Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,825 · Stories: 19,540

• Tenggara Swiftlet Collocalia sumbawae

  

  A swiftlet of the western Lesser Sunda Islands. It occurs in forest and dense habitats and feeds on invertebrates.

• Wetar Scops Owl Otus tempestatis

  A small owl endemic to Wetar Island, Indonesia. Gray and rufous forms occur. It was recorded in tropical forest and heard in eucalyptus woodland at 300 m, calling at night.

• Mexican Jay Aphelocoma wollweberi

  The Mexican Jay ranges from Mexico into the southwestern United States, inhabiting mountain woodlands in family groups.

• Peruvian Plantcutter Phytotoma raimondii

  It has a short, notched bill; males are mainly grey and females are brown with dark streaks. The species remains in dry forest and scrub along Peru's coast.

• Vermilion Cardinal Cardinalis phoeniceus

  The male has a red body, crest, and black throat; the female is gray-brown with a red crest and tail. Pairs use dry scrub and dry lowland forest.

• Russet Sparrow Passer rutilans

  A sparrow ranging from the Himalayas across East Asia. Western populations use open woodland and terraced fields, while eastern populations use woodland edges and cultivated land; winter flocks sometimes forage together.

• Alaska Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis

  Breeding males show bright yellow underparts and patterned heads. The wagtail searches for insects close to the ground in wet, open habitats.

• Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark Eremopterix signatus

  The male Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark is recognizable by its chestnut-colored head. By day, it feeds on seeds on the ground in dry grassland and acacia scrub.

• Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon

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

• King Rail Rallus elegans

  A large rail of North American wetlands, it has a chestnut back, gray face, and black-and-white bars on its flanks. It walks through reeds and grasses to find food.

• Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea

  A small heron of wetlands and estuaries in the southeastern United States. Some birds breeding inland migrate to Central and South America and the Caribbean.

• Andean Lapwing Vanellus resplendens

  The Andean Lapwing walks through high Andean grasslands and wet open ground to feed. Pairs defend territories and call loudly.

• Usambara Weaver Ploceus nicolli

  This weaver is found in the mountains of northeastern Tanzania. Males are mainly yellow and black, while females are olive and yellow; it feeds on insects.

• Altamira Oriole Icterus gularis

  The Altamira Oriole has a bright orange body and a contrasting black face. It weaves a long, hanging bag-shaped nest from a tree branch.

• Subantarctic Shearwater Puffinus elegans

  The Subantarctic Shearwater is a small seabird that breeds on remote islands in the Southern Ocean. It nests in soil burrows, but New Zealand Birds Online says much of its biology remains poorly known.

• Scaly Babbler Turdoides squamulata

  The Scaly Babbler is a babbler of coastal thickets and riverine scrub in East Africa. Scaled markings on the head and breast, an orange eye, and a black bill help identify it. Family groups call to one another while staying in dense cover.

• Vanikoro Flycatcher Myiagra vanikorensis

  The male Vanikoro Flycatcher is a small flycatcher with a bluish-black head and orange underparts. It uses forests as well as gardens and cultivated places with scattered trees, where it takes insects and other small food.

• Laura's Woodland Warbler Phylloscopus laurae

  A historical record places this warbler on Mount Moco in Angola. Laura Boulton's account described it as apparently confined to the montane rainforest of the Benguela Highlands.

• Lesser Roadrunner Geococcyx velox

  This ground-dwelling cuckoo has a long tail and crest. It ranges from Mexico into Central America and eats grasshoppers and caterpillars in dry scrub and open country.

• Willow tit Poecile montanus

  In Japan it occurs in mountain woodland from Kyushu northward. A black cap on the head is conspicuous.

• Standard-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus longipennis

  The Standard-winged Nightjar is an African migrant whose breeding males grow long ornamental wing feathers.

• Sichuan Grasshopper-warbler Locustella chengi

  This bush warbler was described from central China. In southern Sichuan, it has been recorded in dense low herbs and ferns, forest clearings, sparse secondary forest, and tea plantations.

• Asian House Martin Delichon dasypus

  This swift-flying martin catches insects in the air. It is recorded as a migrant in Singapore.

• Fieldfare Turdus pilaris

  A thrush that travels from northern Europe to Britain for winter, often moving through the countryside in flocks to find berries.