7 Beautiful Purple Birds Around The World (With Pictures)

Purple is the color of royalty and there are many types of birds out there sporting this color. Purple birds are fascinating creatures that can be found all around the world and have unique qualities about them, from being able to live in extreme environments to how rarely spotted they are. 

They are so beautiful and unique, yet few people know much about their lives or where to find them. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about these rare creatures that are just waiting to be discovered by you. 

Here are 7 purple birds from all around the world:

7 Purple Birds Of The World

Violet-backed starling

A violet-backed starling is a type of starling with its native range in central Africa, covering parts of Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. It’s typically found in dry open woodland, particularly miombo and mopane woodland. 

The adult male violet-backed starling has a purple head, wings and upper chest and white belly. The adult female is greyish-brown with dark streaks on the crown and it lacks the purple coloring of the male.

These rare purple birds feed on insects such as grasshoppers, beetles and, termites (insects), seeds and fruits (including berries). They also eat bird eggs and chicks. 

These beautiful creates are monogamous, meaning they only have one mate at a time. They build their nests in tree cavities or large hollows about 1 meter above the ground.

Crowned Woodnymph 

The Crowned Woodnymph, also known as the Crowned Plushcrown or simply Crowned, is a small rainforest hummingbird of eastern South America. Their most notable feature is their large crest-like head feathers which resemble a crown.

The light purple bird measures 4 inches (10 cm) in length and weighs approximately 0.2 oz (5.6 grams). It has a rather small bill in proportion to its body, typical of hummingbirds in general, but especially noteworthy in comparison to the larger-billed species.

These tiny giants are fond of nectar, which they feed on by hovering at flowers and clinging to them with their feet. Crowned Woodnymphs have an interest in small insects as well, especially when feeding nestlings.

Members of the species exhibit complex courtship displays, the males flying past the females while giving a series of sharp chip notes. They are socially monogamous; that is, the Crowned Woodnymph pair remain bonded until one dies or disappears. 

Purple Honeycreeper

Purple Honeycreepers are common in the canopy of wet forests throughout their range, which includes the entire Amazon Basin south of the Amazon River mouth, up to northern Argentina, and east of the Andes. 

These very rare purple birds have dark blue heads, blue wings and purple underparts.  They make nests in tree cavities and feed on insects, nectar, and fruits. 

Purple Honeycreepers are threatened by deforestation, hunting, and introduced predators. 

Purple Martin

Purple martin is a bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae, closely related to the rough-winged swallow. It is found in North and South America. In North America, it breeds from southern Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in the southwest and southern California. 

This is a migratory bird and winters in central and southern Mexico, with strays to western Panama and also the coasts of South America.

Both sexes are alike in coloration; the head, throat and upper back feathers are a rich iridescent blue-purple, shading to black on the lower back and rump. The breast is a slightly paler shade of blue than the back and is sharply demarcated from the white belly and under-tail coverts; in adult birds, the belly and undertail coverts may be rosy purple. 

Purple martins are extremely social birds that nest in colonies numbering hundreds or even thousands of pairs. They will share large nesting colonies with other swallow species. The lovely creatures have been known to share their nests with cliff swallows and “old house” swallows where those species are present, but they generally prefer to build nests apart from the other species. 

American Purple Gallinule

American purple gallinule is a colorful bird that lives in swamps in the eastern United States south through Mexico, Central America and northern South America. It can also be found in southern Canada during migration. They love to live near water because they are excellent swimmers and divers.

The purple-colored bird’s feet are zygodactylous, which means they have four toes—two forward-facing and two backward-facing. This helps them stabilize on the slippery surfaces of aquatic vegetation and branches. They also have long legs and a sharp bill that is shaped like a cone and can be used to pry open logs to look for larvae hidden inside.

The American purple gallinule’s diet consists of small fish, frogs, aquatic worms, and insects. They also eat other American purple gallinules’ eggs and young, as well as fruits and seeds. Members of the species mainly hunt alone, but will forage in a group to increase their chances of finding food. 

Purple Grenadier

The Purple grenadier is a small passerine bird in the family Estrildidae. It is approximately 15 cm long with a wingspan of about 20 cm and has a heavy finch-like beak, pink-purple plumage, brown wings, and a light brown head. 

The purple finch bird is found in the tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Purple grenadiers generally stay in flocks of up to 50 individuals, but they are known to form larger groups than this upon migration. They can be found in coastal estuaries with nearby grasslands, open woodland, and forest. It feeds on grass seeds, fruit, and small insects. 

Violet Sabrewing

Violet sabrewing is one of the largest species of hummingbird. Violet sabrewings can be found in southern Mexico and Central America as far south as Costa Rica and western Panama.

These purple birds are sexually dichromatic. Males have a violet head and upper back, greenish-blue throat, and a dark purple belly. Females have a green head, grey chest, whitish breast, blue tail feathers edged in white. 

Violet sabrewings are found in mature wet forests where flowers are abundant. 

Their breeding behavior is unknown, but they are assumed to be socially monogamous. The nests are likely to be small cup-like constructions. They have been observed feeding from flowers of trees and shrubs.

In Conclusion

One of the most interesting, and sometimes overlooked, features of purple birds is that they’re not just one color. They can be shades of blue or lavender-purple as well. In fact, there are so many different colors to explore when it comes to these fascinating creatures. 

Whether you want to spot a bird with an accentuated crest or wingspan or something more subdued in tone, we have all your bases covered here. We hope this blog has helped you see how beautiful these animals really are–and why their plumage should never be underestimated for its beauty and complexity.

Are there any beautiful purple birds we should add to the list? Comment below with your favorite!