Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,676 · Stories: 19,540

• Bee Hummingbird Mellisuga helenae

  

  The Bee Hummingbird is described as the world's smallest bird. Males have iridescent throat feathers, and the birds visit flowers for nectar in Cuba.

• White-streaked Antvireo Dysithamnus leucostictus

  This small bird lives in low tangles of humid montane forest. Males are gray, while females have a rufous-brown head and back, among other sex-specific differences.

• Band-tailed Hornero Furnarius figulus

  A white eyebrow, rusty bars on the wings, and a rufous tail with black tips help identify it. It is recorded in open farmland with bushes, often near water.

• Gray-breasted Partridge Arborophila orientalis

  The Grey-breasted Partridge is a small partridge with a striking black-and-white face. It lives in mountain forests of eastern Java and forages on the ground.

• Regent Parrot Polytelis anthopeplus

  This slim parrot has a long blue-black tail and a yellow shoulder patch. Males are mostly yellow, while females and young birds are greener. It occurs in two separated parts of southern Australia.

• Azure-naped Jay Cyanocorax heilprini

  The Azure-naped Jay is a large jay of lowland northern South America. Its blue-grey body contrasts with a pale sky-blue nape and white-tipped tail feathers.

• Bachman's Sparrow Peucaea aestivalis

  Bachman's Sparrow lives in open pine woods and grasslands in the southeastern United States. It searches the ground for grass seeds and insects and has reddish streaks on its back.

• Ecuadorian Piculet Picumnus sclateri

  This small woodpecker inhabits drier forest and scrub in southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru. It is recorded along the Andean foothills up to 1,800 m.

• Morepork Ninox novaeseelandiae

  The Morepork has dark brown, lightly spotted plumage and large yellow eyes. It is active at night and catches insects and small animals.

• Mouse-grey Flycatcher Myiophobus crypterythrus

  This small flycatcher ranges from southwestern Colombia through western Ecuador to northwestern Peru. It is recorded in light woodland and shrubby openings.

• Malabar Whistling Thrush Myophonus horsfieldii

  The Malabar Whistling Thrush has a dark head and back with bright blue on its body, shoulders, and forehead. It lives in riverine forest and dense undergrowth in peninsular India, where its clear whistling calls are often heard.

• Spot-fronted Swift Cypseloides cherriei

  The Spot-fronted Swift occurs in Costa Rica and scattered areas of northern South America. It has a short, square tail and a distinctive pale pattern around the eyes.

• Long-tailed Widowbird Euplectes progne

  This bird lives in moist grassland. The breeding male has a long tail, while females and males outside the breeding season are brown and streaked.

• Flame-breasted Sunbird Cinnyris solaris

  The male has a glossy blue-green throat and forehead with a vivid orange breast and belly. The species lives alone or in pairs in open woodland and scrub of lowlands and low hills.

• White-browed Laughingthrush Pterorhinus sannio

  Its main range extends from northeastern India through Myanmar, northern Laos, and Vietnam to central and southern China. An isolated population also occurs in Hong Kong.

• Campbell Islands Teal Anas nesiotis

  A small duck of islands south of New Zealand, Campbell Island Teal is wary and mainly active at night.

• White-tipped Plantcutter Phytotoma rutila

  The White-tipped Plantcutter shows strong sex differences in plumage. Males have a red forehead and underparts, while females are grey with dark streaks.

• Greater Striped Swallow Cecropis cucullata

  The Greater Striped Swallow stands out for its rufous forehead and rump and deeply forked tail. It breeds mainly in southern Africa, builds mud nests, and catches insects in flight.

• Yellow-tailed Oriole Icterus mesomelas

  The Yellow-tailed Oriole is marked by a black face and throat and yellow shoulders and tail. In tropical lowlands near woodland and wetlands, pairs search for insects and fruit.

• Black-headed Apalis Apalis melanocephala

  Nine subspecies are listed for the Black-headed Apalis. The account gives a general species description of a dark back, white underparts, long tail, and orange bill; females are duller than males.

• Creamy-bellied Thrush Turdus amaurochalinus

  The Creamy-bellied Thrush is notable for its yellowish bill and pale belly. An Argentine account describes it feeding alone or in pairs, from the ground to low trees.

• Cape Verde Shearwater Calonectris edwardsii

  An ocean-going shearwater that nests in burrows on islands. It is treated separately from Cory's Shearwater.

• Canary White-eye Zosterops luteus

  This white-eye occurs along northern Australia's coast, chiefly in mangroves. Breeding records from the Darwin region suggest year-round breeding, with many nests in the upper part of short mangroves.

• Red-mantled Rosefinch Carpodacus rhodochlamys

  In Gilgit-Baltistan, this rosefinch uses high scrub in summer and lower brush in winter.