Meet the world’s animals.

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• Socotra Scops Owl Otus socotranus

  

  This small, pale-gray owl lives on Socotra in arid places with trees, including palms. It is more often detected by its voice than seen.

• Ultramarine Kingfisher Todiramphus leucopygius

  The Ultramarine Kingfisher is a forest kingfisher of the Solomon Islands region. Males and females differ in back color, so the sexes are not uniformly blue.

• Blue-headed Bee-eater Merops muelleri

  This bee-eater has blue-purple plumage with a dark brown back and wings. It catches insects by flying out from a high perch in humid forest. The extent of blue on the head differs between eastern and western parts of its range.

• Lark Bunting Calamospiza melanocorys

  Breeding males are black with a white wing patch, while females, young birds, and males outside the breeding season are brown. It gathers in grasslands and shrubsteppe of the Great Plains.

• Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler Horornis acanthizoides

  This small warbler breeds in highland forests of mainland China; a separate subspecies is recorded in Taiwan. It stays hidden in dense bamboo undergrowth during the breeding season, when its song can reveal its presence.

• Mauritius Fody Foudia rubra

  The Mauritius Fody is endemic to Mauritius. Males develop a red head and neck during the breeding season, while females remain olive-coloured throughout the year.

• Water Rail Rallus aquaticus

  A secretive rail that breeds in wetlands in Britain and Ireland. Birds arriving from continental Europe add to the winter population.

• Rusty-fronted Barwing Actinodura egertoni

  Actinodura egertoni lives in montane forest along the Himalayas. It has an orangish wash on the front of the face and a white belly, and forages in pairs or small flocks.

• Strong-billed Honeyeater Melithreptus validirostris

  Endemic to Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands, this honeyeater has a white crescent across the back of its black head and olive-gray upperparts. It moves up and down tree trunks, using its strong bill to pull bark away while searching for insects.

• Persian Shearwater Puffinus persicus

  The Persian Shearwater is a seabird with a dark upper surface set against a white underside. Breeding has been recorded in southern Arabia and around Socotra, while seasonal records have also been reported off East Africa.

• Yellow-billed Nuthatch Sitta solangiae

  The Yellow-billed Nuthatch has a yellow bill and violet-blue upperparts. It has a scattered, local range in Vietnam, Hainan, and Laos, where it moves through forest while searching for insects.

• Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis

  A gray bird with a black cap and rusty feathers beneath the tail. It lives in dense thickets and weaves other birds' sounds into long songs.

• Blue-and-white flycatcher Cyanoptila cyanomelana

  A forest bird whose male has blue upperparts and a strong song.

• Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker Dicaeum melanozanthum

  A small bird of forests from the Himalayas into northern Southeast Asia. The male has a dark head and back with a yellow belly, and the species moves with elevation.

• Australian Raven Corvus coronoides

  The Australian Raven is a large black corvid with conspicuous white irises.

• White-bellied Whistler Pachycephala leucogastra

  This whistler has a patchy range in New Guinea. The male has a black head and breast band, white throat, and brown-grey back.

• Black-eared Seedeater Crithagra mennelli

  The Black-eared Seedeater is a small, streaked finch marked by a broad black band through the eye and a white eyebrow. It feeds in miombo and mopane woodland.

• Moustached Babbler Malacopteron magnirostre

  The Moustached Babbler forages in small groups in the middle levels of Southeast Asian forest. It is brown above and whitish below, with a dark moustachial stripe.

• Olive-green Camaroptera Camaroptera chloronota

  An East African bird guide places the Olive-green Camaroptera in forest undergrowth in Uganda and western Kenya. Its upperparts are dull olive-green; the underparts are grayish-white, with dusky buff on the chest and flanks.

• Collared Whitestart Myioborus torquatus

  This warbler lives in Costa Rica's highland forests. It stays in pairs and may forage in mixed-species flocks.

• Streak-chested Antpitta Hylopezus perspicillatus

  This antpitta lives in moist lowland forest from Central America to Colombia and Ecuador. Broad black streaks mark its white to buffy breast.

• Citreoline Trogon Trogon citreolus

  The Citreoline Trogon has a yellow belly and pale eyes. It searches for food from branches in forests of western Mexico.

• White-browed Coucal Centropus superciliosus

  Adults of the nominate subspecies have a white eyebrow and a rufous-brown back. This coucal catches insects on the ground among tall grass.

• Tuamotu Sandpiper Prosobonia parvirostris

  A small sandpiper endemic to the Tuamotu Archipelago. It searches for food among coastal coral rubble, sand, and vegetation.