The wilderness is home to more than 10,000 species of birds. Among them, there are “rare and hard to find” species that have unique characteristics that set them apart from other birds. Let’s review the 7 unique bird species in the world with Current Biology Magazine’s vote.

1. Kagu. Bird

The island nation of New Caledonia (1,200 km north of Australia) is home to the Kagu bird. Kagu has been identified as the only surviving member of the genus Rhynochetos and the family Rhynochetidae.

A pair of Kagu birds can live together faithfully for life. Most of the year, males and females feed on their own. But when the breeding season arrives, they come back to incubate the eggs together.

The Kagu bird also appears on stamps and coins in New Caledonia.

The odd point of the Kagu bird is the “little nose” that no other bird has. With a small structure and a shell surrounding the nostrils, they can search for prey in the bushes and at the same time prevent sand and dust from entering the nose.

2. Frigate bird

Easter Island (Indian Ocean) is surely familiar to everyone, but the Frigate bird is probably little known. The survival of the Frigate bird was once threatened by the island’s mad weaver ants. But now their density and number have gradually stabilized.

With extremely fast and precise wind speed, frigate species are known to be top predators. Once the target is determined, no fish can escape its claws.

However, the uniqueness of this species is the ability to “steal” prey directly from the claws of other birds of prey and seagulls while they are in flight. Perhaps because of this, they were also nicknamed “sea pirates”.

3. Philippine eagle

The Philippine eagle is particularly impressive with the title “the largest raptor in the world” with a height of about 1m and a weight of 7kg. These eagles are also good hunters when no prey can escape their razor-sharp talons.

The female Filipino eagle is around 1m tall and weighs 7kg, while the “small” male plus – weighs around 5kg and is 91cm tall.

With such a great length and size, this eagle once picked monkeys as prey as well as any other animal living in their hunting grounds.

On July 4, 1995, this bird was chosen by the Philippines as the country’s mascot. If someone “accidentally” kills a Philippine eagle, they might get a chance to reflect on their actions during two years in prison.

4. Kakapo parrot

The Kakapo is the only non-flying parrot in the world with bright green plumage and a face that resembles an owl. It is a nocturnal bird, so it is not surprising that many people refer to the Kakapo as “night parrot”.

Additionally, Kakapo is the only parrot species in the world to mate only with companions of their choice. When choosing “lover”, the male birds will fight with each other and the female will choose the male bird she likes the most “as a husband”.

However, the strangest thing about Kakapo parrots is that they mate very rarely, sometimes every 2 years. This may also be one of the reasons why this species is gradually disappearing.

Currently, the remaining number of Kakapo is quite small, only 124 individuals. Therefore, until now, preventing the extinction of this species of parrot still attracts a lot of attention.

5. California vulture

The California vulture is one of the most lively birds in the world, with a lifespan of up to 60 years in the wild. Vultures are scavengers, their main food is usually rotten meat.

According to statistics from mid-2013, the number of vultures has increased by nearly 20 with the help of humans (237 individuals in the wild and 198 individuals in captivity).

The California vulture has the largest wingspan in North America and is often mistaken for a small plane.

6. Oilbird

The oil bird (South American vernacular guácaro) is a nocturnal bird that eats fruit and lives in caves. They find and locate food by echolocation, just like bats and dolphins. However, the difference is that humans can hear some of the sounds they make.

Additionally, due to their name (translated from English as oil bird), oil birds were once hunted by humans for the purpose of extracting oil for fuel.

7. Hoatzin bird

It is the last species on the list and also the most unique bird in the world. Hoatzin is the size of a pheasant, living in the Amazon rainforest and the Orinoco Plain.

Hoatzin is a “vegetarian” bird. Their food consists mainly of leaves, fruits and flowers. Although they live quite modestly, they are also nicknamed “fragrant birds” because they smell of vegetable fertilizer. Perhaps this is why they escaped human hunting because their meat could not be turned into food.

A peculiarity of this Hoatzin bird is also its alimentary digestive system similar to that of its cows. Hoatzin has a forebrain that is used to crush food and ferment it with bacteria. The kite in Hoatzin evolved with the same functions as the rumen in cows. This development made their kites very large, making them unable to fly as far as other species.

In addition, it is the only bird whose claws grow on either side of its wings. The claws of their wings keep them away from the great black hawks. When the falcon attacks, the Hoatzin parents fly away to distract, and the young birds hide under the thick feathers of the wings.

Hoatzin’s parents will dive into the water to pretend they’re dead and use their claws to hold onto to avoid being swept away. When the falcons leave, they will use their claws to climb the ground and return to the nest.