit on branches that are too small to support their weight, and also to skin their pickings.
There are about 40 different species of toucans that range in size from 30.5-61 cm (12-24 in) in length. The Toucan has a black body with color on its neck, head and rump. It has a very colorful beak and colored eye with a black pupil.
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13. Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
Boldly colored and with unusual feather shapes, the male Mandarin Duck is widely considered to be the most beautiful duck in the world.
The male Mandarin Duck has an overall “golden” appearance, is a striking and unmistakable bird. It has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and “whiskers”. The breast is purple with two vertical white bars, and the flanks ruddy, with two orange “sails” at the back.
Mandarin Ducks are found in southeast Russia, China, Japan, and Korea. They were introduced into Britain and exported to many other countries. The largest populations are in Japan and Britain.
Mandarin Ducks are referred to by the Chinese as Yuan-yang and are believed to be lifelong couples, unlike other species of ducks. Hence they are regarded as a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity, and are frequently featured in Chinese art.
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14. California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
The California condor is the largest bird in North America with wings spanning an amazing nine and half feet. The adult California Condor is a uniform black with the exception of large triangular patches or bands of white on the underside of the wings. The color of the head varies from white to reddish purple. As an adaptation for hygiene, the condor’s head and neck have few feathers, since they eat dead and rotting meat and must, for the most part, stick their heads into the carcasses to feed.
Unfortunately, the species declined throughout much of the 20th century due to poaching, lead poisoning and habitat destruction, until only drastic measures could save it from extinction. The California condor is a significant bird to many Californian Native American groups and plays an important role in several of their traditional myths.
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15. Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum)
With about 1 m (3 feet) tall, the large yet elegant Grey Crowned crane graces many of Africa’s wetlands. Its predominantly grey plumage contrasts sharply with black and white wings, a crest of golden feathers sitting on top of the head, and a bright red gular pouch that hangs from the throat. The head is black with large white cheek patches, while the neck is pale grey.
The grey crowned-crane is a resident of eastern and southern Africa, ranging from Kenya and Uganda in the northern extremities of the species distribution to South Africa and Zimbabwe in the south. The grey crowned-crane is a non-migratory species; however, local movements may occur in response to the seasonal availability of water, food and nest sties.
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The Peacock
What’s riches to him
That has made a great peacock
With the pride of his eye?
The wind-beaten, stone-grey,
And desolate Three Rock
Would nourish his whim.
Live he or die
Amid wet rocks and heather,
His ghost will be gay
Adding feather to feather
For the pride of his eye.
William Butler Yeats