#	Species [range]	Photo/art [see credits] all photos taken in the wild	Summary of reasons for this choice	DR seen? + point total
41	Hyacinth Macaw Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus [s. central South America]		The largest of the wonderful "blue macaws" of South America, it is found in the Pantanal region of southeastern Brazil and adjacent Paraguay & Bolivia. The population has been seriously reduced by the illegal parrot trade. Two smaller relatives are even more endangered: Lear's Macaw A. leari of northeastern Brazil (only two known colonies left of ~60 birds), and Spix's Macaw Cyanopsitta spixii of interior Brazil (the last one known to exist in the wild has disappeared).	Yes [15]
42	Whitehead's Broadbill Calyptomena whiteheadi  [Borneo]		There are about two dozen endemics in the highlands of Borneo, and none more sought after than the "Whitehead's trinity" of a trogon, spiderhunter, and broadbill. The latter is one of the most impressive birds I've ever seen: a glowing velvet-green cock-of-the-rock! The red or orange cock-of-the-rocks make this listing (#39, #40) and this bird must be right there with them. Its array of vocalizations almost equals its plumage. Although it is easy enough to reach Mt. Kinabalu (where it resides), it remains very elusive and usually hard-to-find in the thick mossy montane forest. It is also by far the largest broadbill in the world, and a real beauty.	Yes [15]
43	Lyre-tailed Honeyguide Melichneutes robustus  [c. Africa]		A (perhaps) apocryphal story that I've heard is that Cassin, the pioneering ornithologist in the Congo basin, never saw this species despite hearing it on many occasions. It is virtually impossible to see from inside the forest canopy as it make "bouncing-down-the-steps" display flights above the canopy, enhanced by booming notes from its remarkable tail; the sound can be heard for a mile. Not much to see when sitting still but very impressive in display!	Yes [14]
44	Orange-throated Tanager Wetmorethraupis sterrhopteron [Peru]		Only discovered in 1964, it represents one of those "birds without a name" [see Don Stap's (1991) A Parrot without a Name] that have been discovered to science by intrepid researchers in the last half-century. Wetmorethraupis is a monotypic genus (thus unlike any other tanager), it is striking and colorful, and remains rare and very hard to find, being known only a narrow altitudinal range (600-800m) in mature forest in n. Peru, just south of Ecuador and north of the Rio Marañón.	No [14]
45	Imperial Parrot Amazona imperialis [Dominica]		The largest and possibly most-endangered of all the big parrots in the Lesser Antilles, perhaps 300 survive on Dominica. It is difficult to find because (unlike other Amazona parrots) it does not form flocks and it is secretive. The other endangered parrots of the Lesser Antilles are also prizes: the Red-necked Parrot A. arausiaca, also on Dominica; and the St. Lucia Parrot A. versicolor and the St. Vincent Parrot A. guildingii, on their namesake islands. Population sizes of each range from just about 300-900.	Yes [14]
46	Carpentarian Grasswren Amytornis dorotheae [n. Australia]		Depending on one's taxonomy, there are 8-10 Amytornis grasswrens in interior Australia. At one time Eyrean A. goyderi was thought a lost species, but as the deserts became accessible it proved to be reasonably numerous. None of the grasswrens are really rare, but Carpentarian remains the hardest to find in spinifex and sandstone well to the north. Black A. housei may be the remotest locale. Graeme Chapman's (1996) article in Wingspan (magazine of the RAOU) Vol 6, No 1, has spectacular photos of them all. They all are striking birds, shy and often very, very elusive. I want to see them all someday.	No [14]
47	Multicolored Tanager Chlorochrysa nitidissima [nw. South America]		The astonishing variety of colorful tanagers is a top highlight of the Neotropics; this pick emphasizes the many special ones. Multicolored Tanager is now very scarce & local in w. Andes of sw. Colombia. It is beautiful: the feathers look waxy and unreal. Other fabulous tanagers include Cherry-throated Nemosia rourei of se. Brazil, recently rediscovered 47 years; the elusive Blue-backed Cyanicterus cyanicterus of Guiana highlands; the gorgeous Glistening-green Chlorochrysa phoenicotis of wet coastal forest of w. Andes in Colombia, nw. Ecuador; the striking high-altitude White-capped Sericossypha albocristata of Venezuela to c. Peru; and the scarce & local Azure-rumped T. cabanisi of Chiapas, Mexico & Guatemala.	Yes [14]
48	any Crowned-Pigeon Goura sp. [New Guinea]		All the crowned-pigeons are localized and skittish in lowland forests & mangrove edges in New Guinea. Victoria Crowned-Pigeon G. victoria is in the north and on Yapen & Biak Islands. It may be the most impressive but the other two are quite similar: Western G. cristata (nw. New Guinea and w. Papuan Is.; pictured left) and Southern G. sheepmakeri in southern lowlands. I've been close to two of them without any luck, and for several other world birders these remain elusive "nemesis" birds. I've seen some in zoos — very large, impressive, ground-dwelling pigeons.	No [13]
49	African River-Martin Pseudochelidon eurystomina [w. Africa]		An enigmatic migratory swallow of the Congo basin — one of only two river-martins in the world — which captured the imagination of many due to its inscrutable movements. Recently it has been proven to nest on coastal savannas of Gabon and then migrate inland to disappear far up the Congo and other major rivers. Looks and acts more like the wood-swallows (Artamidae) of SE Asia & Australasia than typical African martins and swallows; see my Swallows page. The southeast Asian bird, White-eyed River-Martin Eurychelidon sirintarae, may be extinct.	Yes [13]
50	Great Gray Owl Strix nebulosa [North America, n. Eurasia]		The largest owl on earth is all feathers; many other owls are heavier. But this is the huge gray ghost of the Holarctic north woods, always a great treat to find. Other owls are rarer but those tend to resemble more common species. Most of the big tropical owls tend to be widespread. I wanted one owl in the "top 50," and this is a very special bird. A very few range down into the Sierra Nevada of my home state, California.	Yes [13]

Previous choices on first edition of this list, just squeezed out when the second edition added 3 birds:

prev 35	Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon [ne. Asia]		Once nearly extinct, this classy ibis with head plumes is now well known from one site in China but also sometimes appears in Korea or Japan, where it was once regular. The only known breeding site is in Shaanxi Province, c. China, where the 1998 count was 66 birds. This site can be viewed and is now covered during some China birding tours. There is a captive breeding program with another 100. The species dropped off the "top 50" when it became "too easy" to see. The Giant Ibis Pseudibis gigantea of the lowlands of SE Asia is also exceptionally threatened and elusive, and could easily be picked for this list.	No [13]
prev 47	Hornby's Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma hornbyi [e. South Pacific; nests S. America?]		Seabirds are very special, and I do have much interest as I've published i.d. and distributional papers on small Pterodroma, black-and-white shearwaters & boobies. Many rarer ones are not very impressive or unique, but this mystery storm-petrel is distinctive and handsome. Its breeding grounds are as yet unknown, and few observers get to the deep ocean at theedge of the Peru Current.off w. South America to view it at sea.	Yes [13]
prev 50	Mauritius Kestrel Falco punctatus [Mauritius]		Once considered just about the rarest bird in the world, it had been reduced to just 6 birds by 1974 (and just 2 breeding pairs) — seemingly without enough genetic diversity to endure for long — but an aggressive captive-breeding program has brought it back from the grave. By the time I saw some in the wild in 1992, there were 250 kestrels, many hatched from wild nests. Habitat loss is what endangered it, and there still is little native habitat on Mauritius, once home to the Dodo. Probably no longer qualifies for the "top 50," as other island kestrels are similar, but its amazing history warrants my final spot. [er, no longer...]	Yes [13]

All the artworks are copyrighted by the artist (as detailed below) and are either used with permission or are posted here in reliance on the non-commercial "fair use" doctrine; all rights are reserved by the artist

• Don Eckleberry painted the Imperial Parrot; from The Birds of the West Indes (1960) by James Bond (Collins)
• Morton Isler painted the Multicolored Tanagers; from The Tanagers (1987) by Isler & Isler (Smithsonian Instit.)
• Doug Pratt painted the Orange-throated Tanager; from Birding on Borrowed Time (2003) by Phoebe Snetsinger (American Birding Assoc.)
• Arthur Singer painted the Western Crowned-Pigeon; from Birds of the World (1961) by Austin & Singer (Golden Press)
• Richard Weatherly painted the Carpentarian Grasswren; from The Fairy-Wrens (1982) by Richard Schodde (Lansdowne Editions)
• Walter Weber painted the Lyre-tailed Honeyguide; from The Honeyguides (1955) by Herbert Friedmann (U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 208)
• A. A. Kuznetsov painted the Crested Ibis; from Field Guide to the Birds of the U.S.S.R. (1984) by V. E. Flint et al. (Princeton Univ. Press)

• Don Roberson photographed the Hyacinth Macaw (Brazil), African River-Martin (Gabon), Great Gray Owl (Calif., U.S.A.), Hornby's Storm-Petrel (off Peru), and Mauritius Kestrel (Mauritius)
• Hideo Tani photographed the Whitehead's Broadbill (Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia)