Top 10 Tiny, Cute Colourful Birds and Their Sounds
Human Love for Cheerful, Tiny and Colourful Birds
We all love birds but tiny and cute birds attract us more. Many prefer to have them as pets because they are colourful and a few of them sing or can be taught to mimic. Children may be excited to play with these cheerful creatures and enjoy their melody.
There are so many species of tiny birds and our affection for them varies from region to region. Some are commonly found in different parts of the globe but many of these species are specific to certain countries or regions.
Presented below are ten colourful, tiny birds along with videos to familiarise the readers with their melodious sounds.
#1. Japanese White Eye
This tiny bird, also called mejiro, is a native of Japan and is very active passerine. Ranging between 4 to 4.5 inches, this light weighted songbird has earned its name because of a white ring around its eyes. It is olive green on its back, green on its forehead and yellow on throat. It is monogamous by nature but is very sociable.
Japanese white eyes are found in flocks of 5 to 20 birds and are fond of acrobats. Foliage of trees and shrubs are their natural habitat. They like fruit, insects and nectar. Apart from Japan, they are also found throughout the Indian region, China, Vietnam, Philippines and Taiwan.
Honey eater native of New Zealand, Tui is a multi-coloured passerine bird. It has two white tufts of feather on its throat because of which it has earned the name parson bird also. Tui is aggressive and territorial making loud sounds at times resembling rude voice of human beings. Sometimes, the voice is complicated as it may have grunts and wheezes but It is intelligent to imitate also.
Apart from nectar, they eat fruit, insects, seeds and even pollen. Their beaks are shaped to fit in the flowers of the plants like kowhai, flax, helping pollination. They can be seen in forests, off-shore islands and towns. Attractive tuis are commonly seen in urban Wellington, either singly or in pairs.
#3. Brown Thrasher
Brown Thrasher is, perhaps, one of the best songbirds of eastern and central United States. It is also found in Southern and Central Canada. It has brown colour on the upper parts and white on the chest. Its eyes are bright-yellow.
They prefer to have their nests in shrubs, thickets and small trees. They are omnivorous and love to eat nuts, seeds, berries and insects. There is a decline in their numbers due to habitat loss but they still continue to be quite common and melodious birds.
Wren is really a small and compact brown passerine bird seen singing in the morning. With nearly 80 species they are distributed from Alaska and Canada to Southern Argentina. Eurasian Wren is found outside Americas, in Europe, Asia and Northern Africa.
They have a wide ranging habitat like farmlands, marshy lands, mountain grasslands, Oak wood, Beach wood. Central and South American residents remain there all the year round but some of them from temperate region migrate.
Their nests are dome-shaped and they are normally insectivorous but may eat seeds and berries. In spite of their being tiny creatures they can make loud noises, specially on territorial issues.
#5. Baltimore Oriole
Baltimore Oriole is popular on two counts. Firstly, it is an official state bird of Maryland. Secondly, it is in common with the very old state professional baseball team, called Baltimore Orioles. But the real attraction is its sharp orange-golden coloured underparts with patches at shoulder level. Its combination with black head and black wings makes it a brightly coloured bird.
It is found in Eastern North America as a migratory bird. They forage in trees and shrubs but they frequent wood lands to eat insects, caterpillars, berries and love nectar as well. In the backyards they love to have oranges and nectar.
#6. Zebra Finch
Zebra finch's main attraction is its colour pattern. With grey head, black and white tail, orange beak and white teardrop it looks distinctive. Chestnut cheeks and typically barred throat is another feature of the males.
This songbird is common in Australia but is also found in some parts of Asia and has been introduced in the USA and Brazil. Their habitat is tropical savanna type grassland and forests.They are loud singer and are noisy too but still very popular as pets. They prefer eating seeds and their beaks help them to dehusk even small seeds. They prefer to stay near water and need water regularly when in captivity.
#7. Red-Whiskered Bulbul
Member of the bulbul family, Red-whiskered Bulbul is a passerine bird and got its name because of the red whisker patch below its eyes. It has tall pointed black crest, long tail, brown upper parts and white cheek patches. It is mainly found in tropical Asia, Pakistan, India and China, but it has been introduced in other parts of the world including North America and Australia. There are many sub-species and there are plumage variations.
It is commonly found in bushes, shrubs, farmlands and woodlands and is kept in cages also. Its preferred food is small insects, berries and fruit. It is also recognised by the calls which are three to four notes and loud.
#8. Scarlet Tanager
Scarlet Tanager is a brilliantly coloured American songbird. It has gorgeous blood-red body with jet-black tail and wings. But its female is differently coloured, yellowish on the underparts and olive on the top including tail which is short and broad.
It is difficult to trace them because of their foraging in undisturbed forests like oak trees of eastern North America. They migrate to northwestern parts of South America during April. They are known for their songs and it takes time to trace them by their sound or when they are out to catch insects. They eat insects and fruit and are capable to catch insects in flight.
#9. Yellow-Breasted Chat
Yellow-breasted Chat is a large warbler with bright yellow breast, white abdomen and olive-green upper parts. It has blackish legs and white eye rings and also a long tail.
During summers they are found in North America, Canadian southern plains and Mexico. They migrate to tropics during winter. They are omnivorous, but they like insects and berries. Their nests are quite bulky having bark and leaves, which are concealed in a dense bush.
They often sing at night and their number is declining due to habitat loss in eastern North America.
It is another song bird with red crest over its head. It has brilliant crimson red colour with a black mask on the face in males though it becomes duller in the wings. It has a strong beak which is cone shaped. As a ground feeder, it likes grains, weed seeds though can also eat insects.
Basically a North-American, it can be found in Eastern United States and in Southern Canada as well. It is found in bushy woodlands, gardens and shrub lands. It has many sub-species.