The Most Instagrammed National Birds
National symbols play a large role in representing the history and culture of countries around the world. One of the many ways most countries have decided to represent themselves is by selecting a national bird.
A national bird is important to a country – the unique features of their chosen bird represent the values and qualities of the nation who have claimed it as their own. But which national bird is the most popular among people around the world? We’ve taken to Instagram to find out!
We’ve taken a look at the national birds of 128 countries across Instagram to find out which is the most popular based on Instagram posts, both around the world and in all 6 continents (Antarctica doesn’t have a national bird!) Here’s what we found.
The Most Instagrammed National Birds Around The World
Here’s our definitive top ten most Instagrammed national birds around the world. Here, you can see the hashtag we searched for and the number of posts Instagram users have made using this hashtag. Plus, you can discover which countries these national birds represent.
The Most Instagrammed National Birds of Africa
Although not the biggest continent, Africa is home to the most countries of all the continents. However, their national birds are all rather similar! Taking pride of place as the most Instagrammed national bird of Africa is the golden eagle, Egypt’s proud representee. Chosen as a symbol of protection, the golden eagle is a proud, respected bird, as represented in its high interest on social media. Taking second and third place is the lilac breasted roller. Both Botswana and Kenya have chosen this beautifully coloured bird to represent their diverse countries, and it’s multi-coloured feathers have made it rather popular across Instagram posts. Although not as popular with Instagram users as these incredible birds, the African Fish Eagle remains the national bird of 5 different countries in Africa. These beautiful eagles represent strength, freedom and hope, qualities that any country would be proud to possess.
Take a look at the qualities of the incredible golden eagle:
View this post on Instagram
The Golden Eagle is an extremely popular national bird according to Instagram hashtags due to its symbolism of strength and freedom. However, this incredible bird is very important to Egypt due to age old beliefs dating back to the Ancient Egyptians. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the eagle symbolised the goddess Nekhbet, who represented Upper Egypt and protection of the Pharaohs. Hence, the Golden Eagle represents higher deities and the protection of Egypt.
Main Features:
- Deep brown feathers
- Gold feathers around their head and neck
- Wingspan of 6’ – 7.5’
- Found primarily in mountainous habitats
- Nest on cliffs
- Solitary birds unless mated
Worldwide Population:
- 130,000 individuals
Significance:
- Honesty
- Truth
- Majesty
- Strength
- Courage
- Wisdom
- Power
- Freedom
The Most Instagrammed National Birds of Asia
As the largest continent, Asia’s list of national birds is naturally long and varied. Crowning this continent (and taking second place too) is the Golden Eagle once more, the national bird of both Afghanistan and Armenia. It’s stunning visage and representation of victory mean the peregrine falcon, as the national bird of the United Arab Emirates, is following closely behind. As well as these well recognised birds, the countries of Asia have some unique national birds to their names. However, the rarely spotted colourful Hoopoes and incredible monochrome Northern Goshawk are very popular national birds according to the high number of Instagram posts, with their symbols of strength beginning to stretch across social media.
Find out the importance of the Golden Eagle to Asia:
View this post on Instagram
Although the golden eagle is the most popular national bird in both Asia and Africa based on worldwide Instagram posts, it represents something different for Afghanistan. After several changes to the national emblem, Afghanistan settled on the Golden Eagle because it signifies the countries freedom, majestic force, strength, and culture. Plus, Golden Eagle’s can sometimes be spotted in Afghanistan’s mountainous terrains, cementing this proud bird as the right representation for their country.
Main Features:
- Deep brown feathers
- Gold feathers around their head and neck
- Wingspan of 6’ – 7.5’
- Found primarily in mountainous habitats
- Nest on cliffs
- Solitary birds unless mated
Worldwide Population:
- 130,000 individuals
Significance:
- Honesty
- Truth
- Majesty
- Strength
- Courage
- Wisdom
- Power
- Freedom
The Most Instagrammed National Birds of Europe
Although it may not be the biggest continent, Europe is surprisingly home to the most national birds! The most popular of Europe’s national birds on Instagram is the beautiful Nightingale, whose heavenly voice swayed Croatia just as much as it did hashtag users. Taking second and third spots is the Golden Eagle once again, though the Mute Swan of Denmark and Greece’s Little Owl mark some new introductions to our list.
Find out what the nightingale represents to Croatia:
View this post on Instagram
For Croatia, the nightingale represents independence, which they achieved in 1991. The singing bird represents creativity, goodness and tradition, yet Croatia has taken the symbolism a step further to show their hope and joy through the common nightingale.
Main Features:
- Brown feathers with a reddish tail
- White underbelly
- Only male nightingales sing
- Nightingales can produce over 1000 different sounds
- Usually build nests on ground level
Worldwide Population:
- Estimated 43,000,000 – 81,000,000 individuals
Significance:
- Creativity
- Tradition
- Virtue
- Goodness
The Most Instagrammed National Birds of North America
North America boasts a diverse range of national birds, with the U.S.A’s Bald Eagle taking the top spot with the highest number of posts of any national bird – a stunning 777,459. Naturally, the Golden Eagle is still as popular with Instagram users as ever, coming in second with Mexico. Parrots are incredibly popular both on Instagram and as national birds, with parrots like the Scarlet Macaw and the native Cuban Parrot ranking rather high. The British Virgin Island’s beautiful Mourning Dove was almost given to be popular based on Instagram hashtags with its symbolism of peace, while the Aruba’s Burrowing Owl brings up the rear of North America’s top national birds.
Discover why the Bald Eagle is so important to the United States of America:
View this post on Instagram
One of the most well known symbols around the world, the American Bald Eagle has been America’s emblem since 1787. It was chosen due to its representation of strength and freedom, both important qualities to the United States. Although bald eagles were registered as an endangered species for several years, they have seen been judged Least Concern, allowing this symbol of America to live on.
Main Features:
- Dark brown feathers with white head, shoulders and tail
- Wingspan of 6 – 7 feet
- Found on lakes, rivers and seacoasts
- Primarily eats fish
- Can see small mammals from more than three miles away
Worldwide Population:
- 316,700 individual birds
Significance:
- Strength
- Freedom
- Leadership
- Authority
The Most Instagrammed National Birds of South America
South America’s most popular national bird based on Instagram hashtags is, overwhelmingly, the Andean Condor. With Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador all selecting this native creature as their national bird, its symbolism of power and health may hopefully spread to its high number of posters on Instagram. Although fewer countries have a national bird in South America than other continents, the 5th most popular national bird, Guyana’s Hoatzin, and many others beside all have unique appearances and symbolisms that make them worthy of just as much attention!
Take a look at the qualities of the coveted Andean Condor:
View this post on Instagram
In Andean cultures, the Andean condor is seen as a symbol of power and health, hence why it’s such a common national bird around South America. Ancient tribes believed that the bones and organs of the Andean condor possessed healing powers. It’s popularity around the continent means that the bird is found on many emblems and symbolisms in the countries, including stamps.
Main Features:
- Black feathers with white patches around neck and along wings
- Greyish red heads
- Relatives of the vultures
- Primarily found in the Andes mountains
- Feed on large carrion
- One of the largest birds of prey in the world
Worldwide Population:
- 6,700 mature individuals
Significance:
- Power
- Health
- Nobility
- Rulers
The Most Instagrammed National Birds of Oceania
The smallest continent may not have many national birds to boast about, but these countries representatives are certainly diverse. With Australia and New Zealand’s infamous Emu and Kiwi birds pulling in the highest attention on Instagram, you may not have heard of the rest of this continent’s national birds. Yet, Papua New Guinea’s Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise and Samoa’s Tooth-Billed Pigeon, with only a few posts to their name, are just as important to their countries. And, although it only has 11 posts on Instagram, the Palau Fruit Dove is certainly representative of the country it calls home.
Find out the importance of the emu to Australia:
View this post on Instagram
It’s believed that the emu (and the kangaroo) are used as emblems of Australia because they can’t walk backwards, showing consistent progress. However, emus are also a symbol of persistence, devotion and self-sacrifice for the greater good – incredible emblems for a country. Since they are native to Australia, emus are one of the countries most recognisable, and most Instagrammed, creatures.
Main Features:
- Brown feathers with black and white heads
- Found only in Australia
- Feed on fruits, flowers and seeds
- Strong swimmers
- Run up to 65 km/h
Worldwide Population:
- 630,000 mature individuals
Significance:
- Devotion
- Persistence
- Self-sacrifice
- Curiosity
Data Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_birds
Content Sources
https://wildlifewaystation.org/animals/species/eagle-golden
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/golden-eagle-aquila-chrysaetos/text
https://www.eagles.org/what-we-do/educate/learn-about-eagles/golden-eagle-as-a-national-symbol/
https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/birds/facts-about-nightingale/
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/common-nightingale-luscinia-megarhynchos/text
https://nhpbs.org/natureworks/baldeagle.htm
https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/andean-condor/
https://www.britannica.com/animal/Andean-condor
Methodology
We compiled a list of the national birds around the world and searched for their hashtags on Instagram to find which one had the most posts.
Gemma Sharp is the resident writer for Garden Bird, a supplier of premium bird food and accessories. She has had a genuine love for our feathered friends from a young age, and has dedicated a lot of her time to learning all there is to know about them. If you’re struggling to pick the right bird feed for your garden, need help identifying a type of wild bird, or can’t decide where to put a nesting box, Gemma is the person to go to! She is passionate about sharing her years of learnt knowledge with the public. In her free time, she can be found feeding birds at home with her three young boys.
Adverts