Most Colorful Birds on the Planet (And Where to Find Them)

12. Andean Cock-of-the-Rock
Latin name: Rupicola peruvianus
Unique colorful feature: Bright reddish-orange head, throat, breast, and shoulders
Where they are found: Northwestern South America
Size: Length: 13 inches long (32 cm); Mass weight: 8 ounces (220 g)
Diet: fruit and small amphibians

These birds get their name from the fact that they love to hang out on rocks and ledges in the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains from Venezuela to Bolivia.

They can sometimes be seen feeding among fruit trees, but they will also eat small amphibians.

Peru’s national bird is easily recognized by its bright orange crest, head, chest, and shoulders. Gray wings and black underparts complete this bird’s colorful attire. The female is duller, rusty brown than orange.
Highly polygamous, the male cock-of-the-rock spends a great deal of his time strutting his stuff to attract as many females as he can with head bobbing, wing flapping and bowing.

A female will peck at the male’s neck when she chooses him for a mate. Afterward, the female will raise her brood of usually two chicks by herself.