Color always beats basic black and white. This axiom proved true for photography, motion pictures and TVs. And I think it applies to birds as well. Birders prefer to see the more colorful birds than the drab colored birds. Bright colors are more attractive than streaky brown sparrows.
As I thought about colorful birds I wondered which birds are the most colorful and, therefore, the most popular. Since birds come in hundreds of colors and color schemes in hard to compare them all. So I decided to group them into a few different categories.
The first category, which I call Mono-colored Birds, consists of birds that are basically all one color. This category would include Crows. They are one color – black all over – but aren’t considered colorful. The favorite and most colorful birds in the single color category are the N. Cardinal and the Indigo Bunting. Even experience birders are awed by seeing either of these in brilliant sunlight.
In the second category, Two-toned Birds, are birds with only two basic colors. Bald Eagles and Chickadees fit in this category. Although they are popular their popularity is not based on their color scheme. The top birds in this color category are probably the Goldfinch and Scarlet Tanager.
I call my favorite color category is called Birds Colored by Pre-Schoolers. This group includes Wood Duck, Painted Bunting and Harlequin Duck. None of these have subtle, natural coloring. It’s hard to imagine now natural selection and evolution resulted in their gaudy coloring. But I like them and love to see them.
These are my favorite colorful birds. Which are your favorites?
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