Fallowfox
Are we moomin, or are we dancer?
I see you also gave a few things you like about bird anthros below too.
Now this is sorta more feral/cartoon than it is full on furry but I think that head on the top corner is one of the best avian beaks ever done. It's so expressive and you gotta love all that fluff.
This is probably more to your liking as its a bit more natural. (The right one of course)
The body of this one is more how I'd prefer non-griffon characters to appear and the beak is quite sleek imo. Although, I think my fav bird artist of all time would have to be Hoot. Just look at how cute this is!!!! x3
And one more just for fun: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8879573/
I agree; some of those are better.