Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,636 · Stories: 19,540

• Black Seedeater Sporophila corvina

  

  Plumage varies across the species. Males of the nominate subspecies are almost black with a small white patch on the folded wing; females are buff.

• Costa Rican Brush Finch Arremon costaricensis

  This brush finch lives in forests of Costa Rica and western Panama. Its 1907 description noted the olive back and yellow wing bend as differences from a close relative.

• Russet-crowned Warbler Myiothlypis coronata

  In the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia, this warbler is reported at elevations of 1,500–3,000 metres.

• Northern Marquesan Reed-warbler Acrocephalus percernis

  This reed-warbler lives on four Marquesan islands. The sexes look alike, and singing males defend territories.

• Orange River Francolin Scleroptila gutturalis

  The Orange River Francolin is a ground-dwelling bird of dry grassland in southern Africa. It has a striking black-and-white pattern from the sides of the neck toward the throat, and the sexes have similar plumage.

• Golden Pipit Tmetothylacus tenellus

  The Golden Pipit walks through dry grassland looking for insects. Adult males show yellow below and in the wings, while females are mainly brown.

• Common Eider Somateria mollissima

  A large sea duck of northern rocky coasts that dives for mussels and other shellfish.

• Franklin's Gull Leucophaeus pipixcan

  A gull that breeds in large groups in North American prairie wetlands and winters along the coasts of Peru and Chile. Breeding adults may have a pale pink wash on the chest.

• Tyrannine Woodcreeper Dendrocincla tyrannina

  This woodcreeper uses the lower and middle layers of humid montane forest. Its head, back, throat and breast are reddish olive, with beige scaling on the breast.

• La Selle Thrush Turdus swalesi

  The La Selle Thrush lives in highland forest on Hispaniola. Its two subspecies occupy separate areas of the island; adults of the nominate subspecies have a black head and back and reddish-brown underparts.

• Yellow-throated Vireo Vireo flavifrons

  A North American vireo marked by a bright yellow throat and yellow around the eyes.

• Gray Falcon Falco hypoleucos

  A pale gray falcon with faint dark streaks on its white underside and feathered legs, it occurs in inland Australia.

• Black-casqued Hornbill Ceratogymna atrata

  A hornbill with a large black casque that moves through forest trees in search of fruit.

• Golden-naped Finch Pyrrhoplectes epauletta

  Male Golden-naped Finches are glossy black with an orange nape and white rump; females are yellowish-brown. They breed in Himalayan forests and are also recorded lower down in winter.

• Buff-breasted Babbler Pellorneum tickelli

  This small babbler keeps near dense cover and the ground. A study in northern Thailand found nests along creeks, where both sexes incubated eggs and cared for nestlings.

• Grey-hooded Flycatcher Mionectes rufiventris

  This flycatcher breeds in forests of southeastern Brazil. Records from Minas Gerais describe nests hanging over small streams from roots or fern leaves, and blue-toned plumage in young birds near fledging.

• Black Oropendola Psarocolius guatimozinus

  The Black Oropendola is a large bird of restricted humid lowlands in eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia. It searches high in trees and is thought to take nectar from flowers.

• Black-and-gold Cotinga Lipaugus ater

  The Black-and-gold Cotinga lives in mountain forests of southeastern Brazil and feeds in the canopy. Males are black with yellow patches on the wings.

• Red-tailed Laughingthrush Trochalopteron milnei

  This laughingthrush ranges through southern China and mainland Southeast Asia, in a fragmented mountain distribution. Some plumage details differ among subspecies.

• Banded Lapwing Vanellus tricolor

  The Banded Lapwing lives in short grassland and farmland in Australia. Its black breast band and white throat stand out. It is nomadic and searches for invertebrates on the ground.

• Tahiti Petrel Pseudobulweria rostrata

  This seabird has a dark upper surface and a white belly. Outside the breeding season it spends time at sea, feeding on squid and other prey near the surface. Breeding areas differ between subspecies.

• Snowy-browed Flycatcher Ficedula hyperythra

  This small flycatcher lives in moist forests and montane forests across Asia. The male is notable for its combination of an ash-blue head and orange chest.

• Ultramarine Grosbeak Cyanocompsa brissonii

  The Ultramarine Grosbeak occurs in South America. In Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, a paper reports it in native grassland, areas with trees and shrubs, and along agricultural edges. Females are pale sandy brown above and paler below.

• Oriental Cuckooshrike Coracina javensis

  The Oriental Cuckooshrike is a 28 cm cuckooshrike found discontinuously from the Himalayan foothills through parts of southern China and Southeast Asia, and also on Java and Bali.