Meet the world’s animals.
Photos: 12,676 · Stories: 19,540
- Streamer-tailed Tyrant Gubernetes yetapa
Photo: Dario Sanches from São Paulo, Brazil · CC BY-SA 2.0 Adults have strikingly elongated central tail feathers. In southern Brazil, a breeding study found that fledged young first foraged independently, then joined mixed-species flocks.
- Yellow-hooded Blackbird Chrysomus icterocephalus
A blackbird that nests in freshwater wetlands during the breeding season. Males have glossy black plumage with a yellow head and chest; females are olive-brown with a faded yellow hood.
- Chestnut-capped Piha Lipaugus weberi
This cotinga is known from a restricted area of Colombia's Central Cordillera. Its chestnut crown and gray body are distinctive.
- Long-tailed Sibia Heterophasia picaoides
The Long-tailed Sibia has a very long white-tipped tail and a white wing patch. It lives in forests from the Himalayas to Southeast Asia and feeds on insects, fruits, and other foods in the canopy.
- Kittlitz's Plover Charadrius pecuarius
Kittlitz's plover walks along African coasts and inland sand or mud, searching for small prey.
- Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae
The Cape Verde Petrel spends most of its life at sea and returns to the highlands of the Cape Verde Islands to breed. It nests in rocky crevices and cavities.
- Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros
A small bird that also lives in British cities and industrial centres. Males have grey-black plumage and a red tail.
- Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike Campephaga phoenicea
The Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike lives in forest from West Africa through the Congo Basin. Males are blue-black with a red shoulder patch; females are olive with barred white underparts.
- Lesser Blue-eared Starling Lamprotornis chloropterus
The Lesser Blue-eared Starling has glossy blue-green plumage and violet-blue areas on the flanks and belly. It searches in trees and on the ground for fruit, seeds, and insects.
- Thick-billed Lark Ramphocoris clotbey
The Thick-billed Lark is a pale, dry-country lark with a notably large bill. It searches for food close to the ground.
- Eurasian magpie Pica pica
A member of the crow family with a black-and-white body and a long tail. In Britain, its dark feathers show blue or green gloss at close range.
- Nutmeg Mannikin Lonchura punctulata
A small finch with scalloped markings on its chest. It feeds on grass seeds, and flocks are seen in Singapore parks.
- Sick’s Swift Chaetura meridionalis
Sick’s Swift (Chaetura meridionalis) breeds from eastern Bolivia to northern Argentina and east-central Brazil, then moves north for winter. Specimen descriptions give adults a sooty-brown body and a pale throat. In central Argentina, two nests were recorded in tree hollows in Chaco woodland.
- New Caledonian Friarbird Philemon diemenensis
This large honeyeater is found only in New Caledonia. It eats flower nectar, fruit, and insects, and also uses open places where flowers grow.
- Speke's Weaver Ploceus spekei
A weaver of East African scrub and woodland near water; breeding males have striking yellow and black plumage.
- Eastern Whip-poor-will Antrostomus vociferus
The Eastern Whip-poor-will is a nocturnal bird whose mottled gray-brown plumage blends into the forest floor. It hunts flying insects at dusk and night in open woods.
- Plain-backed Sunbird Anthreptes reichenowi
BirdLife International describes two separated population areas: coastal Kenya and eastern Tanzania, and another spanning Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, and South Africa.
- Fiery-shouldered Parakeet Pyrrhura egregia
The Fiery-shouldered Parakeet uses humid mountain forest and edges, foraging for plant material in trees. The male is described with a brownish-red head, green body, and orange-yellow wing edge.
- Cardinal Lory Pseudeos cardinalis
The Cardinal Lory is a nectar-feeding parrot with conspicuous red plumage. It ranges from New Ireland to Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, using coastal lowlands and upland forest.
- Key West Quail-Dove Geotrygon chrysia
This dove occurs on Caribbean islands. It walks on the ground to forage and stays quiet beneath dense cover.
- Tooth-billed Wren Odontorchilus cinereus
This wren inhabits lowland forest south of the Amazon River in Brazil and eastern Bolivia.
- Black-collared Swallow Pygochelidon melanoleuca
This swallow has a black chest band against a white belly. A study along a river in southeastern Brazil recorded it nesting in rock cavities.
- Pemba Scops Owl Otus pembaensis
The Pemba Scops Owl is found only on Pemba Island off northern Tanzania. It is nocturnal, and its plumage ranges from light brown to russet.
- Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis
The Black Rail is a very small, dark rail of North American wetlands. White speckles mark its plumage, and dense grasses make it difficult to see.