Asian paradise-flycatchers inhabit thick forests and well-wooded habitats from Turkestan to Manchuria, all over India and Sri Lanka to the Malay Archipelago on the islands of Sumba and Alor. (AB Apana)Osprey tolerate a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. They are found on all continents (except Antarctica). Photographed here in Byron Bay (Australia). (Deborah Pearse)Common buzzards range over most of Europe and W Asia. They breed in woodlands, usually on the fringes, as they but favor hunting over open land, targeting small mammals and carrion. (Lennart Hessel)Cape gannet pairs may remain together over several seasons and perform elaborate greeting rituals at the nest, stretching their bills and necks skywards and gently tapping bills together. They begin breeding on off-shore islands in August and September. (Peter Chadwick)Blue-cheeked honeyeaters are found in open woodland, parks, and gardens, and are common in N and E Australia and S New Guinea. They appears to be sedentary in parts of their range and locally-nomadic in other parts. (Shirell Lynch)Blue-throated barbets are are an Asian barbet seen across the Indian Subcontinent and SE Asia. Barbets and toucans are a group of near passerine birds with a world-wide tropical distribution. The barbets get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills. (Shishir Saksena)Blue-tailed bee-eaters breed in sub-tropical open country, such as farmland, parks or ricefields, in SE Asia. They are strongly migratory with seasonal sightings in much of peninsular India. (Subramanniyan Mani)Black-throated green warblers are abundant breeders of the NE coniferous forests. They are easy to recognize by sight and sound. Its dark black bib and bright yellow face are unique amongst Eastern birds, and its persistent song of “zoo-zee, zoo-zoo-zee” is easy to remember. Info: Cornell lab of Ornithology. (Dan Pancamo)bushtitBlack throated bushtits range from the Himalayan foothills across N India and Nepal, Bhutan, N Burma, Vietnam, and Taiwan. They prefer open broad-leaved forests and pine forests at middle altitudes. (Girish Ketkar)Atlantic puffins become sexually mature at the age of 4–5 years. They are monogamous, so mate for life and a choice like this takes time… Puffins both care for the young and are colonial nesters, excavating burrows on grassy cliffs, often with rocks and scree. (Nina Stavlund)African penguin are Endangered and several man-made colonies have been established along the coastline, including locations like Boulders Beach in Cape Town (South Africa). Also known as “Jackass penguins” due to the donkey-like vocalizations made by adult males. (Antero Topp)North America has more than 50 species of warblers, but few combine brilliant color and easy viewing quite like the yellow warbler… (Melissa Penta)Wattled cranes are considered Critically Endangered in South Africa with populations continuing to decline. (Chris Krog)Spotted eagle-owls are the smallest eagle-owl in southern Africa. Traffic, electric wires, and shortage of suitable prey in populated areas are major causes of mortality, particularly of newly-fledged birds. (Trevor Kleyn / www.trevorkleyn.com)Snowy egrets are the American counterpart to the very similar Old World little egret, which has established a foothold in the Bahamas. (Markus Lilje / www.rockjumperbirding.com)Ashy prinias are resident breeders in the Indian Subcontinent, ranging across most of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and W Myanmar. (Sathish Poojari)Regal sunbirds are found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. These colorful gems are a wonder to behold. (Adam Riley / www.rockjumperbirding.com)Velvet-purple coronets are found in the humid foothill forests on the West Andean slope in W Colombia and NW Ecuador. (Owen Deutsch)Martial eagles are among the most powerful eagles on earth and are capable of lifting small antelope off the ground. They are found in open and semi-open habitats of sub-Saharan Africa. (Justin Klusener)Arrow-marked babblers have a complex matrilineal hierarchy that governs large flocks. They behave like a troop of monkeys moving through the canopy and on the ground. Here they mob a boomslang to alert predators like humans o the scene… (Mark Drysdale)Rainbow lorikeet are found in Australia, E Indonesia (Maluku and W New Guinea), Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Photographed here in Byron Bay (Australia). (Deborah Pearse)Malabar crested larks are sedentary breeders in W India, preferring open country, cultivation and scrub, often at some altitude. They nest on the ground, laying 2-3 eggs.(Dharuman Nanjan)Giant kingfishers are resident throughout Africa and are the largest kingfisher on the continent. Photographed here in the Kruger National Park (South Africa). (Peter Pischler)Emus are the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich of Africa. There are three subspecies of emus in Australia. They are considered common over most of mainland Australia. (Chris Krog)Large numbers of great white pelicans breed together in colonies, laying 1-4 eggs in a variety of nest locations. Some populations making stick nests in trees (e.g. in mangroves), but the vast majority, including all those who breed in Africa, nest exclusively in scrapes on the ground lined with grass, sticks, feathers and other material. (Peter Chadwick)
