10 bucket list birds to see

Daktari JG

Daktari JG

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
mine:
Philippine eagle
kakapoo
Spix macaw
Chinese crested ibis
Black spoonbill
black necked crane
spoon billed sandpiper
Brazilian merganser
takahe
yellow eyed penguin
 
In term of birds in facilities that I planned to visit, I've put on some list of animals that I want to see and document, but my top 10 for birds are:
  1. Blue-bellied roller
  2. Flame bowerbird
  3. Greater bird-of-paradise
  4. Magnificent riflebird
  5. Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise
  6. Red-crowned crane
  7. White-naped crane
  8. Ferruginous partridge
  9. White-faced cuckoo dove
  10. Brahminy starling
 
Hello.

1 - Wilson's bird-of-paradise (Diphyllodes respublica);
2 - King bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius);
3 - Greater bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea apoda);
4 - Lesser bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea minor);
5 - Count Raggi's bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana)
6 - Banded cotinga (Cotinga maculata);
7 - Blue-eyed ground dove (Columbina cyanopsis);
8 - Bleeding-heart tanager (Nemosia rourei);
9 - Araripe manakin (Antilophia bokermanni);
10 - Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin).
 
My list:

1. Great Blue Turaco
2. African Spoonbill
3. Yellow-billed Stork
4. Grey/Black Crowned Crane
5. Great/Rhinoceros Hornbill
6. Eastern Crested Guineafowl
 
1. Helmeted hornbill
2. Bornean bristlehead
3. Resplendent quetzal
4. Oilbird
5. Giant albatross
6. Three-wattled bellbird
7. Giant ibis
8. Tropical royal flycatcher
9. White-necked picathartes
10. Helmet vanga

I have been honoured to have seen several species that were previously on this list, including the Philippine eagle, flame bowerbird, emperor penguin, Spix macaw, imperial amazon, frigatebird, etc.
 
An incredibly difficult choice to even whittle the list down to ten. So in no particular order:

  1. Spangled cotinga
  2. Hoatzin
  3. Blue-footed booby
  4. Snowy albatross
  5. Sickle-billed vanga
  6. Superb lyrebird
  7. Spinifex pigeon
  8. Resplendent quetzel
  9. Raggiana bird-of-paradise
  10. Satin bowerbird
Species that were previously on the list but have now been seen include: Shoebill, Lear's macaw & European bee-eater
 
For me I'd pick:
1.Bald eagle-national bird of my country but I haven't seen one in person yet
2.Rhea-I would like to see one since I like ratites, they are my favorite types of bird
3.Kiwi-very strange bird with the giant egg they carry to give birth
4.Red-lored-- Amazon my local zoo has it but it's only one in a pretty big indoor aviary and I haven't seen it in all my years of going there
5.Abdim's stork-was in my zoos African savannah exhibit but has since gone away
6.Egyptian Goose-Used to be in my zoo but the birds were elderly and were moved off exhibit
7. Spix's Macaw-Very rare bird
8.Any species of Puffin-I like how it looks
9.Shrike-A very eccentric species of bird with the impaling prey on thorns thing
10.Victoria Crowned Pigeon-Still used on the sign to my zoo's Australian aviary despite not being present for years and I want to see one in person
 
Bald eagles are pretty easy to see in the wild in winter time, depending whereabouts you live.
They are also very common in raptor/bird rehabilitation centers.
 
1. Lady Amherst's Pheasant
2. Golden Pheasant
3. Temminck's Tragopan
4. African Openbill
5. Secretarybird
6. Victoria's Riflebird
7. Wilson's bird-of-paradise
8. Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise
9. King of Saxony bird-of-paradise
10. Ornate Hawk-Eagle
 
In no particular order, some I've thought of:

Philippine Eagle
Spotted Redshank
Vogelkop Lophorina
Blue Bird-of-Paradise
Tropical Royal Flycatcher
Common Bronzewing
Pennant-winged Nightjar
Blue Nuthatch
Crab-plover
Pheasant-tailed Jacana

Very unrealistic and mainly a list of the most simply spectacular birds I have never seen.
 
CMP said:
In no particular order, some I've thought of:

Philippine Eagle
Spotted Redshank
Vogelkop Lophorina
Blue Bird-of-Paradise
Tropical Royal Flycatcher
Common Bronzewing
Pennant-winged Nightjar
Blue Nuthatch
Crab-plover
Pheasant-tailed Jacana

Very unrealistic and mainly a list of the most simply spectacular birds I have never seen.
Click to expand...
I feel the urge to now also list the following ten:

Kakapoo
Hoatzin
Oilbird
Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise
Long-wattled Umbrellabird
Blue-footed Booby
Resplendent Quetzal
Great Spotted Kiwi (Or any kiwi, but the Spotteds are the coolest)
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Puerto Rican Tody

And I honestly could keep going but my list was very incomplete without the likes of kakapoo, hoatzin, and kiwi
 
Here’s mine.
  1. Hoatzin
  2. Philippine Eagle
  3. Galapagos Penguin
  4. Hawaiian Crow
  5. Spix’s Macaw
  6. Takahe
  7. Oilbird
  8. Resplendent Quetzal
  9. Kakapo
  10. Blue-Footed Booby
 
Thankful to have seen many of these on others’ lists - notably most of the listed birds of paradise, resplendent quetzal, and a few other odds and ends. My list will definitely have some repeat offenders.

1. Spix’s macaw
2. Blue bird of paradise
3. Philippine eagle
4. Three-wattled bellbird
5. Wallace’s standardwing
6. Long-tailed sylph
7. White-booted racket-tail
8. Steller’s eider
9. Blue duck
10. Northern cassowary

Of course, with so many birds out there, the list would be different any time you asked me. And then of course there’s the birds I’ve only seen once that I’d like to see again, and then the ones I’ve seen captive but not wild, and it just keeps spiraling from there :rolleyes:
 
In no particular order:

Emperor Penguin
Hoatzin
Superb Lyrebird
Resplendent Quetzal
Any species of Diomedea
Secretarybird
Spoon-Billed Sandpiper
Satin Bowerbird
Vogelkop Lophorina
'I'iwi
 
My top 10 missing target families (of the 25 or so I still need in the wild)
Kiwi (any, poor glimpses in captivity)
Kagu
Trumpeter (any, seen in captivity)
Plains Wanderer
Tody (any species)
Seriema (either, seen in captivity)
Kokako (or Saddleback)
Stitchbird
Shrike-Tit
Rail-Babbler
 
Tetzoo Quizzer said:
My top 10 missing target families (of the 25 or so I still need in the wild)
Kiwi (any, poor glimpses in captivity)
Kagu
Trumpeter (any, seen in captivity)
Plains Wanderer
Tody (any species)
Seriema (either, seen in captivity)
Kokako (or Saddleback)
Stitchbird
Shrike-Tit
Rail-Babbler
Click to expand...
Sounds like you need to come do an Oceania trip !
 
Booked for Jan/Feb 2026! Australia (4 families), New Zealand (6 families) and hopefully New Caledonia (Kagu). Any idea how to see Velvet worms (Peripatus)?
 
My List is:
(All wild)
  1. Okinawa Woodpecker
  2. Fairy Pitta
  3. Snowy Owl
  4. Copper Pheasant
  5. Baer's Pochard
  6. Mugimaki Flycatcher
  7. Spoon Billed Sandpiper
  8. Gyrfalcon
  9. Ruddy Kingfisher
  10. Okinawa Rail
 
As a birder who loves to travel but has done very little of it so far, I don't think I can possibly limit myself to just 10. :p

So I've limited myself to 10 from the continental US. In no particular order:

-California Condor
-Painted Bunting
-Green Jay
-Atlantic Puffin
-Elegant Trogon
-American Dipper
-Boreal Owl
-Blue-and-yellow Macaw
-Black-footed Albatross
-King Eider

There are several bird species which were formerly on this list, but I have since seen.
 
This is a hard list to come up with. In no particular order:
*California Condor
*Congo Peafowl
*Green Peafowl
*Impeyan Pheasant
*Vulturine Guineafowl
*Wandering Albatross
*Andean Condor
*Andean Cock of the Rock
*Philippine Eagle
*Saurus Crane
 
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