There are so many different types of birds, it has been challenging to choose the 20 most beautiful birds in the world. Wherever you go in the world you’re likely to see a bird or hear them sing. Whether you’re in a city, up a mountain, in the rainforest, or even the desert, they’ll be at least one of 10,000 species of birds in the world living there.

1 / 21

The nature has blessed birds with the most colorful and incredible plumage. Most beautiful colours of feathers in all different types of birds includes Male Saddle-billed Stork, Great Horned Owl, Snowy Egret,Fairy Wren,Bearded Reedling,Red-bearded Bee Eater,Victoria Crowned Pigeon,Quetzal,Lilac breasted roller and Magnificent Frigate Bird.

2 / 21

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus): The Great Horned Owl is a very large, powerful owl with prominent ear-tufts. It was first seen in the Virginia colonies, so its species name virginianus was created from the Latinised form of this name. Its length 45-63.5cm. Wingspan 91-152cm. Tail length 175-250mm. Weight 900-2503g. Females are 10-20% larger than males. They have adapted to many different places and climates. They occur in habitats from dense forests, deserts and plains to city parks. They have been known to inhabit the same area as the diurnal red-tailed hawk. Great Horned Owls are found throughout North America from the northern treeline and then in Central and South America. Image credit: Anthony Goldman

3 / 21

Victoria Crowned Pigeon: This is a bird that I’d love to see in the wild. Its native to the swamp forests of New Guinea and the birds pretty crown is stunningly beautiful. Although its quite common to see these birds in captivity there status in the wild is declining. This is mainly due to loss of habitat. Sadly it is also hunted for its meat and feathers, but thankfully it is now illegal to trap it for sale into captivity. It’s on the IUCN red list and classed as threatened, and reproduction is slow as the female only lays one egg.

4 / 21

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula): White heron with black bill, black legs, and yellow feet. Lores (between eye and bill) are usually bright yellow, but flush reddish in the breeding season. Also note lacy plumes on head, breast, and back during breeding season. Immatures have duller yellow lores and more yellow extending up the legs than adults. Fairly common and widespread in North and South America; often most common along the coast. Found in a variety of wetland habitats, especially shallow marshy pools and mudflats. Forages fairly actively in shallow water, often darting after small fish. Compare with immature Little Blue Heron, which usually has more greenish legs and lores, and note Snowy’s more active feeding style. Image credit: Instagram-Anita Ross

5 / 21

The Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is an endangered species that resides mainly in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. Ocellated Turkey Meleagris ocellata is a large, striking gamebird endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula of Middle America. Its conservation status is currently assessed as Near Threatened and the species’ range extends from north Belize west to east Chiapas, Mexico, and south to north Petén, Guatemala. Chiquibul Forest, in central-west Belize, is at the south-eastern limit of the species’ range. In 1994 a research station was opened at Las Cuevas, in the heart of Chiquibul, permitting long-term observations of the local flora and fauna to be made for the first time. Here we present informal observations of the distribution and biology of M. ocellata in Chiquibul, made between July 1994 and August 1996. Image credit: Antonio García Bernal

6 / 21

Male Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis): The saddle-billed stork is a very tall wading bird found in sub-Saharan Africa. In this post, you’ll learn 15 saddle-billed stork facts, including where it gets its name, differences between males and females, habitat, why they don’t make a call, population, diet, lifespan, tallest bird status, and adaptations. This is a large black and white colored stork of tropical or semi-arid Africa with a red beak that has a black band around the middle, with red on both sides of the band. Image credit: Matrishva Vyas

7 / 21

Northern Cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus): It has hard and stiff black plumage, blue facial skin and a casque on top of the head. It has a bright red or yellow colored neck and wattle. The feet are huge and strong with long, dagger-like claw on its inner toe. The sexes are similar. The male, at 30 to 37 kg , is smaller than female, at an average of 58 kg , making it the world’s fourth-heaviest living bird species after the common ostrich, Somali ostrich and the similarly-sized southern cassowary. These birds measure 149 cm long and stand 1.5–1.8 m in height. Compared to the southern cassowary, the northern cassowary has a slightly shorter bill, at 12 to 13.7 cm , but a slightly longer tarsal length, at 28 to 33.2 cm . Due to ongoing habitat lost and overhunting in some areas, the Northern Cassowary is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with hunting being the biggest threat. Image credit: bayucca on Flickr

8 / 21

Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus): The Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus) is a species of heron in the Ardeidae family. It is in the monotypic genus Pilherodius. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are rivers, swamps, and freshwater lakes. Image credit: Christian Sanchez Arce

9 / 21

Painted Spurfowl – (Galloperdix lunulata) : There are about 24 or more species of spurfowl in the world. The painted spurfowl (Galloperdix lunulata) is primarily found in peninsular India. Painted spurfowl (Galloperdix lunulata) is also seen in Pachmarhi, Aravalli ranges in Rajasthan, and in eastern ghats and Andhra Pradesh. They reside in rocky hill and scrub forests and mountain ranges. The painted spurfowl (Galloperdix lunulata) gets its name from its appearance itself. These species are brightly colored and spotted in white. The painted spurfowl (Galloperdix lunulata) is classified as Least concern species by the International Union For Conservation Of Nature (IUCN). They belong to order Galliformes, family Phasianidae. Image credit: Kamlesh Mirkale

10 / 21

Agami Heron (Agamia agami): They occur primarily in South America, with their core distribution in the Orinoco and Amazon basins. Sightings have been recorded as far north as southern Veracruz and Neuvo Leon, Mexico. Their range also extends from eastern Mexico in the north, through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The southernmost border of their distribution is found along the western coastal strip of South America. Agami herons have been observed in Panama between the months of January and June, suggesting dry season migration. Image credit: Dinorah Graue

11 / 21

Magnificent Frigate Bird: These birds are truly striking: big, black, and powerful, they make quite a silhouette when flying. Their legs and feet are very small, so they can’t paddle well with them; they rarely even walk. They have a fishy diet. Being seabirds, it makes sense that the magnificent frigatebird feed mainly on fish, crustaceans, jellyfish, and squid. Magnificent frigatebirds have long, thin, hooked beak that is specially designed to help them catch – and steal – slippery fish.

12 / 21

Lilac Breasted Roller: I’ve travelled in Africa a fair bit, including going on safari in Tanzania, and one of the most beautiful birds I’ve seen there is the lilac-breasted roller. Lilac-Breasted Rollers can be found widely throughout sub-Saharan African and the southern Arabian Peninsula. With their vibrant colours – blue or green head, turquoise belly, brown back, and of course that beautiful lilac breast, they make an eye-catching sight against the dusty yellows of the African savannah plains where they live.

13 / 21

Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus): They are recognized by its long tail, call, and choice of habitat (reeds). Male unmistakable, with bluish grey head, yellow bill and black drooping moustache. Females and juveniles mostly plain, yellow-brown with whitish underparts and no moustache. Young females with dark bill, young males with yellow bill and black lore. Juveniles with black patch on back and black outer tail feathers. Flight whirring and undulated. Sometimes fans tail in flight with twisting motions. Their sound often heard than seen. Usually identified by contact call; a ringing, explosive “tschin” with a characteristic “dirty” timbre. Also a hard and very short “pit”, often mixed with the previous. Song a primitive, 3-syllable phrase, consisting of contact call-like sounds. Image credit: Richard Constantinoff

14 / 21

Cock of the Rock: They occur tropical forests of the Andes Mountains, from Venezuela to Bolivia, are home to the Andean cock-of-the-rock Rupicola peruvianus, which can be found up to about 7,870 feet (2,400 meters). The Guianan cock-of-the-rock Rupicola rupicola lives in humid forests of South America, too, but its distribution is more northerly, including parts of French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, northern Brazil, and western Colombia. The Guianan species typically inhabits elevations less than 3,940 feet (1,200 meters), although sometimes it can be found as high as 6,560 feet (2,000 meters). Both favor rocky gorges and ravines that border rivers and streams. They pluck fruit from trees, and occasionally eat large insects and small reptiles and frogs.

15 / 21

Atlantic Puffin: Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) are incredibly charismatic, with their lovely colour-blocked, black-and-white patterning and brightly coloured bill, making them a favorite bird to spot with wildlife watchers and photographers. Puffins have been dubbed the clowns of the sea, possibly because of their ability to bring a smile to many a person’s face, or even the stunning way their feathers lay in a perfect diamond shape around their eyes. While small in stature, Puffins have sweet personalities, ensuring their young puffling gets the nutritious food they require.

16 / 21

Waved Albatross: They (Phoebastria irrorata) is another beautiful white bird, and like the swan, they are amongst the largest birds that can fly. They also mate for life, and both parents take it in turns to sit on the nest and care for their young. Unfortunately all 22 species of Albatross, are registered as a concern, and three even make it onto the critically endangered bird’s list. The Waved Albatross is one, which is so sad given it’s such a big beautiful bird. Espanola Island especially to see these beautiful big birds of the world. The island is a protected breeding site in the Galapagos.

17 / 21

Mandarin Duck: MandariThe first mandarins were imported to Britain in the mid-18th century, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that escapes from wildfowl collections started breeding here.It is a colorful bird and symbol of love and marriage,native to Japan. The mandarin bird is regarded as the world’s most beautiful duck. They frequently perch in trees, while the female invariably chooses a hole or cavity in a tree trunk in which to lay her eggs. China historically exported hundreds of thousands of mandarins, but the export trade was banned in 1975.

18 / 21

Splendid Fairy Wren: There are many magnificent tiny wrens around Australia, but none quite as vibrant as the Splendid Fairy Wren (Malurus splendens). These beautiful small birds can be seen darting through the undergrowth of Marri, Karri and Jarrah forests, scrubland and Mulga Bush of Western and Central Australia.

19 / 21

Booted Racket-tail (Ocreatus underwoodii): The Booted Racket-tail (Ocreatus underwoodii) – also known as Racket-tailed Puffleg – is a South American hummingbird. They occur naturally in the Andean cordillera (mountains) of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. In Venezuela, there is also a population on the northern coast. Image credit: James Gan

20 / 21

Kookaburra: These beautiful Australian birds have a snow-white head and underside. And dark brown wing plumage with splashes of blue. But we most love the Kookaburra’s dark brown eye-stripe that makes it look like a masked bandit. The Laughing Kookaburra is so well- loved by Australians; it even inspired a popular children’s song that pays homage to the iconic bird’s laughter-like call. This raucous cackle is a territorial call to warn other birds to stay away. It lives in eucalypt forests, and its distinctive sounds can be heard in bushland throughout Eastern Australia.

21 / 21

Quetzal: Quetzals are found from southern Mexico to Bolivia. The resplendent quetzal and the golden-headed quetzal are the only species found in Central America. The resplendent quetzal was the sacred bird of the ancient Mayas and Aztecs. Today the resplendent quetzal is the national emblem of Guatemala (whose monetary unit is the quetzal). The resplendent quetzal’s long blue-green plumes cover its tail, which shows white beneath, in flight. Its head, with a rounded hairlike crest, and the upper part of its breast are gold-green. The bird’s back is blue with a gold-tinged mantle, and its belly is red.