Top 10 Birds With Most Beautiful Crests

The world of birds is full of wonders. Some birds can fly higher than Mount Everest, some can make non-stop flight we couldn’t even imagine, some can imitate our language with surprising accuracy, and some have even better hairstyles than us. Here the list of top 10 birds with most beautiful crests.

10 Hoopoe

hoopoe

Hoopoe is a beautiful yet noticeable bird that found throughout North Africa and Eurasia. It’s famed for the beautiful crest of feathers. These chestnut colored feathers are long with fine black tips. For the most time, the crest of hoopoes found falls backward of their head. But when alarmed, they display this crest in attractive round shape.

The body feathers of a hoopoe are as beautiful as its crest. They have an attractive cinnamon coloration. Their wings also have black and white stripes.  Another interesting feature of hoopoes is their long, black bills.  It’s beautiful as well as an important tool. Hoopoes use this long bill to dig out insects from the ground quickly.

9 Great Crested Grebe

great crested grebe

It’s an elegant water bird that lives in the shallow water bodies throughout Europe. Great crested grebe is the largest bird of grebe bird family found in Europe. This large bird has beautiful long neck, long beak and distinctive black crest with orange tippets.  This beautiful crest of feathers can be found in both male and female grebes.

Apart from having the pretty head-plumes, great crested grebes are also known for their elaborate courtship display. When breeding season arrives, in summer, the male and female grebes approach each other with weeds in their bills. Then they raise and shake their attractive crest. It’s one of the most beautiful courtship display found in the bird family.

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8 Himalayan Monal

himalayan monal

Himalayan Monal a stunningly colorful bird that endemic to the Himalayas. The male bird is more colorful than females. Their exceptional beautiful plumage is a mixture of mixture of metallic blue, green, red and purple. The male bird also has noticeable metallic green head plumes.

The female Himalayan monal not has such stunning coloration as males. They have a brownish plumage.  The head plumes are also found in females. But small in size with brown coloration.

7 Nicobar Pigeon

nicobar pigeon

It’s an exceptionally beautiful yet lesser known species found in Nicobar Islands of Bay of Bengal.  With the iridescent green feathers, Nicobar pigeons can be entitled as the most beautiful pigeon in the world. They also have long, green-blue feathers on the upper neck.

These long feathers on neck give Nicobar pigeon look like hairs. It also gives them a unique appearance.  Compared to males, female Nicobar pigeons are small and have brownish underparts.

6 Secretary Bird

secretary bird

Secretary bird is a large bird that stands 1.2 to 1.4 m in height and has a wingspan of 3 meters. They are endemic to savannas and grasslands of Africa. Secretary birds are not just famed for their great size but also for their beautiful plumage and crest of feathers.  Yes, the feathers on their head are probably the most interesting and distinguishable feature of secretary birds.

The feathers on the back side of their head are long and have a black color. When raised these feathers resembles a crown. The body feathers of a secretary bird are gray-with all black flight feathers.

5 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

sulphur-crested cockatoo

Found in the wooded areas of Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia, Sulphur crested cockatoo is one of the most beautiful species of parrot in the world.  As you can guess from its name, this bird has a beautiful sulphur- yellow crest of feathers.  The body feathers of this cockatoo are all white.  The large gray bill and black round eyes of sulphur crested cockatoos are also beautiful.  Both male and female cockatoos also look alike.

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4 Guinea Turaco

guinea turaco

Guinea turaco is a medium sized bird with an extraordinary plumage.  This lovely bird live in the savannas and forested areas of Africa. From head to chest, turacos plumage is green. The back part and tail have a dark purple coloration. But, the 2 inch long, green crest is the most striking feature of guinea turacos. Turacos display the crest of feathers to their full length when they are alerted.

3 Golden Pheasant

golden pheasant

Native to West and Central China, golden pheasants are one of the prettiest birds in the world. The male pheasant has brighter coloration than female.  The female pheasant has a dull brown color where the male is a mixture of several brilliant colors.

Despite the multiple colored plumage, the fantastic crest can be called as the most noteworthy feature of a male pheasant. These long golden-yellow colored crest feathers reach the end of their neck.

When comes to the body feathers, a golden pheasant has red underparts, bright yellow wattle, green upper backs, golden rumps and a long brown tail. Interestingly, the long tail of a male golden pheasant makes up two third of its total length.

2 Grey Crowned Crane

birds with most beautiful crests

Grey crowned crane is a large bird that lives in the wetlands and grasslands of Eastern and Southern Africa.  It’s the National Bird of Uganda. As their name indicates, this bird primarily has a gray colored plumage and also beautifully crowned.

Their wings are a mixture of black and white. Probably the most attractive part, the crown or crest features lovely, golden colored feathers. They also have a bright red colored throat pouch.

Their wings are a mixture of black and white. Probably the most attractive part, the crown or crest features pretty, golden colored feathers. They also have a bright red colored throat pouch.

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1 Victoria Crowned Pigeon

victoria crowned pigeon

Growing 30 inches in length and up to 3.5 kg in weight, Victoria crowned pigeon is the largest living species of pigeon in the world. They live in the lowland forests of New Guinea and Indonesia. The most notable feature of this pigeon is its spectacular lace like crest of feathers with white tips.

This beautiful pigeon also has blue-gray body feathers with maroon underparts and striking red eyes. Both male and female pigeon looks almost similar. Only noticeable difference is the quite large size of the male. In breeding season, male crowned pigeon perform outstanding courtship display by bowing his pretty head and tail.