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30 Birds When They’re Babies Versus All Grown Up
There’s a reason why the cute baby animal pics scene is dominated by mammals like kitties and bunnies, but you don’t see a lot of baby birds. It’s because most of them have some serious awkward phases (with the exception of ducks and chickens… they seem to be blessed with looking cute in their baby pictures.) Where do you think the tale of the Ugly Duckling comes from? Apparently, it takes a while to grow a majestic and functional coat of feathers, and they can look pretty silly in the meantime.
Scroll down to see some impressive bird glow-ups. We bet you didn’t know what at least a few of these birds looked like as babies. Upvote the ones that surprise you the most!
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#1
Cardinal
Everyone loves seeing cute, red cardinals outside their window. They're so popular that they have been designated the state bird of seven states in the US: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.
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#2
Peacock
Technically, only the males of this species are peacocks, while the females are peahens, and all of them together are peafowl. Also, technically, a group of them is called an "ostentation" or a "pride", but we probably won't remember either of those rules.
MagicalUnicorn 6 years ago
i was always impressed how adorable peachick eyes are, almost like he used liner
#3
Tuffted Puffin
Puffins' feet and beaks only turn orange during their spring breeding season. Conveniently for them, that's also the only time when they come ashore, so we only have photos of them looking their best.
#4
Barn Owl
Barn owls don't actually hoot, they only screech. Mood.
#5
Grey Crowned Crane
The grey-crowned crane, one of the flashiest members of the crane family, lives in south and east Africa and is the national bird of Uganda.
#6
Toco Toucan
The size of a toucan's bill can make predators think that it isn't worth trying to catch one, but it's so light and delicate that it's not actually useful for self-defense.
#7
Chicken
It only takes 21 days for a fertilized chicken egg to form a fluffy little chick like this one, but it takes a lot of work. A hen turns the egg over at least 50 times a day so it can remain in the center of the egg and grow normally.
Jacob-Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 6 years ago
This is weird but my 86(?) Year old grandmother has a phobia of baby chicks like this. Freaks her out.
#8
Goffin's Cockatoo
If you haven't had any kind of cockatoo as a pet before, you probably didn't know that they produce dust. It keeps their feathers clean, but does the opposite for the bird owner's home.
#9
Peregrine Falcon
Falcons can be trained to be bird security guards and keep other birds away from places where they could cause trouble, like landfills or vineyards.
#10
Chaffinch
Chaffinches are some of the most common singing birds, but maybe "singing" isn't the right word, as they actually have at least 9 calls with consistent and discrete meanings.
#11
Bleeding-Heart Pidgoen
#12
House Martin
#13
Hummingbird
Most of hummingbirds' functions happen too quickly for humans to even perceive: their wings flap at least 50 times per second, their heart rate is about 20 beats per second, and they can stick out and withdraw their tongues 20 times per second while feeding.
#14
Pileated Woodpecker
Woodpeckers' disporportionately long tongues wrap around the skull, like a tape measure.
#15
Golden Pheasant
Golden pheasants are native to the forests of China, but they've been imported and formed feral populations on every continent but Antarctica, because everyone wants some golden pheasants, I guess.
#16
Gannet
#18
Tit
#21
Mallard Duck
Carol Emory 6 years ago
We used to have Mallards around our campus river. I loved it during the spring because there'd be dozens of those little ducklings running around trying their best to keep up with mom....
#22
Mississippi Kite
#23
Grey Headed Albatross
#24
Bald Eagle
#25
Night Heron
#26
Pigeon
#27
White Tern
#28
Gentoo Penguin
#29
Flamingo
Rabbit Carrot 6 years ago
True story: they’re only pink because of canthaxanthin that they obtain from their diet of brine shrimp and blue-green algae.
#30
Turkey
#31
Gyrfalcon
#32
Killdeer
#33
Shoebill Stork
#34
Kea
Jacob-Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 6 years ago
He looks like he's been dusting under my bed with his body.
#36
Robin Bird
Rabbit Carrot 6 years ago
The European Robin. The North American Robin is vastly different and, sadly, not as pretty.
#37
Blue Jay
#39
Red-Winged Blackbird
#40
Grey Parrot
#41
Dove
#42
Kiwi
#43
Red-Tailed Hawk
#44
Black-Winged Stilt
#45
Red Tailed Tropic Bird
#47
Marabou Stork
#48
House Sparrow
#49
Chinese Bamboo Partridge
#50
Red Wattled Lapwing
#51
American White Pelican
#52
Turkey Vulture
#53
Subalpine Warbler
#54
Red-Vented Bulbul
#55
Caique
#56
North American Robin
#57
Andean Condor
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What do you think ?
Alusair Alustriel 6 years ago
Fantastic gallery :D It's amazing how some of the birds change totally when grown up :D
JustAAnotherGirl 6 years ago
Why the hell are there stupid sex spam posts everywhere??? Pleas fix them!
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glorytherainwing 6 years ago
ive encountered so many of these birds. guess im a chick magnet ;)
Jacob-Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 6 years ago
Bored panda please stop shortening the lists! If someone is bored mid list then they can move on but are missing out on so much if the list is shortened and don't click on the extra images!
Agnė Žagūnienė 6 years ago
"Note: this post originally had 57 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes." this is written after 30th photo. if you click on the "57 images" you can watch them all ;)
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Alusair Alustriel 6 years ago
Fantastic gallery :D It's amazing how some of the birds change totally when grown up :D
JustAAnotherGirl 6 years ago
Why the hell are there stupid sex spam posts everywhere??? Pleas fix them!
Load More Replies... glorytherainwing 6 years ago
ive encountered so many of these birds. guess im a chick magnet ;)
Jacob-Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 6 years ago
Bored panda please stop shortening the lists! If someone is bored mid list then they can move on but are missing out on so much if the list is shortened and don't click on the extra images!
Agnė Žagūnienė 6 years ago
"Note: this post originally had 57 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes." this is written after 30th photo. if you click on the "57 images" you can watch them all ;)
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