Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,825 · Stories: 19,540

• Swinhoe's Snipe Gallinago megala

  

  Swinhoe's Snipe is a shorebird that moves between wetlands with the seasons. Its long bill and mottled plumage help it blend into grass and mud.

• Mexican Duck Anas diazi

  The Mexican Duck is found mainly in Mexico. It uses temporary wetlands during the rainy season and agricultural areas around water in the dry season.

• Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark Eremopterix leucotis

  Males have chestnut upperparts and wings, a black head, and a white ear patch. The species mainly eats grass seeds and also takes insects in the breeding season. A study in northern South Africa found nests in open areas with much bare ground.

• Sula Scops Owl Otus sulaensis

  This owl lives on the Sula Islands. It has a grey-brown facial disk and dark streaks with pale bars on its underside.

• Asian Emerald Cuckoo Chrysococcyx maculatus

  A cuckoo whose males have glossy green plumage; it forages in the tree canopy for insects such as caterpillars and ants.

• 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.

• White-crested Laughingthrush Garrulax leucolophus

  The White-crested Laughingthrush is a large babbler with a white crest and black facial mask. Flocks of about 6–12 birds search the forest floor for food.

• Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush Catharus aurantiirostris

  The small Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush is notable for its orange bill.

• Red-eared Firetail Stagonopleura oculata

  This finch lives in forests in southwestern Australia. It has a red bill and ear patch and black-and-white spots on the belly.

• Crested Partridge Rollulus rouloul

  The male has a striking red crest and differs greatly in color from the female; both forage on the forest floor.

• Rosy Starling Pastor roseus

  Adults have a pale pink body with a glossy black head, wings, and tail. They breed in grasslands and winter in India.

• South African Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon spilodera

  The South African Cliff Swallow has a glossy blue-black back and a squared tail. The reddish-brown rump and chest vary with plumage condition. It migrates between southern African breeding areas and wintering grounds in the Congo Basin.

• Apapane Himatione sanguinea

  The Apapane is a Hawaiian honeycreeper that uses nectar as a major food source and also takes insects. It visits ʻōhiʻa blossoms and moves through the canopy as it feeds.

• Congo Serpent Eagle Circaetus spectabilis

  The Congo Serpent Eagle is a forest raptor with rounded wings and a long tail. It watches from a perch for snakes and other prey.

• Ornate Honeyeater Melidectes torquatus

  The Ornate Melidectes is a honeyeater of New Guinea's mountains. A nominate-subspecies male has conspicuous yellow-orange bare skin around the eye and a white-scaled back, and searches for food in the canopy.

• Mountain Cacique Cacicus chrysonotus

  The Peru account describes this cacique in montane forest on the eastern Andes. It reports a yellow wing patch north of Junín and a yellow rump in southern populations.

• Streak-headed Woodcreeper Lepidocolaptes souleyetii

  A woodcreeper of Central American forests, with many pale streaks on the crown and nape and additional streaking on the back and wings.

• Little Kingfisher Ceyx pusillus

  A tiny blue-and-white kingfisher of rivers, wetlands, and mangroves. It watches for prey from a perch near the water.

• Oleaginous Hemispingus Sphenopsis frontalis

  This tanager relative lives in montane forest on the eastern Andean slope. Its yellow-olive head and back, yellowish underparts, and dense-foliage foraging are useful field marks.

• Spotted Palm Thrush Cichladusa guttata

  About the size of a House Sparrow, it searches for food in leaf litter and thickets by day. It eats insects and plant parts and builds its nest in palm trees.

• Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata

  This waterbird lives in marshes and ponds across the Americas. It swims and walks on floating plants with its long toes.

• Tumbes Tyrant Tumbezia salvini

  This small tyrant flycatcher occurs in the Tumbesian region of northwestern Peru and southern Ecuador. Its distribution is closely associated with lowland dry forest and the western Andean foothills.

• Black-collared Jay Cyanolyca armillata

  The Black-collared Jay is a jay of Andean mountain forests.

• Sula Hanging Parrot Loriculus sclateri

  A small hanging parrot from islands in eastern Indonesia. Its wings make a hummingbird-like whirring sound in flight.