Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,813 · Stories: 19,540

• Oustalet's White-bellied Sunbird Cinnyris oustaleti

  

  This sunbird occurs in Angola and Namibia. It uses semi-open miombo woodland and shrubland, taking nectar and small insects. Males have brightly colored pectoral tufts.

• Tiny Cisticola Cisticola nana

  This very small cisticola occurs in dry scrub and grassland in East Africa. It is about 9–10 cm long and feeds on small invertebrates near the ground.

• Brown-backed Honeyeater Ramsayornis modestus

  This small honeyeater lives in coastal areas of northeastern Australia and New Guinea. It is often seen in flowering trees near water.

• Sao Tome Grosbeak Crithagra concolor

  The Sao Tome Grosbeak is a large finch found only on São Tomé Island. It has a large, powerful bill and rusty-brown plumage, and feeds on seeds in the forest canopy and understory.

• Transvolcanic Jay Aphelocoma ultramarina

  The Transvolcanic Jay lives in highland forests along Mexico's central volcanic belt. Its blue-gray plumage and flocks of several to a few dozen birds are characteristic.

• Red-billed Streamertail Trochilus polytmus

  The Red-billed Streamertail lives across most of Jamaica. The long tail streamers belong to males, and the island's far eastern tip is occupied by a separate species.

• Silvery Pigeon Columba argentina

  The Silvery Pigeon has silvery blue-grey plumage and a green sheen on the nape. In 2008, one bird was photographed flying between islands in Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands.

• Snowy owl Bubo scandiacus

  A white owl of Arctic and surrounding tundra. Some move south in winter.

• Fuscous Flycatcher Cnemotriccus fuscatus

  This flycatcher occurs across South America. The Peru account describes it foraging in the understory of river-created habitats, with different subspecies associated with different environments.

• Puff-throated Bulbul Alophoixus pallidus

  The Puff-throated Bulbul is a bulbul of the forest understory. Its rufous crest and conspicuous, puffy white throat stand out.

• Least Tern Sternula antillarum

  A small tern that searches above the water for small fish, then plunges to catch them. Breeding adults show a black cap and yellow bill.

• Ethiopian Firefinch Lagonosticta larvata

  The Ethiopian Firefinch, Lagonosticta larvata, occurs in southeastern Sudan, eastern South Sudan and western Ethiopia. This account follows the nominate population.

• Spotted Ground Thrush Geokichla guttata

  The South African race has large black spots across its white underside and searches among forest leaf litter for food.

• White-sided Flowerpiercer Diglossa albilatera

  This flowerpiercer inhabits Andean forest edges and scrub. Males are black and females brown, with white tufts on the sides in both; juveniles may show little or no white.

• Lesser cuckoo Cuculus poliocephalus

  A cuckoo visiting Japanese mountain forests, where the male’s loud call carries through the trees.

• Indigo-banded Kingfisher Ceyx cyanopectus

  This small kingfisher lives beside waterways in the northern Philippines. Adult males of the nominate form have two blue bands across the orange chest and dive from low perches to catch prey.

• Greater Flameback Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus

  The Greater Flameback is a large woodpecker ranging across South and Southeast Asia. In part of its range, it is strongly associated with mangroves.

• Bamboo Antshrike Cymbilaimus sanctaemariae

  The Bamboo Antshrike is a bamboo specialist of southwestern Amazonia. Males are barred black and white, while females have orange-buff underparts.

• Purple Starling Lamprotornis purpureus

  This starling has glossy purple plumage and large yellow eyes. It eats fruit, nectar, and insects and roosts in large flocks outside the breeding season.

• Spur-winged Goose Plectropterus gambensis

  This large waterbird lives around wetlands and eats mainly plant matter.

• Black-throated Laughingthrush Pterorhinus chinensis

  The Black-throated Laughingthrush lives in forests from southern China through Indochina. It usually moves in pairs or small groups and searches for food in the lower parts of trees and shrubs.

• White-browed Meadowlark Leistes superciliaris

  This icterid lives in open grasslands of South America. The male is black with red patches and a white eyebrow, while the female is brown-toned and looks different.

• Beaudouin's Snake Eagle Circaetus beaudouini

  This snake eagle lives in the sparsely wooded Sahel. It searches from prominent perches and takes snakes and other small prey.

• Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper Lochmias nematura

  The Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper is about 15.5 cm long, with a dark brown body, a pale eyebrow, and white-scaled underparts. It uses streamside scrub and nests near water.