Top 15 Rarest Birds in The World

In this article we discover fifteen of the rarest birds in the world. The birds on this list are elusive and often uncanny with unique physical traits and behaviors. They often reside in one small geographic region, with many going years between sightings. Their elusiveness leads to our curiosity and ambition to find them. So, without further ado, let’s discover fifteen of the world’s rarest birds.   

Here Are The 15 Rarest Birds in The World

Determining the rarest birds in the world proves a near impossible task. Knowing precise population numbers is a great difficulty due to the lack of sightings and the remote regions they often inhabit. We compiled this list to the best of our ability based upon our knowledge and research. 

1. California Condor (The Rarest Bird in USA)

The California Condor, brought back from the dead after extinction in 1987 thanks to captive breeding programs, is one of the United States’ most significant conservation concerns. It is the largest flying land animal in North America and the most skilled scavenger. California Condors are one of the world’s rarest birds, yet their history goes back at least 40,000 years. Slow reproductive rates, habitat destruction, and lead poisoning contributed to sharp declines in population in years past. With only about 275 left in the wild, conservation efforts persist. 

2. Caledonian Owlet Nightjar

The Caledonian Owlet Nightjar is one of the least known birds on the planet. Its voice is unknown, only its whistle and churring sounds heard. Before the twentieth century, only two known birds existed. The population increased, yet less than fifty remain in the wild. Today, population decline due to habitat loss for mining, hunting by feral cats, and the introduction of wild pigs is rampant. No current conservation programs exist due to the near impossibility of finding this bird. 

3. Kākāpō (This Rare Bird is the World’s Only Flightless Parrot)

We know the Kākāpō as the world’s only flightless parrot and for its uncanny ability to climb tree trunks using its strong beak and claws. The parrot lives up to ninety years, yet the existing population does not reflect their longevity. Only about 200 remain in the world. We released many into a sanctuary preserve in 2023 with hopes of building a new population, but most escaped and only four remain in the sanctuary. Most now live on offshore islands. 

4. Madagascar Pochard

We know the Madagascar Pochard for its extreme diving abilities and impressive size. This duck species landed itself on the list as one of the rarest birds in the world after reemerging in 2006 from what we believed to be extinction. Only a few individuals exist in the wild, all at Lake Sofia in Madagascar. A breeding center in Antsohihy fights for their longevity, rearing more birds in captivity. Wild Pochards face threats including invasive weeds, water quality issues, and illegal fishing which reduces their food supply. 

5. Cebu Flowerpecker (Less than 100 of this Rare Bird Remain)

The Cebu Flowerpecker resides only on the Cebu Islands of the Philippines. We thought the species was extinct until 1992. At that point in time, only 0.03% of the bird’s forest habitat remained intact due to illicit logging and illegal settlement. Today, we know the species is not extinct, yet they live on the brink of extinction with fewer than 100 in the wild.  

6. Imperial Amazon (Less than 50 of this Rare Bird Remain)

The Imperial Amazon, native to the Caribbean’s Dominica, experienced great population decline after Hurricane Maria. They are additionally threatened by habitat loss. The government enforces policies to protect their territory, but the shouldering areas are not protected. Less than fifty reported mature individuals exist in the wild. 

7. Blue-Eyed Ground Dove (We Thought This Rare Bird Was Extinct)

The Blue-Eyed Ground Dove is one of the rarest birds in the world with an extremely small population size. It is endemic to Brazil’s Cerrado region in three distinct groups of five or less doves. We listed them as extinct for many years until a population emerged in 2015. Current threats include the destruction of their home, a vast tropical savannah, being converted to farmland. 

8. Rufous-Headed Hornbill

The Rufous-Headed Hornbill, known for its large ‘horn’ seated above its bright red-orange bill, lives mainly in the Panay Islands of the Philippines, with small groups living on the Islands of Negro. We know they are threatened by poaching and habitat loss and very few live in the wild. Others exist in captivity and conservation parks. We otherwise know very little about these birds. 

9. Spoon-billed Sandpiper

This bird has a highly distinctive black spatulate bill which earns it its own genus and sets it apart from the rest of the shorebirds. We find this migratory bird at different times of the year in Russia, Japan, North and South Korea, and China. Some sightings happen as far as Thailand and Vietnam. We consider the Spoon-Billed Sandpiper as critically endangered due to elimination of migratory stopover habitats in the Yellow Sea region. The number one threat these birds face, however, is the danger of getting caught in a hunter’s net on the Myanmar Bay where half the population settles for winter. 

10. Stresemann’s Bristlefront (Possibly the World’s Rarest Bird)

This nearly extinct bird lives in subtropical or tropical moist lowlands in Brazil. We know little of its ecology or behavior due to the inability to find and study wild populations. 1995 marks the last sighting recorded, and we have reason to believe only one bird remains. Extinction is imminent unless our hope comes true that there is a male specimen somewhere out there to be found.

11. Tuamotu Kingfisher

We find the Tuamotu Kingfisher in French Polynesia, specifically in the Tuamotu Archipelago. They face numerous threats including removal of mangrove wetlands and woods for agriculture and urban development. Other threats include rats and other invasive species which feed on eggs, chicks, and food sources, rising sea levels, and increases in natural catastrophes such as hurricanes and typhoons due to climate change. The government established a number of protected areas. Conservation groups encourage further efforts through spreading awareness and advocating for the species’ survival. 

12. Spix’s Macaw (A Rare Bird Only Found in Captivity)

The Spix’s Macaw, also known as the Little Blue Macaw, earns its right on the list of the rarest birds in the world due to its extinction in the wild. 180 remain in captivity. Even before its extinction, finding the bird was a serious challenge. Sightings spanned many years with a bird spotted in 1832, 1903, 1985, and finally, the last sighting, in 1987. We listed the bird as extinct in 2019. We blame this extinction on habitat loss due to goat farming in the Caatinga which ravaged the sensitive habitat. The macaw additionally fell victim to poaching and wild bird trade. 

13. Bahama Nuthatch (Can This Rare Bird Survive Extinction?)

The Bahama Nuthatch lives solely in the pineyards of the Grand Bahama Island. We believed it was extinct after an onslaught of hurricanes. Researchers spent three months visiting four hundred survey points to prove its remaining existence in the wild and made six sightings in this time- a bittersweet revelation. Saving this bird species is unlikely due to low population numbers and the cause of decline remaining unknown.

14. Crested Ibis

The nineteen-century held more than 50,000 Crested Ibis in the waterways of China, Russia, Korea, and Japan. By 1981, only five remained. All five known survivors live in Japan where a captive breeding program launched and failed after the sighting. In 1957, seven specimens showed up in China’s Quinling Mountain foothills. New conservation efforts and a breeding program spurred success. Now, 2,000 specimens exist in China and 150 in Japan. 

15. Liberian Greenbul (Does this Rare Bird Even Exist?)

Our last species on the list of the rarest birds in the world is a controversial one with many arguments as to whether or not it actually ever existed. We received reports of sightings nine times between 1981 and 1984. 1984 is the last reported sighting of the Liberian Greenbul. All sightings happened in the Cavalla Forest in Eastern Liberia in West Africa. The Cavalla Forest is not protected against agricultural burns or hunting.