The Big List of 61 Blue Birds

The world is full of blue-feathered birds. However, all those beautiful blues seen in bird feathers are not biological pigments, but rather structural colors that are purely a trick of optics. Similar to how the sky and ocean can also look blue to us, these birds’ feathers refract light in just the right way to appear blue to our eyes. In fact, blue feather pigments simply don’t exist in the bird world, so every “blue” bird you see uses this same trick of structural color to fool your eyes! You can test this for yourself by backlighting a single blue feather, which breaks up the light magic and reveals the feather’s true pigments, gray to black melanins:

Although there are hundreds and hundreds of bird species with at least some of these amazing structural blue feathers, there are far fewer in which one or both sexes appear blue all over from head to tail. While some of the birds on this list may have a tiny bit of black, gray, and/or white feathers in the mix, they still have a predominantly blue appearance that sets them apart from other mostly blue birds with more distinct patches of non-blue feathers. See images of some of the bluest blue jewels of the bird world below, then check out the full list at the end!

(Note: black birds with just a bluish iridescence are not included on this list. However, iridescence is a form of structural color as well!)

Azure-Shouldered Tanager Thraupis cyanoptera

The Azure-shouldered tanager is native to the Atlantic Forest region of southeastern Brazil. Both the male and female are a beautiful mix of turquoise and powdery blue hues.

Blackish-Blue Seedeater Amaurospiza moesta

The blackish-blue seedeater is native to the Atlantic Forest region in South America. The male’s feathers are a dark slate-blue.

Blue Bunting Cyanocompsa parellina

The blue bunting is native to woodlands and thickets of Mexico and Central America. The male’s plumage is a mix of sky-blue, deep blue, blackish-blue, and ultramarine feathers.

Blue Coua Coua caerulea

The blue coua is endemic to Madagascar. Both the male and female are a lovely dark blue hue with a violet sheen on the wings and tail.

Blue Finch Rhopospina caerulescens

The blue finch is native to open savanna, grassland, and cerrado in parts of Brazil and Bolivia. The male’s plumage is a deep cobalt-blue to indigo-blue.

Blue-Gray Tanager Thraupis episcopus

The blue-gray tanager is distributed across Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and Trinidad and Tobago. Both the male and female are a mix of gray-blue, powder-blue, and sky-blue feathers, although the female is slightly duller.

Blue Rock-Thrush Monticola solitarius

The blue rock-thrush is widely distributed across areas of North Africa and southern Eurasia. The male’s feathers are a deep blue with spangling.

Blue Whistling-Thrush Myophonus caeruleus

The blue whistling-thrush is native to forests across portions of Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. China. Both the male and female have blackish-blue to deep blue plumage with metallic violet-blue and silvery spots, although the female is duller.

Deep-Blue Flowerpiercer Diglossa glauca

The deep-blue flowerpiercer is native to the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains in South America. Both the male and female have blue plumage, but the male is a deeper blue with the female a duller blue.

Dull-Blue Flycatcher Eumyias sordidus

The dull-blue Flycatcher is endemic to Sri Lanka. Both the male and female have gray-blue to pale blue plumage with brighter blue highlights, although the female is slightly duller.

Himalayan Shortwing Brachypteryx cruralis

The Himalayan shortwing is native to montane forests of Southeast Asia. The male’s plumage is a satiny dark blue.

Hyacinth Macaw Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus

The hyacinth macaw is native to parts of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay in South America. Both the male and female have the same cobalt-blue tinged with violet-blue plumage. (Those bits of yellow around the eye and beak are not feathers, but rather bare skin, so they still got on this list.)

Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea

The indigo bunting is a migratory species that can be found in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The male’s breeding season plumage is a vibrant blue with a purplish-blue head.

Indigo Macaw Anodorhynchus leari

The indigo macaw is an endangered species endemic to a small region in the interior of northeastern Brazil. Both the male and female have the same all-over metallic blue plumage, with small patches of yellow skin around the eye and beak similar to its close relative, the hyacinth macaw.

Javan Whistling-Thrush Myophonus glaucinus

The Javan whistling-thrush is a flycatcher native to montane forests of Java and Bali. Both the male and female are a deep, dark blue, although the female is duller and slightly browner.

Large Niltava Niltava grandis

The large niltava is native to broadleaf forests in areas of South and Southeast Asia. The male’s plumage is a mix of deep ultramarine, dark blue, and black-blue feathers.

Mountain Bluebird Sialia currucoides

The mountain bluebird is native to mountainous regions of Western North America The male is bright cerulean to turquoise above, fading to paler blue into whitish-blue below, without any of the orange coloration that other bluebird species have.

Nilgiri Flycatcher Eumyias albicaudatus

The Nilgiri flycatcher is endemic to southwestern India. The male is an all-over deep indigo-blue.

Pale Blue Flycatcher Cyornis unicolor

The pale blue flycatcher is native to forests of Southeast Asia. The male has cobalt blue plumage.

Pinyon Jay Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus

Although many of the pinyon jay’s jay cousins also have lots of blue feathers, only one other species is uniformly blue enough to appear on this list.

The pinyon jay is found in Western North America, where they nest primarily in pinyon-juniper woodlands. Both the male and female are dull grayish-blue with deeper blue on the head, although this head color is a bit duller in the female.

Royal Sunangel Heliangelus regalis

The royal sunangelEcuadorive to Ecuador and Peru. It is the only hummingbird species with males that are almost entirely blue. Their plumage is primarily deep metallic blue, with areas of indigo to violet and iridescence that vary by subspecies.

Satin Bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

The satin bowerbird is endemic to forests of eastern Australia. The male has an all-over deep, shiny, indigo-blue sheen.

Small Niltava Niltava macgrigoriae

The small niltava is native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The male is a beautiful deep sapphire blue with some bright blue and purplish-blue highlights and paler blue underparts.

Spix’s Macaw Cyanopsitta spixii

The Spix’s macaw is endemic to Brazil, although it is currently believed extinct in the wild. However, a small population exists in captivity, and there are plans to one day re-establish a wild population. Both the male and female have the same plumage, including a pale bluish-gray head and grayish-blue to violet-blue body.

Taiwan Whistling-Thrush Myophonus insularis

The Taiwan whistling-thrush is endemic to Taiwan. Both the male and female have deep dark blue to blackish-blue plumage highlighted with royal blue spangling.

Tenerife Blue Chaffinch Fringilla teydea

The Tenerife blue chaffinch is endemic to the Canary Islands. The male is a deep slate-blue to grayish-blue.

Tit-Like Dacnis Xenodacnis parina

The tit-like dacnis is native to the Andes region of Ecuador and Peru. The male’s plumage is deep blue.

Turquoise Flycatcher Eumyias panayensis

The turquoise flycatcher is native to Indonesia and the Philippines. Both the male and female are predominantly turquoise, although the female is a bit duller.

Ultramarine Grosbeak Cyanoloxia brissonii

The ultramarine grosbeak is found in two disjunct populations in South America. The male is a dark ultramarine with bright blue highlights on its head.

Unicolored Jay Aphelocoma unicolor

The unicolored jay is native to evergreen forests in Mexico and Central America. Both the male and female have the same rich indigo-blue color.

Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thalassinus

The verditer flycatcher is native to South and Southeast Asia. Both the male and female are a verditer-blue, although the female is a little duller and greyer.

White-tailed Robin Myiomela leucura

The white-tailed robin is native to forests in areas of South and Southeast Asia. The male is dark black-blue with a shiny blue forehead and shoulder patches.

The Full List of 61 Blue Birds

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Agami Photo Agency/Shutterstock.com