From a colony to a superpower in only 200 years
The largest member of the wagtail family and native to South Asia, the white-browed wagtail has, you guessed it, prominent white eyebrows.
Found in warmer parts of the Americas, the bananaquit is a dainty-looking passerine whose eyebrows are broad and white with just the faintest flecks of yellow.
While it's named for the color of its throat, this North American sparrow is also remarkable for its white and black eyebrows defined by a smudge of mustard yellow.
Common across most of its North American range, the chipping sparrow's eyebrows are set under a distinctive chestnut crown.
This tropical native of Central America sports a pair of short blue eyebrows that match the color of its crown. As with most jays, this species has a very extensive voice repertoire.
This tiny songbird native to North America owes its piercing and angry-looking stare to a pair of ink-black eyebrows set over white eye rings.
A copper-tawny plumage lends the varied thrush a permanent autumnal appearance. Its sooty-colored eyebrows are wide and pronounced. The bird is found in western North America, from Alaska to northern California.
The humid tropical forests of Southeast Asia is where you'll find this wonderfully named bird. The babbler's eyebrows are black with a chalk white trim.
A resident of southeastern North America, the yellow-throated warbler complements its sunflower yellow plumage with a streaky black and white coat and long eyebrows.
This bushy eyebrowed seabird is distributed across North America. Besides its prominent crests, it's recognized for a pair of hypnotic green eyes.
The golden-orange eyebrows belonging to the macaroni penguin are among the flashiest in the animal kingdom. This penguin species is listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
This large game bird is distinguished for the crimson wattle found over the eyes of males, a feature that resembles huge fiery-red eyebrows. The black grouse is found across Europe and into Scandinavia and Russia.
The Eurasian eagle-owl's amazing 'eyebrows' are in fact ear tufts. But set as they over the bird's orange saucer-like eyes, the tufts do indeed resemble a pair of carefully groomed brows.
In winter, the plumage of the male rock ptarmigan is completely white save for black eyeliner and the scarlet patches above the eyes that appear as carefully cropped eyebrows. The rock ptarmigan is found in mountainous Arctic climes.
This small wading bird native to Australia but also found in New Zealand has strong white eyebrows set above a black 'mask' that accentuates the bird's red eye rings.
A pair of mustard-yellow eyebrows that travel down to meet its heavy-set bill distinguishes the evening grosbeak, a stocky member of the finch family native to North America.
Only found on the east coast of Australia, the red-browed finch has a beautiful pair of bright red eyebrows that match the color of its beak and rump.
The obvious feature of this slender passerine is its tail, which is fanned out as it moves through the undergrowth in forested regions of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It's also recognized for its eyebrows, so wide and circular that they encompass the bird's entire head.
A vivacious member of the cuckoo family found in sub-Saharan Africa, the white-browed coucal wears its tousled creamy-white eyebrows over a charcoal-colored mask.
A resident of North America, the red-breasted nuthatch has a black crown and eyeline, and long, narrow eyebrows swept back to meet its metal-gray back.
The white eyebrows of the California scrub jay serve to separate the sky blue markings of its crown from the gray patches surrounding its eyes.
Widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, the northern goshawk's sharp pointed face is characterized by narrow contoured eyebrows that streak over deep orange eyes.
The Canada warbler appears as if wearing a pair of yellow-framed spectacles, such is the position of its eyeline and sunny colored brow.
Commonly seen across the British Isles and northern Europe and Russia, the jack snipe, a small stocky wading bird, has contoured coffee-colored eyebrows that blend well with its mottled brown plumage.
Sources: (Audubon) (IUCN Red List)
See also: Leggy birds to keep an eye out for
The whinchat's snow white eyebrows continue their journey underneath this attractive passerine's face to almost encircle its eyes. A small migratory passerine bird, the whinchat breeds in Europe and western Asia.
This boldly patterned bird has white, neatly trimmed eyebrows that don't detract from the yellow-orange rump this species of flycatcher found in eastern Asia is named for.
A showy resident of Costa Rica and Panama, the dazzling golden-browed chlorophonia wears its eyebrows like a tiara fashioned from topaz.
The brilliant silver eyebrows of the white-browed robin-chat work as a color line between the bird's black crown and its bright orange-rufous coat. You'll need to travel to east, central, and southern Africa to admire it.
Native to southwestern pockets of the United States and central Mexico, the diminutive Bewick's wren has long white eyebrows that are as elongated as its head.
A low set brow and black patches around the eyes lend this species of albatross an intense, slightly shady-looking appearance. They breed on islands around New Zealand, and feed in the seas off Australia and the South Pacific.
Birds with bold and brilliant eyebrows
Surprising bird species that will raise your eyebrows!
LIFESTYLE Birdlife
Did you know that many birds have eyebrows? Technically, this particular part of our feathered friends' anatomy is called a supercilium―the plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. These eyebrows can be subtle in color and form, or bold, bright, and dazzling. Either way, eyebrows lend a bird a unique and distinctive character, and ease the identification of even the rarest avian. So, are your eyebrows raised? Click on for more.