I’m probably boring, but I have to say budgerigar. They are amazing little fellows! :D
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I absolutely adore the lilac-breasted roller! They have interesting colors yet they’re still muted enough to make them look sort of soft and dreamy. Though I have to give an honorable mention to the red avadavat; they remind me of little strawberries!
I’ve never had the luxury of observing either species though, so my favorite that I’ve personally encountered would have to be the american goldfinch. I don’t see them often so any time I do it’s a highlight of my day. They’re like little drops of sunshine with wings! :)
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If we had to see and hear only one bird, it would be Common Raven. We love their appearance and vocalizations. We really appreciate all the Corvids we’ve seen.
Runner up is Red-breasted Nuthatch. Their appearance and sounds also fill us with joy.
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I cannot say I have a favorite bird, but if I am particularly fond of shorebirds.
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That’s a tough one, but my favorites are old world sparrows. I’m also fond of the osprey and ravens.
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Oh, Sparrows can be cute for sure… - In summer one of them liked to sit on one of my garden chairs. - As if he wanted to say: “Remember, that’s my chair!”
- Sparrows got one or two of their group normaly to check out the area, before they call the others, as I have learnt… - So I am assuming the chair-sparrow is/was one of the check-the-area-out-birds.
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Gyrfalcon. Only seen them a few times, but I’m always gobsmacked!
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I was really tempted to respond with someone’s name as my favorite “bird” but I don’t know how people feel about that term these days.
Depends on whether there is an impenetrable fence between me and the bird or not. If yes, then cassowary (any of the species); otherwise any corvids.
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I am also a big fan of the rollers. In my country we get this one
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196184863
I presume it is their flying acrobatics the give them their name. Why this one is called a dollar $ bird mystifies me though.
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Dollarbirds are called dollarbirds because of the blue coin-shaped spots on its wings.
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My two top favorites are Turkey Vultures and Cedar Waxwings.
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Wow, that’s a pretty one!
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Barn Swallows! I love the simplicity of them. The navy metallic blue, rusty red and cream colour scheme, the tail streamers that trail behind them as they fly are very charming. Their songs are cute, that twittering chatter followed by the churr at the end. I once heard it described as “budgie-like”, which perfectly sums it up for me. The sheer aerobatics they do in the air too, swerving, fluttering and whizzing around catching insects. And the fact that they signal the beginning of summer, which for me is always the nicest time of the year. So yeah, they’re my favourite. :)
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I just remember that Harpies are very beautiful.
I adore the Roseate Spoonbill. I still haven’t had the chance to go somewhere where it lives, sadly.
I also love the Wilson’s Storm Petrel, the Chipping Sparrow, and the Sandhill Crane.
Outside the US, I would say my favorites are the Southern Red Bishop, the Apostlebird, and the Bateleur.
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About a week ago I was called out to rescue a “Bird stuck in tree”. Not knowing what to expect, but upon seeing it, also not being overly surprised…
It was an easy rescue and release.
Having seen this birds antics many time, it was well deserving of bird of the year when it won. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/15/new-zealand-bird-of-the-year-drunk-gluttonous-kereru-pigeon-wins
So the Kereru ranks high for me.
But Usually for me its got to go to Weka https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=324879
I see them every day, and in the National Park Visitor Centre we are asked to ID them every day. They are a quirky bird, great at gaining the attention of visitors to my region.
Outside of that, like everyone, there are many I love, several I am lucky to work with like the bird I handle the most Westland Petrel https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=4138
Often, my fave bird, is the one I am watching at the time.
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It’s hard to pick a favorite but if I had to, it would probably be the fish crow (Corvus ossifragus). Much of my life I have lived in regions where this crow is common, and I absolutely love them.
I love how they sound, the funny nasal “caws” they make, the “unh-unh” call, and the way they almost quack like ducks when they get pissed off. The sound that they make when they are mad is very relatable, like a sort of “mrrrrh mrrrh mrrrrrh!!!” Like when something makes me grumpy, I want to make that sound too.
I also find they are less afraid of humans and a bit more tame than American crows. Where I live, they seem to prefer being either in wetlands, or in cities or towns. Sometimes they mix with American crows but they are usually separate.
I also have observed their calls and notice that they are highly strucutred and they have non-random structure in them. For example, they will often sit somewhere making sequences of different caws, like maybe 3…then pause, then 5, then pause, etc. And if you count the number of “caws” they make, and look at a probability distribution of them, they do not follow a distribution suggesting a random process. I.e. this suggests to me that there is more information contained in the number of caws, unlike, say, chickadee calls which tend to follow a simpler logic of “more dees = more alarm”.
I also have a hilarious story about some fish crows. I once saw one sitting on a lamp post, and a large gull came and kicked it off. I was waiting for one of my friends to pick me off. The crow started making it usual scolding call, circled the gull for a while, swiped at it a few times while calling, and then flew off.
About 5 minutes later it came back with a huge group of fish crows which all attacked the gull, driving it off the light post. Then a crow, presumably the original one, sat on the post and gloated: “Mrrrh mrrrrh mrrrrrrh mrrrh mrrrrh!!”
It was so funny it always cracks me up to even think about it. I was already a huge fan of these birds but I became an even bigger fan that day.
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Whenever I tell people that I like birds this is the question I’m always asked. And it’s such a difficult question because really, there is actually not a single species of bird that I do not love. I tried to make a list of my favourite birds and I stopped at 591.
Probably the birds that consistently top the list is Nuthatches (I love them all, but the Red-breasted would probably be my favourite since it’s the one I’m most familiar with). Another one that a lot of none birders don’t get when I say is Pigeons, they were one of the birds that got me into birding, they actually aren’t really that common in Calgary where I live. Like they’re a common sight but not nearly to the degree of places like London or New York. I find pigeons and all species of doves very charismatic and friendly birds.
Some bird families and genus that I really like are swallows, sparrows, seedeaters, warblers, atlapetes finches, ibises, and cranes.
But some of my all time favourites are the Carolina wren, Bananaquit, Capped conebill, and Black-throated green warbler.
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