I do love lists. I’ve presented wish lists before (Yellowstone and overall bucket lists), but I don’t think I’ve ever ranked my favorite animals. It’s too difficult a task, but in recent years I was fortunate to encounter some new bird species that really amazed me. I walked away from those encounters thinking, “that’s a new Top Ten bird!” These thoughts resurfaced a couple times, so I decided for such statements to be true, I’d better actually establish my Top Ten… even if it’s only temporary.
This wasn’t easy, and I’ve quite possibly forgotten a couple species that belong on this list somewhere. In fact, I was adding and removing species as I started writing this article. I’ve also included quite a few photos, so I’ve decided to split the list into two different posts. Part 2 will be published next week.
And no, in case you’re wondering it’s not ten owls. Also important to note: this is strictly confined to birds I’ve seen.
Honorable Mention
As if I could limit myself to just ten! Here are a few of the runners-up…
Resplendent Quetzal
Some of you may be shocked by this. One of the world’s most spectacular birds, and undoubtedly one of the most stunning birds I’ve ever photographed… didn’t make the top ten?! Maybe this is just to prove that I’m not all about looks. There’s no doubt the quetzal was one of my top birds targets around a decade ago, and the Costa Rica tour I lead every few years still sports its name. But we’ve sort of deemphasized this beauty, in part because everyone else is so focused on it.
The Resplendent Quetzal, as you can see from the pictures, is a bird that definitely lives up to its moniker. The iridescent green, a deep red belly, a subtle crest… and that tail! It’s all about the tail, isn’t it? That’s how the quetzal—with fluttering feathers resembling slithering snakes, akin to a Meso-American serpent god—earned its name. And that’s what everyone comes to see.
Back in 2013 I made my first visit to Costa Rica’s central highlands, where we had a number of nice encounters with some mature males. And many of the encounters were on our own. Perhaps my favorite photo is the portrait in which most of the bird is missing. You simply get the idea that those long feathers will not fit in the nest.
Since those early visits, the place blew up with activity. Gone are the days wandering the canyon road on one’s own and encountering this fairy creature peacefully. Now you’re trailing a mob of 50-60 birders, all pursuing clear views of the same bird. That experience began to grow stale rather quickly, and now we no longer visit the area on my tours. But we still search for the quetzal elsewhere, and when we do see it, it’s a major treat.
Perhaps it’s unfair to this marvel that it’s been knocked down a few pegs simply because of the attention it’s received, but it simply doesn’t excite me as much as it once did.
Orange-collared Manakin
I admit it, I love manakins! And pretty much have since I was introduced to my first, the Orange-collared, way back during our first Costa Rica visit in 2005. We hired a guide (who happened to be a ranger) to show us Carara National Park. Back then, there were fewer rules in place, and he almost immediately took us off-trail and into the jungle. Imagine walking through the thicket, when suddenly you encounter a small, fiery borb, perched below eye level!
It’s a moment that stuck with me, and eventually I was excited to add other manakin species, such as the White-collared and Blue-crowned, during subsequent Costa Rica trips.
Manakins are almost universally small, rotund, and cute. They often sport impressive coloration, and are known for their intricate (and noisy) courtship rituals. The Red-capped (I have middling photos) does the famous moonwalk. The Long-tailed (glimpsed, not photographed) males line up and take turns dancing for a female. The Orange-collared? He bounces back and forth between lower branches, clicking with each mad hop.
Over the years I’ve added more manakins in South America, including the White-crowned and Snow-capped just last year.
I’ve seen the Orange-collared several times since that first encounter, mostly in Carara, but also in Corcovado National Park.
It will remain a sentimental favorite, and for me, a fine representative of one of my favorite rainforest bird families.
Southern Carmine Bee-eater
When I finally saw this species in Zambia back in 2021, it was an instant “Top Ten Bird!” At first, it was just one individual, then another…
They were just reaching Lower Zambezi National Park for their nesting season. By the time I got to South Luangwa National Park, I was seeing dozens or hundreds at a time. And what a spectacle that was! I had never seen a bird this color before. It’s even more beautiful in person, especially when viewed en masse. They’re also much bigger than the other bee-eater species I had seen to that point. It’s no wonder I was blown away, and I was excited to see them again when I returned in 2023.
So why has it slipped out of my Top Ten? Well, I’ve added a few more TTBs since then, and when it came time to review and rank my list, I was surprised to see that the Southern Carine just missed the cut. But #11 is still pretty good, isn’t it?
My Top Ten Birds
Okay, let’s count it down. It was tough trying to settle on an order in some cases. Honestly, I don’t think I have a clear-cut Number 1, and if you ask me next week, my opinion may change…
10) Williamson’s Sapsucker
The bird I almost forgot about, so I guess it’s the one that kicked the Carmine off the list. It’s not surprising that a member of the family Picidae makes the list (informally, the Woodpeckers… not the last one on this list). After owls, Woodpeckers are probably the type of bird that gets me most excited in the field. I even published my first Woodpeckers calendar this past year, and it’ll be back as part of the Classic calendar collection for 2026. Anyway, this bird made it in there.
I wasn’t even aware of this species until my so-called “Worst Yellowstone Trip Ever” in 2011. That was the one where I kept missing all the exciting mammals and got stuck with bird encounters. During my first encounter, I remember being gobsmacked by the variety of color on a North American woodpecker. The male is such a cool looking bird, but the female should not be discounted.
Though female birds are often designed to be drab on purpose, the barred back and yellow belly are standout features on her.
I also dig the telltale sapsucker latticework pattern they leave in the bark of trees as they’re coaxing sap to flow. Gotta love birds that mix looks with cool behavior!
9) Marvelous Spatuletail
Yes, it’s the world’s most spectacular hummingbird. In fact, I often group it with the Replendent Quetzal in my mind… two long-tailed marvels virtually unmatched by their cousins. This also happens to be one of the world’s more endangered hummingbirds. It’s only found in one small area of Peru, with an estimated population of 1000 birds or fewer.
Of course it’s a showoff simply because of that extended bum, but the Spatuletail doesn’t let its namesake rackets go to waste. The mid-air courtship dance—during which the male bobs in mid-air, with tail feathers raised in a lyre shape—is something to behold. There are also a lot of subtle colors on this bird beyond the gorgeous purples and blues. While I was in a lek, I used a bit of flash at times, which brought out surprising flecks of gold.
As I mentioned in my didn’t-appreciate-birds article (linked above), the Spatuletail is meaningful to me because it was a big reason I developed more of a fondness for avian subjects. It was the surprise highlight of my photo year in 2012, and though I’m unlikely to ever see it again, the species holds a special place in my heart.
8) Horned Puffin
Puffins were, surprisingly perhaps, absent from my collection until just a couple years ago. We have puffins in Washington, but mostly in places further afield (or in protected areas that are inaccessible). During my 2018 Ireland visit, we were a few weeks too early to see Atlantic Puffins along the coast. So it wasn’t until my 2023 Alaska tour that I finally had a chance to photograph some at close range.
We did see some Tufted Puffins, but the Horned Puffins provided the main show. I was instantly smitten. These small clowns are terribly photogenic, and they remained quite active. Capturing flight shots was a welcome challenge as they zoomed back to land and their nest sites.
Thus far, I’ve only had that one solid day outing with them (in harsh light, no less), but it was enough to land this bird on my Top Ten list. I’m looking forward to seeing them again when I return to Alaska in a few months.
7) Ocellated Turkey
And just like that, it’s getting very hard to rank the rest of my list. As I sort through the remaining candidates and debate would I rather see this one or that one? I keep vacillating. Ultimately long-term relationships with birds I have known for many, many years won out over most of the recent discoveries. This is one of the birds I’ve only started to get to know.
The Ocellated Turkey was a top goal during our Belize visit in 2023. I, of course, was looking forward to seeing this shimmering warty spectacle in person. But I also alerted our son, then six, to its existence. He was suddenly pumped up to see this bird as well, and this is a boy who to that point had only shown a modicum of enthusiasm for bison. So we went to Belize, and we soon found our first Ocellated Turkey. And then more. And more…
Most impressive to me is that my son wouldn’t stop geeking out about them! He even started singing an Ocellated Turkey song (minimal lyrics, repeated over and over, so I’ll spare you). His enthusiasm for the turkey definitely elevates it here, but there’s no question it’s a remarkable species. Even more photogenic than our own wild turkeys in the US, and perhaps a bit odd with all those colorful nodules dotting its face.
It’s hard to deny this bird from a spot on the Top Ten, even without the personal connection!
6) Harlequin Duck
My affinity for the Harlequin Duck developed over the course of my repeated spring trips to Yellowstone, something I touch on in this old article. Though I made my first late spring trip to the park in 2007, I didn’t become aware of the Harlequins that migrate through Yellowstone at that time of year until 2009. That’s when I first went to LeHardy Rapids to photograph them. Now it’s a must-see any time I’m in the park in May.
This the perfect spot to photograph this species, but conditions have to be right. First, you need birds! They start to arrive around the second week of May. You can find as many as twenty pairs of ducks hanging out in this one location, but soon they’re moving on. In the following weeks you just don’t know what you’ll get. I love LeHardy Rapids for these birds because it gives you a chance to photograph their whitewater antics—Harlequins are divers, and have no problem navigating gushing water and diving beneath the maelstrom in search of food—and to highlight the environment itself.
In 2012 I returned to the park in the second week of June, only to be surprised by a pair of late-arriving Harlequins. Not only was the water rushing even more thanks to added snow melt, but it happened to be overcast (even snowing when we showed up). It was the perfect excuse to work on the challenging long-exposure shot at the rapids which so many people hope to achieve.
The difficulty is not capturing the rapids, but making sure the ducks stay still long enough during the long exposure. I have yet to fully replicate the success of that 2012 visit when it comes to these shots, but I still return every time.
I admit that I probably ding this species a bit because the females are relatively drab (contrast this with the Torrent Duck of South America, which displays much the same behavior, but both males and females look dynamic in their own right… still, the Harlequin is cuter). The male lives up to his name thanks to that dynamic plumage (as well as their scientific name, Histrionicus histrionicus). Combined with his antics in and around the water, he’s the top duck in my book!
