Discover 17 Birds With Beautiful Multicolor Beaks

The bird world is full of amazing beaks with a wonderful diversity of not just form and function, but also color! Check out this collection of some of nature’s most beautiful multicolor bird beaks.

1. Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus)

The bateleur’s tricolored beak is black at the tip, golden yellow in the middle, and scarlet at the base. The base matches the large scarlet cere above it.

2. Black-and-Red Broadbill (Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos)

While there are several species of blue-beaked broadbills, the black-and-red broadbill has the most colorful bill of them all. The vivid turquoise beak is splashed with some orange-yellow and just a touch of green.

3. Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus)

The capped heron’s turquoise facial skin leads into a long pointed beak tinted with pretty shades of blue, purple, and gray.

4. Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

All spoonbills boast delightful ladle-shaped beaks, of course. However, the Eurasian spoonbill jazzes things up with a black and slate zebra patterned beak and a tip that looks like it was dipped in a can of golden yellow paint!

5. Flamingos (Phoenicopteridae)

Like a few other bird taxa that follow, all flamingos make this list collectively for their famously fabulous multicolored beaks. Bill colors found in this family include various shades of pink, yellow, peach, white, and black. Representing the family of six species here is the unfairly named lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor). This underappreciated species features a beak that can display unique rich hues of deep purple, in addition to highlights of scarlet and pink and a black tip.

6. Hornbills (Bucerotidae)

Once again, an entire family of birds makes this list, as incredible multicolored beaks are a common feature of hornbills. Unlike toucans, however, for which they are sometimes confused, hornbills accessorize their beaks with matching casques on top! Furthermore, hornbill beaks and casques get their bright highlights not from pigments in the beak itself, but rather from preening oils. Representing the family of 60 species here is the rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), whose white and black bill is cosmetically colored with shades of red, orange, and yellow.

7. King Eider (Somateria spectabilis)

The male king eider sports a scarlet bill that may simply be white-tipped or may transition to a purplish band with a paler tip. Either way, a bright yellow frontal lobe outlined in black tops it off.

8. Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

All swans have lovely beaks, but the mute swan has the best of the bunch. Its porcelain-like bill is glazed with a combination of reddish-orange and dull pink ringed with bold black.

9. Pallas’s Gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus)

The Pallas’s gull has a multicolored beak banded in shades of red, orange, yellow, and black.

10. Puffins (Fratercula spp.)

There are three species of puffins, and they all have large triangular beaks that become brightly colored and decorated with fleshy gape rosettes during the breeding season. Each species has its own unique take on the basic red-orange-yellow bill color scheme. Representing the family here is the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), whose breeding season beak is painted coral and blue-gray with highlights of paler blue-gray and yellow, topped off with a bright yellow rosette. Meanwhile, the tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) displays a mostly orange bill with dull green plates and a red rosette, while the horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata) sports a beak that is yellow and red with a yellow or orange rosette.

11. Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus)

The purple gallinule accessorizes its colorful plumage with a brightly colored beak. It has a yellow tip and a red base topped off with a powder-blue frontal plate.

12. Red-Footed Booby (Sula sula)

While the blue-footed booby is well-known for its unusually colored feet, its cousin the red-footed booby is the one with the more colorful beak. This beak brightens up during the breeding season, displaying pearlescent hues of pale blues and greens. It is complimented with patches of bright blue, pink, and black skin in the areas surrounding the base.

13. Rosy-Billed Pochard (Netta peposaca)

The rosy-billed pochard gets its name from the male’s rose-pink beak, accentuated with a crimson knob at the base and a black nail at the tip.

14. Saddle-Billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

The saddle-billed stork gets its name from the yellow “saddle” (a fleshy lappet) that tops off its stunning red and black beak.

15. Silver Teal (Spatula versicolor)

While there are several species of beautiful blue-billed ducks, the male silver teal earns a place on this list with its powder-blue bill accentuated with a black stripe and a patch of bright yellow.

16. Toucans (Ramphastidae)

There are 43 species in the toucan family, variously called toucans, toucanets, and aracaris — and they all have super-sized, multicolored beaks! Representing the family here is the keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus), whose beak is exceptionally colorful even by toucan standards.

17. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

Last but certainly not least, the male wood duck boasts not only some of the most colorful plumage in the duck world but one of the most colorful beaks as well. Its bill is an eye-catching mix of scarlet, yellow, white, and black.

Summary of Discover 17 Birds With Beautiful Multicolor Beaks

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