20 Most Beautiful Birds in the World (Pics)

There are so many different types of birds, it has been challenging to choose the 20 most beautiful birds in the world. Wherever you go in the world you’re likely to see a bird or hear them sing. Whether you’re in a city, up a mountain, in the rainforest, or even the desert, they’ll be at least one of 10,000 species of birds in the world living there.

Northern Cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus): It has hard and stiff black plumage, blue facial skin and a casque on top of the head. It has a bright red or yellow colored neck and wattle. The feet are huge and strong with long, dagger-like claw on its inner toe. The sexes are similar. The male, at 30 to 37 kg , is smaller than female, at an average of 58 kg , making it the world's fourth-heaviest living bird species after the common ostrich, Somali ostrich and the similarly-sized southern cassowary. These birds measure 149 cm long and stand 1.5–1.8 m in height. Compared to the southern cassowary, the northern cassowary has a slightly shorter bill, at 12 to 13.7 cm , but a slightly longer tarsal length, at 28 to 33.2 cm . Due to ongoing habitat lost and overhunting in some areas, the Northern Cassowary is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with hunting being the biggest threat. Image credit: bayucca on Flickr