Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,825 · Stories: 19,540

• Blackish Nightjar Nyctipolus nigrescens

  

  The Blackish Nightjar inhabits lowlands and foothills of northern South America. Its finely patterned brown and gray plumage blends with rocky ground near forest edges.

• Chestnut-colored Woodpecker Celeus castaneus

  This woodpecker has mostly chestnut-brown plumage and a sturdy bill for working into wood. Males have a red stripe along the side of the face; females do not. Ants and termites are major foods.

• White-billed Buffalo Weaver Bubalornis albirostris

  This large weaver lives in dry habitats south of the Sahara and feeds on seeds, fruit, and small invertebrates found on the ground.

• White-throated Mountain-gem Lampornis castaneoventris

  The White-throated Mountain-gem lives in Costa Rican mountain forest. The adult description notes a white throat, pale green breast, and grayish tail.

• Wing-banded Wren Microcerculus bambla

  A wren of Amazonian forest that forages alone on the forest floor. It also occurs outside Peru, including Ecuador and Brazil.

• Malagasy Palm Swift Cypsiurus gracilis

  This swift occurs in Madagascar and the Comoros. It inhabits open lowland secondary vegetation, uses palms for nesting, and catches insects in flight.

• Kikuyu White-eye Zosterops kikuyuensis

  This white-eye occurs on mountains in central Kenya. Its recorded habitats include highland forest and forest edge, bamboo stands, wooded gardens, eucalyptus and conifer woods.

• Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii

  A tern that breeds on islands in eastern North America and the Caribbean. It flies offshore to catch small fish. Aspects of its nonbreeding life in South America and elsewhere remain poorly known.

• Pied Cuckoo-Dove Reinwardtoena browni

  This large dove contrasts a silvery head, neck, and chest with a pale belly and dark wings and tail. It lives in forests on islands northeast of New Guinea.

• Little Minivet Pericrocotus lansbergei

  In the 1886 description from Bima on Sumbawa, the male had a green-blue sheen on its black head and throat, with red-orange on the breast and part of the wing. A 1993 survey recorded the bird in forests on Flores and Sumbawa and reported that Flores males looked darker.

• Chestnut-throated Flycatcher Myiagra castaneigularis

  The Chestnut-throated Flycatcher was described from Vanua Levu, Fiji. Its 1876 original account records forest observations, insect feeding, and differences in throat and back color between males and females.

• Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria

  The Solitary Sandpiper has a prominent white eye-ring and a black-and-white tail. It walks in shallow water, frequently bobbing the rear of its body.

• Yellow-billed Pintail Anas georgica

  This duck has a yellow bill and a long neck and tail. The account here describes the subspecies recorded in the Patagonia region.

• Bengal Bush Lark Plocealauda assamica

  A lark of open country in South Asia. It forages on the ground and also occurs on dry, stony ground and cultivated land.

• Asian Barred Owlet Glaucidium cuculoides

  The Asian Barred Owlet is a small owl with white bars across a brown to olive body. It is also active by day.

• Andaman Coucal Centropus andamanensis

  Its head and underside are gray-brown, while the back, wings, and tail show reddish-violet to bronze tones. It uses forest edges and farmland, and the species account notes it searching for food while walking through mangrove mud.

• Lowland Masked Apalis Apalis binotata

  This apalis inhabits lowland forest in central Africa. Reichenow's 1896 description records a male with a black throat and white throat tufts; a separate species account describes its forest habitat and branch gleaning.

• Palani Laughingthrush Montecincla fairbanki

  The Palani Laughingthrush is a small bird of the hills of southwest India. It has an olive-brown back, a white eyebrow, and a rusty belly, and searches low scrub for insects and fruit. It was formerly treated as conspecific with the Ashambu Laughingthrush; this entry follows the current separate species concept.

• Grandala Grandala coelicolor

  This thrush ranges through high country from the Himalaya to Tibet and western China. Males are blue; females are brown with a bluish rump and white wing patches.

• Yellow-winged Pytilia Pytilia hypogrammica

  The Yellow-winged Pytilia is a small bird whose male has a red face and throat with a grey crown and back. It mainly eats grass seeds and also takes insects.

• Kalij Pheasant Lophura leucomelanos

  Males are mainly black and silver, while females are reddish brown. Both have red facial skin, a crest, and a laterally compressed tail. They scratch the ground for food.

• Sharpe's Starling Pholia sharpii

  A starling of eastern African highlands, from Ethiopia south to Tanzania, associated with wet montane forest.

• Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis

  This North American swallow catches insects while flying low over water and nests in burrows in banks.

• Yellow-throated Seedeater Crithagra flavigula

  This gray-brown seedeater has a pale yellow throat and a yellow rump visible in flight. It occurs locally in dry savanna, favoring rocky hillsides.