My favorite bird is the Scissor Tailed Flycatcher, but what is yours?
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I don’t think I can narrow it down to one, but aside from birds of paradise, the Resplendent Quetzal is my favorite. Some of the hummingbirds are probably proportionately more beautiful though.
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The Resplendent Quetzal is definitely one of my top ten favorite birds, alongside the Hoopoe.
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Ruby Throated Hummingbirds
They are here from late April/May, males first. The people who lived here before me fed them, so when they’re back the boys will hover and peck at the windows to get the party started! By the height of summer the group seems to average around six to eight; counting them is a skill! I have planted Lobelia cardinalis, cardinal flower and last summer transplanted new babies from the original plants. These are 1/8- 1/4 mile from the house and yes they seem to follow me. The garden, also from the people before is mostly hummer friendly, and I have added native plants for them, too. Photographing them is possible in the garden!
Watching them is a main entertainment on my back porch. Always a bit melancholy when they leave in autumn.
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Not one in particular but there are birds that have special appeal for me. African grey parrots (and parrots in general) are overall pretty awesome. Diving petrels, because flying straight through big waves is pretty cool. Wandering tattlers have a great name. Trogons in general and quetzals in particular for major style points.
I suppose I have a soft spot for birds I grew up with. Ravens are big, super smart and full of attitude. If I had to pick just one it would probably be the whiskeyjack (aka Canada jay); also very smart, very comfortable around humans, cheeky as all get out and able to tough it out in the boreal winter.
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Top 10, in order of preference:
- Raven
- Magpie (the kind in southern Utah)
- Kestrel
- Grackle
- Red Wing Blackbird
- Blackbird
- Cedar waxwing
- Robin
- Bluebird
- whatever those tiny yellow and gray birds are that I can never get a picture of.
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I too love Kestrels.
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Currently… 
…Golden-fronted woodpeckers.
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My favourite is the brush turkey.
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/195881308
These are common in the area where I live. Some gardeners hate them for the damage that cause by their nesting habits but I admire them for their bizarre breeding strategy. Instead of brooding their eggs, the male scratches up a large mound of leaf litter. As the vegetation decomposes it produces heat which the turkeys use to incubate the eggs. Some of the nests are used for several years and can contain tons of earth and compost.
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/195743216
Upon hatching the young turkeys who are quite well developed, don’t receive any care or feeding from their parents.
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/146945598
Until the 1970s brush turkeys were hunted for food and were subsequently pretty scarce. Now there numbers have recovered remarkably. They are a common sight in urban parks and even town centres.
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- Barn Swallow
- Long-tailed Duck
- Green Heron
- Wood Duck
- Downy Woodpecker
- Common Raven
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Orchard Oriole
- Common Loon
- Wild Turkey
- Woody Woodpecker
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It changes constantly. I’ll have one favorite for a while, then another.
When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, especially the early years, my favorite was the Steller’s Jay. They are colorful, but not gaudy; I watched them problem-solving at a puzzle feeder I put up for them; and they are not shy, but show themselves out in the open, often looking down from the tops of the tall conifers.
I’m a big fan of Tropicbirds because they remind me of the warm, bright places I prefer to be. They hunt fish at sea like terns, but then I also have seen them flying below the canopy in forest or with a canyon wall as a backdrop. That striking pattern of black-and-white, with the tail streamer, really draws the eye. I think if I had to pick an overall favorite, Tropicbirds would be the winners.
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I really like Groove-billed Ani.
They look like bad moods on rainy Thursdays.
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Golden-cheeked warbler
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Kakapo ( Strigops habroptila) Fascinating animals that are an absolute joy to look at and learn about.
Edit: Didn’t realize I linked to an observation of skeletal remains instead of the link to all observations… Fixed, sorry about that
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I would say, that it changes from time to time, for me too.
- But for the last two years it is “Hoppser”, the male blackbird, who is the boss of the birds in my garden…
I miss him, when he don’t show up for a couple of days; even if he can’t stand the old lady ( a female blackbird with a grey/white-feather. - I think, she is the female who was boss of my little garden quiet a long time).
This morning, I was looking at some tracks in the snow, and wondering if it was from one of the cats from the neighbourhood as I heard blackbird-noises very near to me. I looked up from the snow, and there he was. Hoppser. Sitting in the bush right next to me. Looking at me and telling by shirping that I shouldn’t look at the traps in the snow, but bring him some food.
I talked to him and told him, I would get some food. As he saw, how I went to the garden door, he startet to fly to the tall fence, watching me, if I accutally would return with food, and as I did, he went near to the feeding place. As food was there and I stand right infront the feeding place, he would not wait till I leave, but come eating, one Step away from me…
Oh I could tell many storys about little Hoppser. :)
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I’ve got a lots of favorite birds. If I had to narrow it down I would say the Atlantic Puffin, Australian Magpie, Common Bronzewing an the Pacific Gull.
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Whatever species I’ve just photographed and is a new one (lifer) for me.
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Always have been a fan of corvid birds, they are just amazing!
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All quail and vulture species, but I love them all really!
Pied-billed Grebes cuz they are so darn cute.
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