Is This Angry-Looking Bird the Most Photogenic of Them All? According to Instagram Users, Yes.

Is this the most photogenic bird there is? According to many on Instagram, yes, it is. 

German researchers who reviewed more than 27,000 photos to identify the world’s “most Instagrammable bird" determined the tawny frogmouth, with its wide eyes, hooked beak, open mouth and angry expression, fits the bill. 

The researchers surmised that it is not the color of the bird that people favor, but how unique and unusual the animal looks that makes people respond, according to Dr. Katja Thömmes, a postdoctoral researcher at the University Hospital Jena in Germany and one of the authors of the study, The New York Times reported. 

This nocturnal creature has a striking resemblance to its friend the owl.

Gregor Hayn-Leichsenring, who wrote the study with Thömmes, is an avid bird photography enthusiast. After he learned about Thömmes’s research, he suggested they apply it to try to identify the most photogenic bird on Instagram, the Times reported.

The tawny frogmouth is Australia’s most familiar nocturnal bird. Present in a wide-variety of habitats and common in suburban areas, they have bright yellow eye and very large bills with whiskers above. They are a master of camouflage, as its shaggy plumage blends in with rough bark when roosting. The birds are usually gray but some subspecies appear more rust-colored.

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