Your Top 10 Favorite Birds

Nile Hippo Expert

Nile Hippo Expert

Well-Known Member
Much inspired by the threads of @Austin the Sengi for top 5 favorite deer and antelope, I thought I'd make one for birds, but top 10 since there are many more species of birds in the world. Your list can be whatever you want, you can even put species that you haven't seen before, as long as they are still extant today.

Here is my list:
1. California Condor
2. Andean Condor
3. Rhinoceros Hornbill
4. Marabou Stork
5. Great Argus Pheasant
6. Southern Cassowary
7. Secretarybird
8. Kakapo
9. Helmeted Guineafowl
10. Swordbilled Hummingbird
 
@Nile Hippo Expert, thank you very much for this unexpected shoutout, so here’s my list:
  1. Shoebill
  2. Nene / Hawaiian Goose
  3. Emu
  4. Southern Cassowary
  5. California Condor
  6. Atlantic Puffin
  7. Saddle-Billed Stork
  8. Eurasian Magpie
  9. Edward’s Pheasant
  10. Cockatiel
[EDIT] Additionally, if bonus birds are allowed, my one and only pick would be the Harpy Eagle.
 
Here’s my list
1. Bald Eagle
2. California condor
3. Southern ground hornbill
4. Western grebe
5. Clarks grebe
6. Roadrunner
7. Rainbow lorikeet
8. Red tailed hawk
9. Wild Turkey
10. Osprey
And The reasons why these birds are my top 10 favorite is because with the bald eagles and osprey I love watching cameras of them on their nests. For the California condor they are my favorite because in 2019 I saw some in the wild at Zion national Park. For the western and Clark’s grebes they are my favorites because of their unique courtship display which includes what looks like walking on the water. The reason why the red tailed hawk is my favorite is because on august 17th 2023 my mom was with a friend of hers at a local park and I wasn’t with her but she sent me a video and the video was of a red tailed hawk that looked like it was flying at her but it wasn’t. The reasons why the southern ground hornbill and rainbow lorikeets are my favorites is because I have childhood memories of me always wanting to see the hornbill at the Philadelphia zoo and with the lorikeets I remember being amazed at their colors. The reason why the wild turkey is one of my favorites is because when I was growing up where I lived with my parents we had a big corn field behind our house and behind the cornfield was a big hill and in the winter time from the windows facing behind our house we could see turkeys. And lastly the reasons why the roadrunner is one of my favorites is because in 2019 out in Arizona I saw my first roadrunner that wasn’t in a cartoon and it was breathtaking for me because it was so cool to see it but another reason why the roadrunner is one of my favorites is because I grew up and still watch Wylie e coyote and the roadrunner cartoons.
 
My top 10 favorite birds are in no particular order;

  • Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)
  • Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius)
  • Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla)
  • Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyaneus)
  • Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)
  • Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi)
  • Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)
  • California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
  • Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
  • Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpantarius)
 
1. Northern Rufous Hornbill
2. Sulawesi Tarictic Hornbill
3. Raggiana Bird-of-paradise
4. Shoebill
5. European White Stork
6. Black Stork
7. Black-crowned Night-heron
8. Rufous Night-heron
9. Great Indian Hornbill
10. Eurasian Kestrel

My list is very centric around hornbills and pelecaniformes, which are probably not just my two favourite avian orders, but possibly my favourite orders of animals in general, along with the carnivores and crocodilians. Honourable mention to the Bald Eagle, which isn't a particular favourite of mine as an animal, but being emblematic of my beloved Crystal Palace FC was quite close to this list - that said, it is a Golden Eagle that has in fact been present at our matchdays this season, which is an animal I am much more fond of.
 
Tim May said:
As always, with threads of this type, my list is restricted to species I've seen
  1. shoebill
  2. kagu
  3. monkey-eating eagle (Philippine eagle)
  4. grey-necked picathartes
  5. white-necked picathartes
  6. hoatzin
  7. California condor
  8. New Guinea harpy eagle
  9. Bennett's cassowary
  10. magpie goose
Click to expand...
You've seen a Picarthes?!
 
Here's my list:

1. Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbarus)
2. Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius)
3. Hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus)
4. Southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius)
5. Silvery-cheeked hornbill (Bycanistes brevis)
6. Laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguinae)
7. Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata)
8. Lesser roadrunner (Geococcyx velox)
9. Harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja)
10. Scarlet macaw (Ara macao)

Honorable mentions to the Spix's macaw, Toco toucans, Blue-throated macaws and the Andean cock-of-the-rock
 
10 birds is a challenge! Not in a particular order and leaving lots of my also favourites out.

1. Eurasian crane
2. Long tailed tit
3. Sumatran laughing thrush
4. Red crowned crane
5. European white stork
6. Northern shoveler
7. Ruppel's griffon vulture
8. Sedge warbler
9. Whooper Swan
10. Goldfinch
 
Southern Cassowary
White Eared-Pheasant
Shoebill
Marvellous Spatuletail
Pel’s Fishing Owl
King Vulture
Long-tailed Ground Roller
Laughing Falcon
White-necked Picarthartes
King of Saxony Bird of Paradise

Today’s version of my list; all species seen in the wild. Tomorrow’s version might be very different; how can I leave out Helmeted Hornbill, King Penguin, Harlequin Duck, Hoatzin, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Long-whiskered Owlet, Bornean Bristlehead, Grey-headed Picathartes, Maleo, Green-breasted Pitta…..
And Slender-billed Curlew!
 
Here's mine in no order

1. Lady Amherst's Pheasant
2. Vulturine Guineafowl
3. Secretarybird
4. Raggiana bird-of-paradise
5. Shoebill Stork
6. Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise
7. Saddle-billed Stork
8. White-necked rockfowl
9. Andean Condor
10. Bulwer's Pheasant
 
In no particular order:

White-throated dipper
Sunbittern
Purple heron
Spectacled eider
Pied billed grebe (because I love the Atitlán grebe, but since it's unfortunately an extinct species, I can't include it in this list..)
Capuchinbird
Hamerkop
Brown pelican
Azure-winged magpie
Eurasian jackdaw

..and many more!!
 
Some of my favourite birds are:

Black-crowned night heron
Short-eared owl
Eurasian nutcracker
Red crossbill
Eurasian three-toed woodpecker
Bearded vulture
Common goldeye
Common ringed plover
Saddle-billed stork
Hoatzin

It is really tough to keep it to only ten species, but I tried to keep it diverse. I am also a big fan of all owls and lots of other birds!
 
I would pick all of them if I could, so this was a very difficult list to make. I’ve decided on these ten:

1. Indian Peafowl
2. American Flamingo
3. Rock Dove
4. Mandarin Duck
5. Gray Crowned Crane
6. Helmeted Guineafowl
7. Secretarybird
6. Pileated Woodpecker
7. Keel-Billed Toucan
8. Sun Conure
9. Magnificent Frigatebird
10. Gouldian Finch
 
Last edited:
I've been trying to think of my top 10 favourites, but there's just too many to just name 10, so the only fare way ,is to name my favourite 10 that I have successfully bred.
Barn Owl
Red Crested Turacos
White Cheeked. Turacos
Purple Glossy Starlings
Sreo Starlings
Eastern Rosellas
Splendid Parakeets
Elegant Parakeets
Von Der Deckan Hornbills
Nanda Conures
Even this list was difficult because of all the birds I have had the privilege of breeding.
 
My favourite 10 birds are:
- Chestnut manibled toucan
- Red billed toucan
- Keel billed toucan
- Ariel toucan
- Rufous hornbill
- Blyth's hornbill
- Red crested turaco
- Guinea turaco
- Knysna turaco
- Fischer's turaco

It was hard to pick out of the Ramphastidae genus because i like all of those birds but I think this list is a good representation of the bird species that are my favourites.
 
Victoria Crowned Pigeon
Rockhopper Penguin
Waldrapp Ibis
White Faced Whistling Duck
Greater Bird Of Paradise
Violet Turaco
Northern Cardinal
Black Capped Chickadee
Roseate Spoonbill
 
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