Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,676 · Stories: 19,540

• Buff-banded Rail Hypotaenidia philippensis

  

  The Buff-banded Rail is marked by a chestnut-buff breast band and black-and-white barring. In Australia it keeps to cover around wetlands and crops while probing for food in mud.

• Forbes's Plover Charadrius forbesi

  Forbes's Plover occurs in open grasslands and other open habitats in parts of western and central Africa. It searches the ground for insects and small invertebrates to eat.

• Chestnut-throated Flycatcher Myiagra castaneigularis

  The Chestnut-throated Flycatcher was described from Vanua Levu, Fiji. Its 1876 original account records forest observations, insect feeding, and differences in throat and back color between males and females.

• Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carneipes

  The Flesh-footed Shearwater is a seabird with a dark body and pale bill and feet. It breeds in island burrows and moves across wide ocean areas seasonally.

• Eastern Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica

  In Hong Kong, this swallow is recorded most often from autumn into winter. It flies over lowland fish ponds and catches insects in the air.

• Samoan Whistler Pachycephala flavifrons

  This whistler is found on Samoan islands. Males have yellow underparts, while females are paler above with a gray throat.

• Lance-tailed Manakin Chiroxiphia lanceolata

  Males have black bodies, blue backs, and red caps, while females are olive green. Males may cooperate in courtship displays.

• Blue jay Cyanocitta cristata

  A jay of woodlands and parks in eastern North America. Blue, white and black feathers and a raised crest are conspicuous.

• Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon

  A crested kingfisher with a large bill that watches for fish from a perch beside the water.

• Thick-billed Lark Ramphocoris clotbey

  The Thick-billed Lark is a pale, dry-country lark with a notably large bill. It searches for food close to the ground.

• Barred Fruiteater Pipreola arcuata

  The Barred Fruiteater is an Andean bird with a black head and a yellow, barred belly. It feeds in the canopy and middle levels of humid montane forest.

• Grey-lined Hawk Buteo nitidus

  The Grey-lined Hawk is a raptor recorded in Bolivia's riverside forests and woodlands. It searches for prey from a perch.

• Bicolored Wren Campylorhynchus griseus

  This large wren has a striking white eyebrow and rufous-brown back. It uses dry scrub and cactus habitat, and family groups call to one another.

• Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus

  Adult males have a white breast patch, females a creamy one, and both show silvery panels on the wings.

• Lesser Antillean Bullfinch Loxigilla noctis

  On Dominica, male Lesser Antillean Bullfinches are black with an orange chin and throat. Females are olive-brown above and grey-brown below.

• White-winged Widowbird Euplectes albonotatus

  Breeding male White-winged Widowbirds are black, with yellow and white shoulder patches and conspicuous white wing panels in flight. The species feeds on grass seeds and other foods in grassland.

• Hutton's Vireo Vireo huttoni

  Hutton's Vireo is a small gray-green bird with pale markings around its eyes. It searches among leaves for insects and ranges from western North America into northern Central America.

• Lunulated Antbird Oneillornis lunulatus

  This scarce antbird inhabits lowland rainforest understory in eastern Ecuador and northeastern Peru. Males are gray and females brown, but both have a white eyebrow and throat.

• Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis

  The Spanish Sparrow breeds in southern Europe; males are notable for their black chest.

• Yellow-throated Apalis Apalis flavigularis

  This forest-associated bird is endemic to southern Malawi, where it is recorded on the Mulanje, Malosa, and Zomba massifs. A study on Mulanje found it using forest edges with understorey shrubs.

• White-throated Tyrannulet Mecocerculus leucophrys

  The White-throated Tyrannulet is a small bird of humid Andean mountain forests. It searches the canopy and the layer below, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks.

• Rusty-belted Tapaculo Liosceles thoracicus

  The Rusty-belted Tapaculo is a South American bird with a rusty back and breast band. It walks on the forest floor in search of small insects.

• Black-naped Fruit Dove Ptilinopus melanospilus

  This fruit-eating dove is marked by a black band on the back of the neck. It feeds in the canopy and helps disperse plant seeds.

• House Swift Apus nipalensis

  The House Swift is a swift with a dark body, a white throat patch, and a broad white rump band. It catches insects in flight and forages over forests and towns.