Baya weavers are found across S and SE Asia, and prefer grasslands, cultivated areas, scrub and secondary growth. Here a mother feeds a fledgling… (Aditya Padhye)

Crimson-backed sunbirds are endemic to the Western Ghats of India, and are attracted to gardens at the edge of the forest where people grow suitable flower bearing plants. (Aditya Padhye)

White-cheeked barbets are endemic to the forested areas of the Western Ghats and Shevaroy and Chitteri hills. (Anantha Murthy)

Oriental dwarf kingfisher are widespread resident breeders in lowland forests and are found across much of the Indian Subcontinent and SE Asia, and are found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. (Anup Deodhar)

Crimson sunbirds are resident breeders in tropical S Asia from India to Indonesia, preferring secondary forest and cultivation. (Jayesh Joshi)

Northern or black crowned cranes are found in the Sahel and Sudan savanna region of Africa, from Senegal and Gambia on the Atlantic coast to the upper Nile River basin in Sudan and Ethiopia. Photographed here in the Masai Mara (Kenya). (Morkel Erasmus / www.morkelerasmus.com)

African fish eagles are distributed throughout SubSaharan Africa wherever there is abundant fish stocks. Photographed here on the Chobe River (Botswana). (Morkel Erasmus / www.morkelerasmus.com)

Giant kingfishers are the largest kingfisher in Africa and are distributed along rivers, lagoons, coastlines and lakes throughout SubSaharan Africa. (Richard & Eileen Flack)

Tristram’s starlings are distributed across Israel, Jordan, NE Egypt (Sinai Peninsula), W Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman, preferring to nest on rocky cliff faces. (Igor Zilberman)

Indian golden orioles are partially migratory and breed in India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Nepal, preferring open deciduous forests, semi-evergreen forests, woodland, forest edge, mangroves, open country with scattered trees, parks, gardens orchards and plantations. (Kedar Potnis)

Rose-crowned fruit doves are distributed in lowland rainforests of E Australia and the monsoon forests of N Australia, Lesser Sunda Islands and Maluku Islands of Indonesia. (Ken Chuah)

Nilgiri laughing thrushes are endemic to the high elevation areas of the Nilgiris and adjoining hill ranges in Peninsular India and are easily detected by its loud series of nasal call notes. (Mohamed Mothi)

Spotted owlets are resident breeders in tropical Asia from India to SE Asia, preferring farmland and human habitation where they have adapted to roosting in small groups in the hollows of trees or in cavities in rocks or buildings. (Nisha Purushothaman)

Grey francolins are found in the open plains and drier regions of S Asia, preferring open cultivated lands and scrub forest. (Nitin Lokur)

Oriental skylarks are found in the Indian Subcontinent and SE Asia, preferring open grasslands near waterbodies where seeds and insects are more abundant. (Vikram Ramesh)

Painted storks are distributed across tropical Asia S of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into SE Asia, foraging in large flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. (Poorna Kedar)

Common kingfishers are widely distributed across Eurasia and N Africa, migrating only from areas where rivers freeze in winter. (Raj Dhage Wai)

Oriental white eyes are resident breeder in the open woodlands of tropical Asia from the Indian Subcontinent to SE Asia, extending to Indonesia and Malaysia. (Saminathan Babu)

Vernal hanging parrots are resident breeders on the Indian Subcontinent and areas of SE Asia. undergoing local movements in search of fruit, seeds, buds and blossoms. (Saravanan Sundaram)

Shoebills are distributed in freshwater swamps and wetlands of central tropical Africa from S Sudan through parts of E Congo, N Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda and W Tanzania. (Markus Lilje / www.rockjumperbirding.com)

Green bee-eaters are widely distributed across the N part of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and the Gambia in the W to Ethiopia and the Nile valley in the E, continuing to W Arabia and Asia from India all the way to Vietnam. (Munish Kaushik)

Southern carmine bee-eaters are found across sub-equatorial Africa from KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa to Namibia and Gabon, the E Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. (Andrew Stainthorpe / www.rockjumperbirding.com)

Great egrets are distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions. They appear singly or in small groups, but breed in large heronries in trees near reedbeds. (Tahir Abbas Awan)

Three-banded plovers are found in most of E and S Africa, as wel as Madagascar, preferring inland rivers, pools and lakes where they can find insects, worms and other invertebrates. (Morkel Erasmus

White-throated kingfishers are widely distributed in Eurasia from Bulgaria, Turkey, West Asia all th way E through the Indian Subcontinent to the Philippines. (Munish Kaushik)