Bright feathered: Top 5 most colorful birds worldwide

Keel-billed toucan

The keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) is a graceful tropical bird that lives from southern Mexico to northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.

Its predominantly black plumage is adorned with a yellow throat and cheeks, light green spots on the eyes, and bright red feathers visible under the tail.

The main feature of this species, however, is its unique beak, which is multicolored and extends for about a third of the bird's total length of 20 inches (51 centimeters).

This species of toucan uses its beak to collect a variety of foods, including fruits, insects, lizards, tree frogs, and eggs. They toss their food in the air before swallowing it.

The green, orange, blue, and red hues of the beak attract the attention of potential mates. Studies show that the beak has thin blood vessels that help regulate the toucan's body temperature.

Keel-billed toucan

Keel-billed toucan

Azure macaw

The azure macaw (Malurus splendens) is strikingly beautiful during breeding season, when males are adorned with gorgeous cobalt blue feathers. Their sky-blue crown and cheeks are striking to females.

These birds, which can reach up to 5 inches (13 cm) in length, live in densely vegetated scrub or acacia forests in some parts of Australia. They feed primarily on insects that they collect from the ground and shrubs.

In September, the males change their pale brown plumage to bright blue hues and a black eye mask. Starting a courtship display, they tear pink and purple petals for potential mates. Meanwhile, the females build domed nests of dry grass, bark, and roots, so small that the birds have to bend their tails while incubating.

Azure macaw

Azure macaw

Gould's amadina

The Gould's amadina (Chloebia gouldiae) will surprise you with its beauty. This bird has various color combinations: the face can be black, red or yellow, and the back is bright green, the neck is turquoise, the belly is yellow, and purple feathers complement this wonderful palette. The black face is the most common, found in 75% of the birds, and red or yellow in the rest.

These fascinating birds are found in the mangrove edges, scrub and savannahs of northern Australia, where they feed on grass seeds and insects. They are very sociable and often gather around water in large flocks because they need to drink several times a day.

But this beauty has made them a target for illegal hunting. Together with habitat loss, predation, parasites, and forest fires, the illegal bird trade has reduced the wild population to less than 2,500 birds.

Gould's amadina

Fiery-throated hummingbird

The fiery-throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis) is a species of fascinating hummingbird native to the mountainous forests of Costa Rica and western Panama.

Their 4-inch (10 cm) long bodies are adorned with iridescent feathers, with dark orange at the base of the throat, yellow and bluish green on the belly and back, and shimmering royal blue on the breast and crown.

Although males are slightly larger than females, both sexes have the same appearance and a long, thin, black beak with a pink base that is used to feed on the nectar of flowers, shrubs and trees.

Fiery-throated hummingbird

Indian peacock

The Indian peacock (Pavo cristatus), often called simply a peacock, is famous for its blue pearl feathers and majestic tail with spotted plumage, which it spreads to attract females. The females are less colorful, with spotted brown feathers and a shorter tail without spots on their eyes, although they do have iridescent green throat feathers.

Indian peacocks are native to the Indian subcontinent, but they have also been introduced to many other parts of the world, including North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia as ornamental birds. In nature, they live in forest tracts where they hunt fruit, small reptiles, insects and rodents.

Male peacock

Female peacock

Sources: SprucePets, LiveScience, Wikipedia.