Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,825 · Stories: 19,540

• Lovely Sunbird Aethopyga shelleyi

  

  This sunbird lives in forests on Palawan and nearby islands. Males show iridescent purple and crimson, while females have more subdued olive coloring.

• Spix's Warbling Antbird Hypocnemis striata

  The species account classifies this antbird as a forest-dwelling invertivore. In Anapu, Pará, two nests were documented in dense terra firme forest in April 2016.

• Moustached Brush Finch Atlapetes albofrenatus

  This brush finch is recorded in Colombia’s eastern Andes. A 2014 study compared photographs and vocalizations of the Colombian nominate form, describing its white chin, green mantle and moustachial marking.

• Saffron-headed Parrot Pyrilia pyrilia

  The Saffron-headed Parrot has a green body, yellow head and throat, and red feathers on parts of the wings. Small groups fly and call in the canopy of humid forest.

• Black-lored Yellowthroat Geothlypis auricularis

  A small bird of the Tumbesian region of Ecuador and Peru. Males have black around the eye; females show a yellow brow and eyering. It occurs in low thickets and open-woodland edges.

• Mascarene Petrel Pseudobulweria aterrima

  The Mascarene Petrel is an all-dark seabird. It breeds on Réunion and ranges widely across the Indian Ocean at different times of year.

• Bates's Nightjar Caprimulgus batesi

  Bates's Nightjar is a forest bird of western and central Africa. Its dark mottled plumage blends into its surroundings, and it hunts insects in dim light.

• Golden-naped Woodpecker Melanerpes chrysauchen

  Adult males have a golden forehead and nape with a red crown; females lack the red on the head. The Costa Rican account describes family groups in humid forest.

• Compact Weaver Ploceus superciliosus

  This small weaver is about 12 cm long. The account lists moist open grassland and a seed-based diet. Sound recordings include Gwarimpa in Abuja, Nigeria.

• Santa Marta Sabrewing Campylopterus phainopeplus

  This hummingbird is endemic to the Santa Marta Mountains of northeastern Colombia. It has been little studied, so much of its natural-history information comes from observations in this small range.

• Tooth-billed Wren Odontorchilus cinereus

  This wren inhabits lowland forest south of the Amazon River in Brazil and eastern Bolivia.

• Purple Needletail Hirundapus celebensis

  The Purple Needletail is a swift that flies over forests and open country.

• Taita White-eye Zosterops silvanus

  This small bird lives in forests of the Taita Hills and Mount Kasigau in southeastern Kenya. Its white eyering and yellow brow stand out; it uses forest edges and gleans insects and small fruit.

• Vega Gull Larus vegae

  This large gull breeds mainly in northeastern Siberia and moves to the East Asian coast for winter. Its gray-and-white body, black wingtips, yellow bill, and pink legs are distinctive.

• Diamond Dove Geopelia cuneata

  A small dove with white-spotted wings and a red eye-ring. It lives in dry, open parts of inland Australia.

• Satin Flycatcher Myiagra cyanoleuca

  Male Satin Flycatchers are blue-black and white; females combine bluish grey, rusty red, and white. They breed in southeastern Australia and move north for the non-breeding season.

• Wandering Tattler Tringa incana

  The Wandering Tattler has heavily barred gray-and-white underparts in breeding plumage and a plain gray chest outside the breeding season. It breeds beside northern rivers and moves to rocky Pacific shores and islands.

• Chiloe Wigeon Mareca sibilatrix

  Males have a green, iridescent head while females are duller; they gather with other ducks in shallow water and rest on grassy banks.

• Eastern Clapper Lark Corypha fasciolata

  This lark uses open grassland in southern Africa. Rufous tones are usual across much of its range, while birds in northern Namibia and northern Botswana are paler.

• Cloud-forest Screech Owl Megascops marshalli

  This screech-owl inhabits cloud forest on the eastern Andes of central Peru. The account also reports a recent discovery in Bolivia.

• Rufous Coucal Centropus unirufus

  The Rufous Coucal is a rufous-colored coucal of forests in the northern Philippines. It uses both the ground and trees.

• Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius

  A small Asian bird with a greenish back; in breeding season the male has elongated central tail feathers.

• Nepal Fulvetta Alcippe nipalensis

  The Nepal Fulvetta lives in forest from the lowlands to the mountains of the eastern Himalayas. Outside the breeding season it may form active flocks of up to about 20 birds, sometimes with other species.

• Gray-cheeked Thrush Catharus minimus

  The Gray-cheeked Thrush has a grayish face and spotted breast. It breeds in far northern North America and migrates to South America for winter.