Malabar pied hornbills are resident to tropical S Asia from India and Sri Lanka E to Borneo. Photographed here in Goa (India). (Anantha Murthy)

Black skimmers breed in both N and S America. Some wintering in the Caribbean and tropical Pacific coastline, while others in S American make only shorter movements in response to annual floods. (Markus Lilje / rockjumperbirding.com)

Black-headed orioles breed in much of sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan and Ethiopia all the way down to South Africa. (Richard Flack)

Blue-and-Gold macaws are resident in Venezuela S to Peru, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. They are on the verge of being extirpated from Paraguay, but remain widespread and fairly common in most of their range. (Nina Stavlund)

Coppersmith barbets are found on the Indian Subcontinent and parts of SE Asia, preferring gardens, groves and sparse woodland. (Anantha Murthy)

Golden-hooded tanagers are found in S Mexico and extend south to W Ecuador. They prefer the canopy of dense forests and semi-open areas like clearings, second growth, and well-vegetated gardens. (George Scott)

Green bee-eaters are a widespread aerial insectivore found across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and the Gambia to Ethiopia, the Nile valley, W Arabia and Asia as far as India and Vietnam. (Gurum Ekalavya)

Southern masked weavers are resident breeders in southern Africa where they prefer shrublands, savanna, grassland, open woodland, inland wetlands, and semi-desert areas. (Louis Groenewald)

Pitta-like ground rollers are endemic to Madagascar where intensifying deforestation and bushmeat trade threaten this unique species. (Markus Lilje / rockjumperbirding.com)

Atlantic puffins are the only puffin species native to the Atlantic Ocean. Photographed here on Machias Seal Island (Canada). (Nina Stavlund)

Bald eagles have a wide range range across most of Canada and Alaska, United States, and N Mexico. Photographed here in Grand Manan (Canada). (Nina Stavlund)

Herring gulls or “Smithsonian gulls” breed across N America, preferring coastal areas, lakes, rivers and garbage dumps. (Nina Stavlund)

Ospreys are found on all continents except Antarctica. They are uniquely adapted to capture fish and nest in any location near a body of water with an adequate food supply. (Antero Topp)

Crimson-backed tanagers are found in Colombia, French Guyana, Panama and Venezuela. They prefer subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and are called “sangre de toro” (“blood of the bull”) in Panama. (Owen Deutsch / owendeutsch.com)

Squirrel cuckoos are found in NW Mexico, N Argentina, Uruguay, and on Trinidad. Photographed here in Panama. (Owen Deutsch / owendeutsch.com)

Purple grenadiers are a common species of estrildid finch found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. (Raj Dhage Wai)

Purple-rumped sunbirds are endemic to the Indian Subcontinent and characteristically hover for a short period before perching to feed on nectar. (Bheeman Bheeman A)

Red-billed leiothrixes are indigenous to the Indian Subcontinent, but are common cagebird known as Pekin robin, Pekin nightingale, Japanese nightingale, and Japanese robin. Feral populations of escapees have established themselves in Japan and are considered by many to be native. (Caesar Sengupta)

Cattle egrets are indigenous to parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. They have done very well with the global increase in beef consumption over the last 100 years. As a result they have undergone rapid range expansion and established themselves in much of the rest of the world (including Australia). Photographed here in W Bengal (india). (Ripan Biswas)

White-bellied woodstars are common visitors to sugar feeders in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. (Adam Riley / rockjumperbirding.com)

Spanish sparrows are hard to distinguish from the more common house sparrows and are found in found in the Mediterranean region and SW and central Asia. (Arun Viru Kumar)

Red-headed weavers are monotypic in their genus and their nests are a common sight in the southern African bush all the way up to Malawi and Angola. (Trevor Kleyn / trevorkleyn.com)

White-throated laughingthrushes are resident in Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet and Vietnam. They prefer subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. (Caesar Sengupta)

White-vented plumeleteers are found in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. They prefer subtropical or tropical dry forests and moist lowland forests. (Owen Deutsch / owendeutsch.com)

Ashy prinias are resident breeder on the Indian Subcontinent and are found across most of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and western Myanmar. (Yogesh Badri)