Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,825 · Stories: 19,540

• Ecuadorian Rail Rallus aequatorialis

  

  This rail is recorded from southern Colombia through Ecuador and coastal Peru. It hides in dense grass and reeds and is found alone or in well-separated pairs.

• White-necked Heron Ardea pacifica

  The White-necked Heron is a large heron with a white head and long neck marked by black spots. It walks in shallow water to find fish and other prey.

• Rufous-chested Dotterel Charadrius modestus

  This plover breeds in grasslands and wetlands at the southern tip of South America. Some move north along the Pacific coast outside the breeding season, while others remain in the south throughout the year.

• Yellow Weaver Ploceus subaureus

  A yellow weaver that nests among reeds near water. Males and females differ in eye and bill color, and it eats seeds, insects, and nectar.

• Black Oropendola Psarocolius guatimozinus

  The Black Oropendola is a large bird of restricted humid lowlands in eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia. It searches high in trees and is thought to take nectar from flowers.

• Murphy's Petrel Pterodroma ultima

  Murphy’s Petrel is a seabird that breeds on islands in the South Pacific. It is mostly dark brown to gray, with pale flashes at the wingtips.

• Mountain Fulvetta Alcippe peracensis

  A grey head and a dark line running from above the eye toward the nape help identify this bird. It eats insects in evergreen forest and may occur in small groups.

• Chuuk Flycatcher Myiagra oceanica

  The Chuuk Flycatcher is endemic to the Chuuk Islands in Micronesia. Males have a blue-gray brown crown and rufous breast; birds hunt insects from low perches around forest edges and gardens.

• Yellow-breasted Warbler Seicercus montis

  This small leaf warbler occurs in montane areas of the southern Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Palawan, Flores, and Timor, in forest and bamboo.

• Pied Coucal Centropus ateralbus

  The Pied Coucal occurs in the Bismarck Archipelago. Its plumage varies from mostly black birds to individuals with much more white or pearly grey.

• Yellow-cheeked Tit Machlolophus spilonotus

  The yellow-cheeked tit is a small tit with yellow cheeks and a black crest. In Hong Kong, a population thought to derive from ex-captive birds has become established in mature woodland.

• Spotted Nightjar Eurostopodus argus

  The Spotted Nightjar is an Australian nightjar that rests on the ground by day and becomes active at dusk and night.

• Andean Swallow Orochelidon andecola

  An Andean swallow that searches for food over high grasslands. Its dark blue back, gray rump, and pale underside are useful marks.

• Brown-backed Solitaire Myadestes occidentalis

  The Brown-backed Solitaire is a thrush of mountain forests from Mexico into northern Central America. It is brown with gray markings and eats mostly fruit in forests near water.

• Brown-headed Apalis Apalis alticola

  This small bird inhabits mid- to high-elevation forest in central and eastern Africa. A Tanzanian regional account notes a dark brown crown, grey outer tail feathers, and white tail tips.

• Aleutian Tern Onychoprion aleuticus

  The Aleutian Tern breeds along coasts and islands of the northern North Pacific and catches small fish and crustaceans in summer.

• Gray Kestrel Falco ardosiaceus

  The Gray Kestrel is a small raptor widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. It searches for insects and lizards from a perch.

• Campbell Islands Teal Anas nesiotis

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

• Mexican Parrotlet Forpus cyanopygius

  This small parrot lives in western Mexico. Males show blue on the rump and wings, and flocks feed on fruit and grass seeds.

• African Citril Crithagra citrinelloides

  A small yellow-green finch, with a dark facial pattern in males of the nominate subspecies. It occurs in highland grasslands and forest edges in East Africa.

• Grey-and-gold Warbler Myiothlypis fraseri

  A wood-warbler of humid forest in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. It searches for food in shrubs and dense lower vegetation.

• Singing Starling Aplonis cantoroides

  Adults are black with red eyes and a short, square tail. They nest in tree holes, cliffs, or buildings and occur on New Guinea and nearby island groups.

• Sooty Munia Lonchura melaena

  This is a small mannikin described here from its New Britain population. It has a black head and breast and eats grass seeds and sugarcane seed heads.

• Bates's Sunbird Cinnyris batesi

  Bates's Sunbird is a small sunbird of African forests and forest edges. Its dark olive upperparts contrast with a pale eyebrow and yellow-edged wings.