Hoopoes found across the vast region of Afro-Eurasia and are most notable for their distinctive ‘crown’ of feathers and darting flight pattern. (Lennart Hessel)

Marsh owls are resident breeder in Africa and Madagascar, feeding mainly on insects, but rodents and small birds. (Felix Reinders)

Torrent ducks are resident breeders in the South American Andes, nesting in small waterside caves and holding territories on fast-flowing mountain rivers (usually above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft)). (Owen Deutsch)

Crested pigeons are found throughout mainland Australia (excpet the tropical far north), preferring grasslands, brush and wooded areas but they can also be seen at watercourses, homestead gardens, pastoral areas, sports grounds, and golf courses. Photographed here in Victoria (Australia). (Radhakrishnan Sadasivam)

Common redpolls breed across N parts of North America and Eurasia, preferring thickets or shrubs. They are remarkably resistant to cold temperatures and winter movements are mainly driven by the availability of food. (Nina Stavlund)

Fire-tufted barbets are found in Indonesia and Malaysia, preferring subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. (Gururaj Moorching)

Chestnut-capped laughingthrushes are found in Indonesia and Malaysia, preferring subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. (Gururaj Moorching)

Goliath herons are the world’s largest heron and are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. There are smaller numbers in SW and S Asia. (John Murray)

Collared sunbirds breed across most of sub-Saharan Africa, laying two or three eggs in a suspended nest in a tree. (John Murray)

Common buzzards have a distributional range that covers most of Europe, extending into parts of Asia. (Lennart Hessel)

European bee-eaters breed in S Europe and parts of N Africa and W Asia, migrating during winter to tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka. (Lennart Hessel)

Rosy-faced lovebirds are found in the arid regions of SW Africa (mainly the Namib Desert). A growing feral population has become established in Arizona (USA). Populations have been reduced in some areas by trapping for the pet trade. (Anja Denker)

Common redshanks are strongly migratory, wintering on coasts around the Mediterranean, on the Atlantic coast of Europe from Great Britain southwards, and in South Asia. Photographed here during breeding season in Utö (Finland). (Antero Topp)

Bald eagles are found throughout most of Canada and Alaska, as well as most of the United States and N Mexico, prefering large bodies of open water with abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting. (Markus Lilje / www.rockjumperbirding.com)

Rufous-crowned laughingthrushes are endemic to Taiwan. (Gururaj Moorching)

Black-crowned night herons are found throughout much of the planet, except the coldest regions and Australasia. (Stephen Hadley)

Black-winged stilts are one of the most extensive circumscription with one species and 5–7 subspecies. Due to their wide distribution and varied appearance they are often called common stilts. Photographed here in the Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary (India). (Mohit Verma)

Bohemian waxwings breed in the coniferous forests found throughout the most N parts of Europe, Asia and W North America. (Nina Stavlund)

Golden-backed or black-rumped woodpeckers are widely distributed in the Indian Subcontinent and are one of the few woodpeckers that are seen in urban areas. (Raj Sarkar)

Red junglefowls are thought to be ancestral to the domestic chicken. They were first domesticated at least five thousand years ago in Asia. (Saravanan Sundaram)

Black-naped monarchs breed across much of tropical S Asia from India and Sri Lanka E to Indonesia and the Philippines, preferring thick forests and other well-wooded habitats. (Shishir Saksena)

Common kingfishers are split into seven subspecies within a wide distributional range across Eurasia and North Africa. They are resident in much of their range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter. (Sonal Patil)

Coppersmith barbets are best known for their metronomic call that has been likened to a coppersmith striking metal with a hammer. They are resident breeders found in the Indian Subcontinent and parts of SE Asia. (Subramanian Chockalingam)

Bangka’s hooded pittas are common in E and SE Asia, as well as maritime SE Asia where they live in different types of forests as well as on plantations and other cultivated areas. (Syahputra Putra)

White-backed vultures breed in tall trees on the savannah of W and E Africa. In 2012, they were uplisted to Endangered. Photographed here in Liuwa Plain National Park (Zambia). (Paul Godard)