Everyone knows birds come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. Some aren’t colorful at all. Others have patches of color here or there. Then there are those shown below: some of the brightest, most colorful birds around!

Take this beautiful painted bunting (above), for example. It just might be the only wild bird-of-many-colors in the United States. But let’s take a trip around the tropical world. You’ll meet many more rainbow-colored birds.

A FESTIVAL OF FEATHERS

This is only a small sample of birds with multicolored feathers. Which is your favorite? How many rainbow colors can you spot in each one? Don’t forget the ROY G. BIV clue: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

WHICH BAND ARE YOU IN?

As you’ve seen, some birds wear multiple rainbow colors. That’s true for this majestic scarlet macaw, flying somewhere over the rainbow! Other birds wear feathers that are mostly a single bright color. Meet seven, each of which represents one color band of the rainbow.

NATURE NOTE: These birds are all males. In most bird species, the females look duller—or are even a totally different color. Of these birds, the female of the oriole (bottom left) is the only one that closely matches the male.

Once a rainbow has appeared in a storm-clearing sky, it soon fades away. But keep looking up. You just might spot a rainbow of birds!