Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,676 · Stories: 19,540

• Geelvink Imperial Pigeon Ducula geelvinkiana

  

  This large pigeon is resident on islands off western New Guinea in Indonesia. It has a pale gray head and breast, iridescent blue-green upperparts, and one mainland record is considered a vagrant.

• Timberline Wren Thryorchilus browni

  This wren inhabits the mountains from southern Costa Rica into Panama, using high-elevation bamboo thickets and forest edges.

• European Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis rufula

  Its breeding range extends from the Iberian Peninsula across North Africa and the Middle East to northwestern South Asia. Northern populations migrate, while those in the south are mainly resident.

• Red-chested Owlet Glaucidium tephronotum

  The Red-chested Owlet is a small owl without ear-tufts. It lives in forest and along forest edges and feeds chiefly on invertebrates.

• South Island Takahe Porphyrio hochstetteri

  The South Island Takahe is a large flightless rail with stout red legs and a strong bill. In the wild it feeds on grassland plants and may move into forest when snow is deep.

• Northern Chestnut-tailed Antbird Sciaphylax castanea

  This antbird occurs in western Amazonia, including northern Peru. Males and females differ in their breast and wing markings, and forage in the understory of floodplain and terra firme forest.

• Blyth's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus reguloides

  A small leaf warbler that searches forests for insects. It uses higher-elevation forest in the breeding season and is known to move to lower ground in winter.

• Dusky Tit Melaniparus funereus

  This tit lives in forests of eastern Africa. Its dark plumage and bright red eye stand out, and it searches branches and leaves for small invertebrates.

• Wire-tailed Manakin Pipra filicauda

  Males court with long, wire-like tail feathers. Male breeding behavior has been studied in lowland Amazonian forest in southern Venezuela.

• Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis

  The Buff-breasted Sandpiper is a shorebird with buff plumage and a short bill. It walks through dry grass to find insects, and males display with raised wings on the breeding grounds.

• Papuan Scrubwren Aethomyias papuensis

  A scrubwren of New Guinea’s mountains that searches for insects in low bushes and forest undergrowth, often hidden in dense vegetation.

• Cuban Black Hawk Buteogallus gundlachii

  This hawk lives near the coasts of Cuba. It often eats crabs and may scavenge dead fish. An older study used a subspecies combination; this entry follows the current species name.

• Striped Woodpecker Veniliornis lignarius

  A bark-foraging woodpecker recorded in Argentina’s montane forests and forest edges in the regional account.

• Madagascar Coucal Centropus toulou

  In breeding plumage, the Madagascar Coucal is black with rufous-chestnut on the lower back and wings. It occurs on Madagascar and Aldabra.

• Plumed Egret Ardea plumifera

  A medium-sized all-white egret of Australasia. It grows long breeding plumes on breast and shoulders and forages in shallow freshwater for fish, frogs and insects.

• Plain White-eye Zosterops hypolais

  The Plain White-eye is a small bird recorded in forests and open grassy places on Yap. A 1977 field account described dull gray-white plumage with a pale yellow wash below, small flocks, and feeding in both the canopy and short grass.

• Chami Antpitta Grallaria alvarezi

  The eBird/Merlin account places the Chami Antpitta in high-elevation cloud forest in Colombia’s western Andes. It also notes that the species was once treated as one form within the broader Rufous Antpitta group.

• Ochre-collared Monarch Arses insularis

  This monarch flycatcher occurs in northern New Guinea and on Yapen Island, from lowlands into the mountains. Males contrast black and white with an ochre collar; females are more subdued and brown-toned.

• Giant Kingfisher Megaceryle maxima

  A large kingfisher of sub-Saharan African waters, hunting fish, crabs, and other prey.

• White-chinned Prinia Schistolais leucopogon

  This prinia uses scrub and forest edges across tropical Africa. It has a white throat and broad tail; field observations describe it in small groups among dense vegetation.

• Sapphire-vented Puffleg Eriocnemis luciani

  The Sapphire-vented Puffleg is a hummingbird with white feathered leg puffs and a long, forked blue-purple tail. It lives in Andean cloud forest and may visit hummingbird feeders where they are available.

• Sooty-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus aurigaster

  This bulbul has a dark head, brown body, and red undertail. In Thailand it is found around towns, plantations, and forest edges, foraging in pairs or small flocks.

• Flame-crested Tanager Loriotus cristatus

  This tanager ranges through northern and eastern South America. The male is mostly black with a broad yellow-and-orange crest, and feeds on fruit and arthropods.

• California Towhee Melozone crissalis

  The California Towhee is a sparrow-like bird of scrub in California and Oregon. It forages on the ground and stays near low shrubs.