EXPLORING NATURE: UGLY BIRD

Some birds are visions of loveliness, so very good looking they take your breath away.

My favorites in terms of avian attractiveness would probably be the resplendent quetzal, with its marvelous tail feathers and the greater bird of paradise, with its bright green throat and long, trailing yellow feathers.

Also very pretty, although in a more low-key way, are the splendid starling, with an iridescent play of colors ranging from violet to green, yellow and blue.

And, of course, the peacock must be considered, with its magnificent tail feathers that beg to be admired.

While these birds represent the best in birding beauty, there is one particular bird that I would rate as easily the ugliest. I speak of the imposing marabou stork, a tall scavenger I encountered on a trip to sub-Saharan Africa.

This ugly specimen has a long, nearly naked throat, with a sparse coating of fine bristle feathers. Its red-hued face looks mud-spattered from all the blotching of the skin and it has beady little eyes. It has a massive gray beak and is referred to as “the undertaker bird.” This bird’s picture should be in the dictionary to illustrate the word “ugly.”

Between the extreme beauty of the birds of paradise and the outright ugliness of the marabou stork, most birds are simply attractive in a subdued way. The northern cardinal certainly looks great against a background of winter snow, and the Andean cockof-the-rock is very lovely with its distinctive Roman-helmet crest.

And, truth be told, my faithful Carolina chickadees and tufted titmice are handsome little birds I would not trade for a strutting peacock.