Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,676 · Stories: 19,540

• Black-vented Shearwater Puffinus opisthomelas

  

  The Black-vented Shearwater is a seabird with brown-black upperparts and pale underparts. It breeds off Baja California and also ranges in coastal waters of Mexico and California.

• Banggai Crow Corvus unicolor

  This black crow stands out for its pale eye and short tail. It lives in groups in the canopy of montane forest on Peleng Island, Indonesia.

• Sombre Kingfisher Todiramphus funebris

  This large kingfisher lives on Halmahera. Its dark back and white facial stripe stand out, and it catches small animals in forests and mangroves.

• Pied Shrike-Babbler Pteruthius flaviscapis

  The Pied Shrike-Babbler occurs on Java. Males and females differ in plumage, and the species searches for food in forest foliage.

• Green-winged Pytilia Pytilia melba

  The Green-winged Pytilia has an olive-green back and red bill and tail. It feeds on the ground; males and females have different head and breast colors.

• Malagasy Pond Heron Ardeola idae

  In breeding plumage it is entirely white, with long plumes from the head down the nape. Birds from Madagascar migrate to mainland Africa after breeding.

• Little Woodstar Chaetocercus bombus

  This is a tiny hummingbird whose male throat patch may flash purple or pink with the light. It feeds on nectar; the cited distribution account is limited to southwestern Colombia.

• Grey-capped Social Weaver Pseudonigrita arnaudi

  An adult of the nominate subspecies has a pale gray crown and sandy body, with a white eye-ring and black bill.

• Western Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus occipitalis

  The Western Crowned Warbler breeds in the mountains of Central Asia and winters in forests on the Indian peninsula. It moves restlessly from branch to branch, searching among leaves for insects.

• Agulhas Long-billed Lark Certhilauda brevirostris

  This lark is restricted to South Africa's Agulhas Plain. It is a drab brown bird, but has a longer bill than other larks. It nests on the ground, mainly in Renosterveld vegetation.

• Salvadori's Fig Parrot Psittaculirostris salvadorii

  This small parrot lives in lowland forest in northwestern New Guinea. Males and females have different cheek and chest markings, and it eats figs, other fruits, and nectar.

• Crimson-breasted Finch Rhodospingus cruentus

  A small finch of western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Short seasonal movements have been reported in western Ecuador.

• Galapagos Martin Progne modesta

  This martin is about 15 cm long. Males are almost entirely black with a blue sheen, while females are duller brown. It catches flying insects in the Galapagos and nests near cliffs and mangroves.

• Madagascar Wagtail Motacilla flaviventris

  The Madagascar Wagtail has a gray head and back, a white eyebrow, and a narrow black breast band. It forages on the ground near water in Madagascar.

• Bates's Nightjar Caprimulgus batesi

  Bates's Nightjar is a forest bird of western and central Africa. Its dark mottled plumage blends into its surroundings, and it hunts insects in dim light.

• Ridgway's Hawk Buteo ridgwayi

  This medium-sized hawk has broad wings and a long tail. It waits for prey from low perches or open areas and is native to Hispaniola and nearby islands.

• Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna

  The Eastern Meadowlark lives in grasslands and farmland in eastern North America and searches for food on the ground.

• Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis

  This tern has a white body, black cap and black bill with a yellow tip. Birds breeding in Britain and Ireland move to the West African coast for winter.

• Orange-crested Manakin Heterocercus aurantiivertex

  This manakin occurs in the Peruvian Amazon. Peru Aves describes it foraging in the midstory and understory of floodplain forest along blackwater rivers.

• Blue-black Grosbeak Cyanocompsa cyanoides

  The AOS classification treats the Blue-black Grosbeak as Cyanoloxia cyanoides. A report from northwestern Peru documents the subspecies C. c. cyanoides in scrub that differs from its usual humid-forest setting.

• Chestnut-rumped Babbler Stachyris maculata

  The Chestnut-rumped Babbler is a small bird studied in lowland forests of Borneo and the Malay Peninsula. Researchers recorded it foraging among suspended dead leaves and showing bluish skin on the head while calling.

• Bradfield's Hornbill Lophoceros bradfieldi

  Bradfield's Hornbill lives in dry woodlands and nearby habitats of southern Africa. It is usually in pairs or family groups, but local flocks can form toward the end of the dry season when food is scarce.

• White-browed Antpitta Hylopezus ochroleucus

  This antpitta occurs in northeastern Brazil. It has a white eyebrow and a second pale line below it, with rufous flanks, and searches for small invertebrates near the forest floor.

• Akun Eagle-Owl Ketupa leucosticta

  The Akun Eagle-Owl is a large owl with conspicuous white spots and a pale rufous face. It inhabits lowland forests in western and central Africa.