Beautiful Birds with Crazy Hair [images + IDs]

Step into the whimsical world of birds with the most unconventional and quirky hairstyles! If you’re intrigued by the idea of avian creatures flaunting hairdos that range from bizarre to absolutely outrageous, you’re in for a delightful treat.

In this blog post, we’re diving deep into the realm of nature’s creativity, showcasing a captivating array of birds that sport the craziest and most captivating hair. From the wacky to the wonderful, we’ve curated a lineup that will leave you in awe of the remarkable diversity found in the avian kingdom.

List of Beautiful Birds with Crazy Hair

Golden Pheasant

• Scientific name: Chrysolophus pictus
• Lifespan: 13 years
• Size: 44 inches
• Native to: Western China

The Golden Pheasant is a highly colorful bird native to China. It has a bright yellow crest on the top of its head, blending into orange and black feathers along its wings and upperparts. The base of its cape features bright blue feathers, while its underside is covered with bright red plumage. This stunning bird prefers mixed woodlands as its habitat, and despite its vibrant appearance, it can be challenging to spot.

Nicobar Pigeon: Native to Indian islands, the Nicobar Pigeon is a fancy-looking bird closely related to the now-extinct Dodo. It is covered with long, brightly colored feathers ranging from pale blue to electric blue and neon green. The Nicobar Pigeon sports a long, gray crest and bib, making it quite striking in appearance.

Victoria Crowned Pigeon

• Scientific name: Goura victoria
• Lifespan: 20-25 years
• Size: 24 – 28 inches
• Native to: New Guinea

The Victoria-Crowned Pigeon is a bird with elegant-looking feathers that sit atop its head. It boasts beautifully-colored feathers in shades of blue and purple across the rest of its body, with purple spotted legs. Named after Queen Victoria, this pigeon is native to New Guinea and prefers woodlands as its habitat. It feeds on seeds, nuts, fruit, and insects.

Royal Flycatcher (birds with red crest)

• Scientific name: Onychorhynchus
  
• Lifespan: 6 years
• Size: 5.9 in
• Native to: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela

The Royal Flycatcher may appear mostly brown, but during the breeding season, it reveals its secret. It unfurls a magnificent crest that spreads horizontally across its head in a fan shape. This bright red crest tipped with black is used to attract a mate, making the Royal Flycatcher stand out with its fabulous feather display.

White-crested helmetshrike

• Scientific name: Prionops plumatus
• Lifespan: n/a
• Size: 45 mm 
• Native to: Africa

The White-Crested Helmetshrike is a bird native to Africa, known for two standout features. It has a bright-yellow eye wattle, resembling a tiny flower placed over its eye, and an impressive crest running from the back of its head to the base of its beak. These birds live and feed in groups, scouring their woodland habitat in search of insects to feast on.

Crested Partridge

• Scientific name: Rollulus rouloul
• Lifespan: about 5 years
• Size: 9.8 in
• Native to: South Burma, south Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo

The Crested Partridge stands out with its tall, bright red crest atop its head, beautifully contrasting with the dark blue feathers covering its body. It also features bare-skinned red patches framing each eye. Native to Southeast Asia, the Crested Partridge spends its days foraging for insects in leaf litter.

Polish Chicken

• Scientific name: Gallus gallus domesticus
• Lifespan: 7 and 8 years
• Size: n/a
• Native to: The Netherlands

The Polish Chicken is a unique breed known for its funky, 80s-style hairdo, resembling Tina Turner at the height of her fame. Its impressive plumage is so long that it can sometimes obstruct the bird’s vision. There are three varieties of Polish Chicken: frizzle, bearded, and non-bearded, all of which have the same funky-feathered crest on top of their heads. Polish Chickens are often kept as pets due to their good egg-laying capabilities, and some people also keep them as show chickens.

Tufted puffin

• Scientific name: Fratercula cirrhata
• Lifespan: 20 years
• Size: 14 inches.
• Native to: the upper latitudes of the North Pacific Ocean

The Tufted Puffin is a majestic seabird found in Northwestern States and Alaska. It has a slicked-back white crest on the top of its head, black feathers across its body, white markings around each eye, and a bright orange beak. These puffins live and nest in large groups, with some coastal areas hosting gatherings as massive as 3 million birds strong.

Silver Pheasant: The Silver Pheasant is native to the forests of China and Southeast Asia. It has white feathers that flow from the back of its head to its tail, giving it a long, flowing locks appearance. The rest of its body is covered in jet-black feathers, and it features a scarlet-red patch around each eye.

Dalmatian Pelican (Large birds with crest)

• Scientific name: Pelecanus crispus
• Lifespan: 35-54 years
• Size: 160-183 cm
• Native to: Palearctic from southeastern Europe to Russia, India, and China

The Dalmatian Pelican is a large seabird that can stand as tall as 6 feet high, with an average wingspan of 11 feet. It has shaggy, pure-white feathers and a pale yellow patch on its chest and an orange bill. This bird is found throughout Eurasia, living in freshwater rivers and lakes, where it feeds on fish, frogs, and other aquatic animals.

Crested Duck: The Crested Duck is a waterbird native to the East Indies and Europe. It has a bouffant-like crest atop its head, covered with bright white feathers and sporting an orange bill. Not all Crested Ducks have this crest; it is the result of a genetic mutation, with some chicks being born with it while others are not.

Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo

• Origin: native to eastern Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, and New Zealand
• Size: 19 inches
• Weight: 25 ounces
• Life Span: up to 70 years.

The Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo is instantly recognizable by its pale yellow mohawk, which gives it its name. It has pure-white feathers across the rest of its body, along with a pale yellow patch on its tail and wings that matches its crest. These super intelligent birds are native to New Guinea and Australia, but they are also kept as pets worldwide. In their natural habitat, they can be considered pests due to their tendency to cause destruction to timber buildings and crops.

Red-crested Turaco

• Scientific name: Tauraco erythrolophus
• Lifespan: 9 years
• Size: 19 to 20 in
• Native to:  Angola

The Red-Crested Turaco is a colorful bird native to Africa. It has vivid-green feathers across its body and a striking bright red crest that is tipped with white. The crest is relatively large, standing at around 2 inches tall compared to the rest of its body. Red-Crested Turacos live in flocks of up to 30 birds and add a burst of color to their natural habitat.

Harpy Eagle (Large birds with crest)

• Scientific name: Harpia harpyja
• Lifespan: 25-35 years
• Size: 36-40 inches
• Native to: Central and South America

The Philippine Eagle is one of the largest species of eagles in the world, standing at an average height of 3 feet tall. It features a unique hairstyle of spiky, brown feathers that frame its entire face. Unfortunately, this magnificent bird of prey is considered an endangered species and can only be found on four Philippine islands. It feeds on a variety of prey, including lemurs, monkeys, rats, snakes, flying foxes, and lizards.

Red-Whiskered Bulbul

• Scientific name: Pycnonotus jocosus
• Lifespan: 11 years
• Size: 17-23cm
• Native to: Southern Asia

Originally hailing from India, the Red-Whiskered Bulbul can now be spotted throughout the United States after escaping from an aviary in Miami. Its name comes from the distinctive red patches on each side of its face. This predominantly black and white bird boasts a striking tall, spiky black mohawk. The Red-Whiskered Bulbul is highly social and travels in flocks, actively searching for insects and fruits as its primary food sources.

Curl-crested aracari

• Scientific name: Pteroglossus beauharnaesii
• Lifespan: 18 years
• Size: 16-18 inches
• Native to: Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru

A member of the Toucan family, the Curl-Crested Aracari showcases a remarkable appearance with blue-gray wings, a red patch on its back, a pale-yellow breast, and short, spiky black and white feathers crowning the top of its head. Its oversized beak is a characteristic feature of all Toucans. This bird is native to the Amazon region and primarily feeds on fruits, although it has been known to prey on the young of other birds from their nests.

Eurasian Hoopoe

• Scientific name: Upupa epops
• Lifespan: 10 years
• Size: 9.8–12.6 in
• Native to: Europe, Asia, and the northern half of Africa

The Eurasian Hoopoe, found across Europe, North Africa, and Asia, stands out with its tall, orange crest tipped with black. This distinctive bird also possesses black and white wings, pale gray underparts, and a pale orange head. Its powerful muscles allow it to probe deep into the soil in search of insects for nourishment.

Great Crested Grebe

• Scientific name: Podiceps cristatus
• Lifespan: 19.2 years
• Size: 18–20 in
• Native to: Europe and Asia, parts of southern and eastern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand

The Great-Crested Grebe is a waterbird that undergoes a color change with the seasons. During spring and summer, the males display copper-orange markings that contrast beautifully with their black and white manes. As winter approaches, these vibrant colors fade, and they revert to their black and white appearance. The Great-Crested Grebe employs this color transformation, along with an elaborate display of rising in and out of the water and shaking its head, to attract a mate.

Red-legged Seriema

• Scientific name: Cariama cristata
• Lifespan: 20 to 30 years
• Size: 30 to 35 inches
• Native to: Central and eastern Brazil to eastern Bolivia

The Red-Legged Seriema sets itself apart from other birds with its crest rising gloriously from the top of its bright-orange beak, rather than sitting atop its head. These crest feathers are elegantly tipped with black, complementing the fine-looking brown and white feathers that cover the rest of its body. An interesting fact about the Red-Legged Seriema is that it is often employed as a guard animal by South African farmers to defend and protect their poultry livestock. With a loud call and sharp claws, it fearlessly takes on predators that pose a threat.

Grey crowned crane

• Scientific name: Balearica regulorum
• Lifespan: up to 30 years
• Size: 40 inches
• Native to: eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Kenya to southeastern South Africa.

The Gray-Crowned Crane, with its average height of 3 ft, is one of the larger birds on our list. Its striking appearance includes a crest of stiff, hair-like feathers rising high and framing its black, white, and red face. The rest of its body is adorned with long, cascading, pale-gray feathers that also possess a hair-like appearance.

Great Curassow (Large birds with hair)

• Scientific name: Crax rubra
• Lifespan: 24 years
• Size: 31–39 in
• Native to: Eastern Mexico, through Central America to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador

Native to Central America and Mexico, the Great Curassow boasts jet black feathers throughout its body and a tall, matching crest that proudly adorns the top of its head. The only burst of color on this bird is its sharp, pointed yellow beak. Often seen in groups of up to 10 birds, they are not hesitant to defend themselves and their territory, sometimes displaying aggressive behavior towards humans when feeling threatened.

Guianan cock-of-the-rock (Orange birds with hair)

• Scientific name: Rupicola rupicola
• Lifespan: about 7 years
• Size: 12 inches
• Native to: South America

This remarkable-looking bird calls South America home and prefers rocky areas where it forages for insects and seeds. Its shoulders down are jet black, while the rest of its body is a vibrant bright orange. A fluffy, bright orange crest, nearly covering its bill, adds to its eye-catching appearance.

Demoiselle Crane (Large bird with crazy hair)

• Scientific name: Grus virgo
• Lifespan: 27 years
• Size: 33.5–39.5 in
• Native to: Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Mongolia to east China

One of the smallest Crane species, the Demoiselle Crane can be easily identified by its long, white head feathers that start from the eye and extend down the neck. With a mixture of light and dark gray feathers covering its body, it embarks on an incredible migration route over the Himalayas, showcasing a dancing display to attract a mate during the breeding season.

Great Blue Turaco (Large birds with crest)

• Scientific name: Corythaeola cristata
• Lifespan: 30 yrs
• Size: 28- 30 inches
• Native to: Guinea east across Africa to the Imatong Mountains in southern Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Western Kenya and south to Democratic Replublic of Congo and Angola

Native to Africa and The Congo, the Great Blue Turaco is the largest of all Turaco species, standing at an average height of 30 inches. Adorned with blue-gray feathers, it boasts a tall, jet-black crest and a bright-yellow beak tipped with orange, adding to its majestic appearance.

Final Thoughts on Birds with Crazy Hair

In wrapping up our captivating exploration of birds with the wildest and wackiest hairstyles, we’ve delved into a realm of sheer imagination and natural marvels. From the flamboyant to the fantastically peculiar, these avian creatures have showcased an astonishing range of hairstyles that defy convention and captivate our attention.

Each of the birds we’ve encountered on this journey stands as a testament to the boundless creativity that nature embraces. As we marvel at their unique and often outrageous looks, we’re reminded of the intricate beauty that exists in every corner of the animal kingdom.