The Coolest Birds in the World – 10 Awesome Species You Should Know About

As a bird watcher, you probably think just about every bird is cool. However, there are definitely some birds that are a little cooler than others. Let’s take a look at the 10 coolest birds in the world to highlight some you might not know.

10. Toucan

coolest birds in the world — While you might be most familiar with the Toco Toucan (the one that looks like Toucan Sam from Froot Loops), there are other amazing toucans out there too- the plate-billed mountain toucan, the white-throated toucanet, and the chestnut-eared aracari!

The Toucan makes our list because of its distinctive appearance. Its amazingly large bill is useful for cracking nuts and also helps to cool them down in tropical forests. They’re also very active and interesting birds to watch, often showing off to visitors at zoos. Toucans also have a beautiful call that is among the most unique in the wild and one you won’t miss if you’re in the rain forest.

Related post: Famous Bird Paintings (Check out our post on how humans attempted to capture the beauty of birds with the tips of their brushes!)

9. Shrike

The Shrike is an interesting and attractive bird that makes our list because it uses tools to attack its prey! It uses thrones, twigs, and sticks to spear insects and other prey items. They also shake the insect to death to kill it quickly and effectively. The Shrike likely evolved their spearing abilities because they lack talons and to avoid eating dangerous insects with poisonous bodies.

8. Red-Capped Manakin

These small and beautiful birds make our list due to their elaborate mating dances. While there’s one bird we’ll discuss later with a more intricate and cool dance, the manakin literally does the moonwalk to attract mates. These types of mating dances are always fascinating to see and the manakin’s is one of the most interesting and may have inspired Michael Jackson’s trademark dance move.

Related post: All About the Elusive Quetzal Birds

7. Turquoise-browed Motmot

This Central American bird is gorgeous, as you’d probably expect for a bird from this region. Its turquoise and olive-green colors create a distinctive and appealing plumage. However, their two bare shaft feathers and tail help them get on this list. They literally wag their tail like a dog when they get excited, which gives them a fun and cool look that gets them on our list.

Related post: When did birdwatching become popular?

6. Northern Flicker

Spread throughout North and Central America, this bird is a gorgeous woodpecker with a black and white body with a pale pink and blue head. Its red nape easily attracts mates and makes them distinctive and easy to spot. Just as interestingly, they are very intelligent and are known to use acid created by ants to preen their feathers and avoid parasite invasion.

This might pique your interest too: All About Baby Crows!

5. Black and White Hawk Eagle

Found primarily in Central and Southern America, this bird literally looks like it’s wearing a suit with a pair of sunglasses. That’s because they have a natural black mask around their eyes that protects them from the sun. They’re also interesting because they’re one of the few bird species with a non-dead-beat father, as the males will help raise their child with the mother.

Related post: Facts About The Largest Birds

4. Indian Paradise Flycatcher

This showy Indian bird has an attractive crest and is one of many birds that stays monogamous for life after mating. Not only that, the male helps raise the baby with the mother, much like the Black and White Hawk Eagle. They’re most commonly spotted bathing together in water pools and showing off their plumage.

3. Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon is known for its amazing speed, as it can hit over 200 miles per hour as it dive bombs prey. They’re also incredibly adaptable and have learned to live high on ledges in skyscrapers and bridges. Even better, their complex courtship rituals are some of the coolest on the planet and well worth watching.

Related post: Falcon Names In Mythology (Famous Falcons in Myths and Stories)

2. Flamingo

Common throughout warm-weather regions, the flamingo is an incredibly weird bird known for its distinctive pink appearance, long legs, and its love of watery areas. Flamingos are known to stand for hours in one place in deep water and feed by sieving through water with its distinctive boomerang bill. They’re as cool as it gets.

Related post: Famous Bird Haikus – Short Bird Poems

1. Peacock

Though the peacock may seem a bit obvious, it’s easy to see why it’s such a beloved bird. They’re simply beautiful and have a distinctive walk that makes them beautiful to behold. Even better, they have a distinctive and well-known call that makes them even cooler. While you’re not likely to see them outside of zoos if you don’t live in Asia, there’s a reason why they’re so popular in zoos: they’re too cool for school.

FAQ About the World’s Coolest Birds

Now that you know some of the coolest birds in the world, it’s worth answering some frequently asked questions about these cool birds. These questions didn’t quite fit into any category above and make more sense lined up in this way for easier reading.

What is the Coolest Bird in the World?

The peacock is definitely one of the most beautiful birds in the world, with its wide tail of multiple colors attracting the eye. However, they’re also interesting beyond their beauty, including their tendency to fly into tall trees and perch for days.

Even better, these birds have a very distinctive call that makes them shocking if you run into them in the wild. Surprisingly, they can thrive in many environments as well, making them the coolest birds in the world and one of the most enjoyable to experience in a zoo.

Which State Has the Coolest Bird?

While Oklahoma isn’t known as one of the coolest states in the country, its state-bird is the coolest in the nation. The Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher (or the Texas bird-of-paradise or Swallow-tailed flycatcher) is part of the kingbird family, which has to be the coolest bird family name.

They’re found in North and Central America and are insectivorous birds. That means that they eat insects and pests, like mosquitoes, flies, and other annoying creatures. Combined with their gorgeous appearance, this diet makes them the kind of bird you definitely want in your state.

Which Bird Has the Coolest Mating Dance?

The Laysan Albatross isn’t the kind of bird many amateurs know a lot about off the top of their head. However, it is an attractive and interesting bird that has one of the most distinctive and interesting mating dances. They even gather in groups to practice their moves.

Their moves include things like a bob strut, rapid bill clapper, and a sky snap that each bird arranges into a complex and highly personalized dance. That means every dance is different and is typically something that this bird has to spend 8-9 years perfecting before laying its first egg.

Which Bird Species Has the Coolest Name?

There are so many cool bird names in the world that choosing just one was tough. However, the moustached flowerpiercer has a name that’s hard to top. It is found only in Peru and Bolivia and is a small and cute bird that uses its long bill to feed on flowers.

Its rather limited range makes it a hard bird to spot, though its distinctive white mustache makes it easy to identify if you do end up in its range. Thankfully, it is not endangered and is very common throughout its home countries, so a trip to Peru might be worth it to spot this bird.

What is the Coolest Bird You Can Own as a Pet?

While there are many cool birds that make great pets, Amazon parrots are the best. That’s because they are incredibly intelligent and social creatures. They typically learn various tricks and will show affection towards their owners, including playing in various ways.

Amazon parrots can also mimic what you say and love getting rewarded for it. Even better, if you want a pet that will be with you for a long time, they live up to 40 or 50 years, meaning that you have to be ready to care for these birds for the long haul.

What is the Coolest Migratory Bird?

While there are many cool migratory birds, the Bluethroat is among the most beautiful and interesting in the world. They tend to be very hard to spot, which makes them even more mysterious and interesting. Bluethroat has a gorgeous blue color on its throat and various other shades.

One thing that’s fascinating about this bird is the fact that nobody is certain where it goes during the winter. While it is prominent throughout much of North America, it disappears in the winter and nobody has ever been able to track where it ends up during these months.

Related post: The Highest Flying Birds

What is the Coolest Bird of Prey?

The coolest bird of prey is likely the Golden Eagle. There are a few reasons it earns this distinction. First of all, it can fly at amazing speeds, hitting up to 150 miles per hour while on the hunt. They are also very important in various tribal cultures and have many unique symbolic qualities.

Even better, if you see one flying through the air above you, you’ll see beautiful golden feathers reflecting in the sunlight. This gorgeous look makes the Golden Eagle the coolest bird of prey and one that any bird watcher will love spotting when out in the field.

Wrap up – The coolest Birds in the World

We hope you learned something new about some of the amazing birds you can find around the world! Birds are amazingly diverse, living in a range of habitats, with a crazy variety of appearances, and as we learned, even crazy and cool names!

Related post: Best Birdwatching Podcasts

References: