Twenty-five Favorite Bird Photos from Around the World

When I first had the idea to write an article like this it was going to be just ten birds but, as I went over my hundreds of pictures of birds it changed to 15, then 20 – and now 25! I tried to narrow the choices down to those birds which I had a decent photo as well as something worthwhile to say. That leaves out a lot of good birds, like the Andean Condors, which I never got a decent shot of.

1. Black Stork, Ciconia nigra. Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. I searched for this bird in many countries and finally came across one! They are very wary. This shot is a telephoto from across a river.

2. Eurasian Hoopoe, Upupa epops. Kazbegi, Georgia. I have seen this bird in many varied places, from a hospital property in Dali, China to castle walls in Portugal and Spain. And many places in between. For being a boldly marked bird he is often hard to see.

3. European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster. Dilijan, Armenia. These birds also make a dent in the dragonfly population.

4. Eurasian Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis. Yaremche, Ukraine. One of my most favorite birds. There is a noticeable difference in the amount and extent of red faces in these birds. The ones in Turkey, for instance, have smaller and paler red face markings.

5. Asian Openbill, Anastomus oscitans. Sukhothai Historical Park, Thailand. I was able to get close shots of these storks both here in Sukhothai Historical Park and Ayutthaya, both in Thailand. They are fairly easy to approach.

6. Eurasian Three-Toed Woodpecker, Picoides tridactylus. Ile Alatau National Park. Almaty, Kazakhstan. My wife and I were hiking up the gorgeous Alatau mountains, just south of Almaty, when we rested in a pine grove. This little fellow came down to see us, even climbing onto my wife’s pant legs! The adult female came down, maybe to warn the youngster to “Get back here. That is NOT a log!”

7. Palm Dove, Spilopelia senegalensis. Antakya, Turkey. Also called Laughing Dove, although it takes a bit of imagination to hear the laugh. This pair here was on a street scene in downtown Antakya.

8. Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture), Gypaetus barbatus. Haghpat, Armenia. I was fortunate to see a majestic Lammergeier cruising between the cliffs in this scraggly edge of Armenia. This is the bird, according to the legend that killed the poet Aeschylus, dropping a tortoise on his head.

Truth is, this vulture, also called Bonebreaker, does kill tortoises and other animals this way, by dropping them from up high. It is also known to push little animals over the edge. And – if Wiki is to be believed – the occasional mountain climber!

There was a woman hiker who fell to her death a few years ago in the Pyrenees. She was partially eaten by a Lammergeier. The article assumed she had fallen but now, given what we read above, could she have been on the edge and pushed over?

9. Hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin, near Puerto Maldonado, Peru. This is in the Madre de Dios Department, the Peruvian Amazon. Another bird usually heard – a hoarse, coughing call – before seen. They like semi-open woods with water nearby.

10. Humboldt Penguin, Spheniscus humboldti. Paracas National Reserve, Peru. I had to hurry this shot because a split second later another tourist boat came into full view (you can see it partially). Before this trip I never knew penguins were found this far north.

11. Social Flycatcher, Myiozetetes similis. Tena, Ecuador. A very common, beautiful bird, found all through cities and degraded natural areas from southern South America to Mexico.

12. White-throated Magpie-Jay, Calocitta formosa. Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. I don’t know how many times I was fooled into thinking I was hearing different birds when it was just these Jays. I have seen them in several regions and it seems that they have different calls depending on the areas. At least that is my impression from the many times I have seen them.

13. Turquoise-browed Motmot, Eumomota superciliosa. Parque Bicentenial, El Salvador. In Mexico the Motmot is called “Pajaro reloj” (“Clockbird“) because their tail swings left and right, like a pendulum on an old clock. Even though they are colorful they are often hard to see, because they are usually on a vertical branch in the understories of the forest.

So much for now. I will add the next twelve bird entries next time. This is turning out to be more involved than I thought it would be. I hope you will check back in a few days for the rest.