Yet again, despite my best efforts, I’ve been sucked into the insatiable vortex of popular culture. Then again, how long could I resist an addiction that encompasses three of my favorite things, namely birds, video games, and my Droid? Perhaps you’ve heard of this game Angry Birds

The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs’ fortified castles.

Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 120 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy.

Protect wildlife or play Angry Birds!

Of course, hurling digital birds with digital slingshots at digital green pigs in elaborate, yet impractical structures is a waste of time. A far better use of our time and effort would be to identify these irascible avians.

The 10,000 Birds community possesses the perfect skill set to accomplish the apparently impossible task of identifying which real bird species each Angry Bird resembles most closely. Not only do we wield a collective mastery of world avifauna, but we are clearly willing to waste time online! So grab your guides and rally your friends from far-flung corners of the globe. Together, we can identify the Angry Birds!!

I’ll start with some notes, then add identifications as they come in.

RED ANGRY BIRD – That color and crest clearly call to mind Northern Cardinal, but who shaved its belly?

BLUE ANGRY BIRD – This tiny guy makes me think of a finch. I predict it’s an Old World species. Nick Sly’s suggestion of Red-cheeked Cordon-Bleu looks very good.

YELLOW ANGRY BIRD – There’s something rather finchy about this bird, its triangular shape notwithstanding. Otherwise, consider Cream-colored Woodpecker.

WHITE ANGRY BIRD – While its egg shape conjures images of chickens, I’m going to go out on a limb and identify this bird as a cockatoo. No cockatoos I know have yellow bills or feet, but this angry bird compares well to any white cockatoo from Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) to Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea).

BLACK ANGRY BIRD – This bird is depicted as the largest of the ballistic bunch. Does anyone else get a guan vibe here? Other contenders are Sultan Tit or Crested Myna.

GREEN ANGRY BIRD – The newest member of the ferocious family could certainly pass for some sort of Emerald Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus), but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a better fit for a different bird from Asia or Africa.

What do you think? Can we identify all of these angry birds? (On a side note, are you any good at this game?!?)

Also, as evidence that great minds think alike, Birdchick is grappling with this same question.

Written by Mike
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.