What's your all time favorite bird??

I'd like to know what bird is your single favorite in the whole world - the bird you would just die to see (or maybe you already have). You can include extinct birds (like ivory billed woodpeckers) if you want.

This is a really hard choice I know. I am torn between birds of paradise (of course), quetzals (pictured), motmots, basically anything tropical. But I have to pick a toucan... any kind, just because if I ever saw a bird with that giant beak flying around I would probably pass out. All the others are really cool and colorful but I think would not be as easy to see.

Here is a really really awesome video you just have to watch.... the end had me ROTFLMAO

http://youtube.com/watch?v=T2Bsu4z9Y3k



Photo credit of the quetzal goes to nature lore photography

I've seen that; isn't it great!

This is too hard to call but I'll say Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

I would once have said one of the woodpeckers, although there are no woodpeckers here in Australia. Now I think my favourite is the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, which is a regular visitor to our garden, where I photographed this one,

Kennedy

Beautiful shot kennedy; he's a beauty!

My favorite is the one that will sit still long enough for me to get a decent picture.

LOL Mrs Ed I know what you mean. Kennedy - I can't believe you have such an awesome bird in your garden!!! Sad that you don't have woodpeckers though...

Mrs Ed, that is so funny.

Gorgeous bird, Kennedy.

I think my favourite would be the Snow Petrel from the Antarctic.

I cannot pick just one.

The Eastern Bluebird is still at the top of my list! When I saw my first visitiors to the yard last winter I will never forget the feeling...it was like my heart openen up and they just crept right in like they belonged there!

Chicken, esp when you bbq the wings, yum! lol

oh, did you mean to look at??? It's hard to choose, I think puffins are adorable.

Kennedy what a great pic. Would love to see one of those in my yard. It'll never happen here though.

I guess I would have to say the Eastern Bluebird is my all time favorite. My second choice would be Painted Bunting. We have had two pair of Buntings nest here this year. I am so tickled!!!

I love any and all of the tropical birds.

Lin

I also choose the Eastern Bluebird (probably no surprise). Not just because of its beauty, but also because of its temperment, and especially its willingness to tolerate people like me.

Since Rose showed you the beauty of the female (great shot, Rose), I will show the male.

Let me quickly add that I like them even when they are mad.

I'll gladly trade one Woodpecker for that Black Cockatoo! I would like to get a closer look at a Bald Eagle (in the wild).

Ooooo, that is hard and my favorite bird and the bird I am just dying to see are not the same thing. But the bird I would most like a chance to see...I have to join pelletory and go for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. After my year long quest to get photos of my Pileated and the thrill of that moment...I can only imagine.

2dcousin that 2nd pic of the male bluebird is so cute!! I can't believe you got such a cool shot. I think you're right nanny - favorite bird and the one you're dying to see are different. So I guess I'd have to say my fave is a cardinal

For me living in the arid zone of the southwest, my favorite bird of all is the Roadrunner. Why is this? This is an all around bird. It can run like the dickens and out chase most little critters. It can definitely fly when in danger. It's very wary and hard to approach. On the ground, this bird can be gone in a flash! I would say it is perfectly designed for the southwest. Its slight shades of blue around the eyes and wings gives it a mark of distinction. It has eye sight that is very powerful. If I were its size, I couldn't stand a chance against this warrior type bird. Nature has designed the Roadrunner for survival . . .

Universal, that is indeed a fantastic bird. Great shot, too. Interesting claws; only two facing forwards. Might sound like a dumb question, but are there also two claws that face rearwards?

Yep, it (like all species in its family, the Cuculidae) is zygodactyl, two toes forward, two back.

Resin

MargaretK . . . To answer, I dug up another photo. Yes, I think the Roadrunner has two toes in the back as this photo shows. I never really thought about how many toes they have. All I know is that they run like no other bird I have ever seen. UniversalGarden :)

Thanks Universal and Resin. Guess I'm now going to have to Google Cuculidae.

ooo, nice capture of the blue feathers!

Wow! Those are great pics of your Roadrunner!

Cool pic of the Roadrunner! We are lucky to have them here in SW Missouri! I saw one last year not too far from out place and I am on the lookout...they are beautiful birds!

I think my favouite birds are swallows. I love to watch them flying, swooping around and changing direction so abruptly. They chase our riding mower because the bugs behind it get disturbed. I love their irridescence (especially on the tree swallow) and their streamlined look. I also like the clever mud nests that the barn swallows build. They are graceful, elegant, and skilled flyers, and are also good bug catchers! I do also like the way the tree swallows line their nests with feathers. I think that's rather sweet - little feather beds for their babies!

I have to agree with Universal about the roadrunner being an impressive bird. And, the color around the eye is so typical southwestern.

I was lucky enough to have one nest under my cactus a few years ago. By the time summer was over, it would almost pose for me when I went out with my camera.

Here's a picture of the one that nested in my yard. It wasn't taken with a super zoom lens ... I was actually able to get that close.

Fantastic bird. NM and Universal, how about starting a Road Runner thread? I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to see more of a bird that I've only ever seen outsmarting Wyle E Coyote. dellrose, here's a challenge for when the Hummingbirds migrate south.

Now, as for my favorite bird ... that's a really tough call. Like many people, I tend to take what I have for granted and wish for what I don't have. So many of the birds here in New Mexico are drab colored; but that helps them fit in with the desert landscape. That said, my favorite bird would be one of the brightly colored tropical variety ... parrots, macaws, tucans, etc.

I'm also quite fond of the Inca Tern (pictured here). I just love it's handle bar mustache.

Those are totalyy awesome shots Jane!

Love the Inca Tern. I've never seen one before!

I think my all time favorite is the blue heron. I love to watch them fly because they look like they are going so slow like they aren't in any hurry. I could tell afew stories about getting fairly close to them back at the pond on the farm, but my favorite when one landed on the railing of our deck behind the house. he was sitting just outside the patio door, and as luck would have it, the camera was not within reach, and before I had a chance to get it he left. It was quite a thrill for me to see one that close.

grdnkupkake....I love the sound they make when fly away. I love to go to their nesting place to just listen to them.

Ever since this thread started I have been trying to think of my favorite. There are so many that I love to watch that I can not make up my mind. I am real fond of the Red-headed Woodpeckers but also of all the wadeing birds. I am always thrilled to see the goldfinch come for the winter. The juvie cardinals keep me entertained most of the summer. The little Carolina chicadees are really cute but are in and out so fast. The same with the nuthatches. I enjoy baiting the bluebirds with worms to come in closer. The doves are always lovely to watch. I JUST CAN'T CHOOSE.

I know what you mean. Ilove all birds except the starlings grackles that come in droves and try to eat all the feed that I put out for my feathered friends in winter. I try to chase them away quite often by rapping on the window, and the funny thing is that the other birds seem to have learned that it's not meant for them because they stick around. even when I go out to fill feeders all they do is fly up into the branches and wait patiently for me to get done, and then come back down. I can spend hours watching them, but, theres always boring chores that need doing.
Great chatting with you. I just signed up and love how everyone is friendly and treats you like an old friend.

Welcome to the forum grdnkupkake!

I'm with you Frank, as far as a favorite, I can't pick just one. I can't imagine a day without my regulars that are here all year around or the 'Season Regulars' that change in and out.

There are many of course... but I'll say the Broad-winged Hawk. For over half the year, I think of these birds and the anticipation of their migration builds. Finally in September, my most happy time comes. On cool, clear, breezy mornings, I hike 2-miles up the mountain to the top of the ridge. As the fog in the river valley below breaks, the hawks emerge, rising from below. With the right conditions, 500 hawks can be seen at one time, and perhaps 2,000+ in one day. Broad-wings are amazing, beautiful birds, and to see a huge kettle in mid-September is a truly awesome thing. I can't wait for hawk-watching season!!!

Wow!...That must be a sight! The raptors a definiftely among my favorites! I am totally enthralled by them. After months of seeing no hawks here, we have had a Red-tailed hanging around the last week. Haven't been able to get a pic of it yet!

Holy Moly...what a sight that must be!

There are birds I'm dying to see, but my favorite has to be the goldfinch. It always looks and sounds so cheerful. They are always nearby emitting their cheery little chirps as they flap and sink, flap and sink across the sky. I'm enjoying this thread today everyone. So much fun to listen to your comments, and feel so accepted.

I have to agree with you OP on the Goldfinches. They are here year round and I enjoy their song and chatter...they really are sunshine on a cloudy day. Another bird that I miss is the White Crowned Sparrow...before they flew north this spring they had the most beautiful song. One would land on the the feeder and start singing and others would land and join in...it was so awesome and this was all before they would start eating. I am anxiously awaiting the return of those beautiful birds!