Passerines are very widespread on all continents except Antarctica, but have the greatest numbers in the tropical areas of the world. They are considered the most widely distributed of all birds, living on nearly every oceanic island that can support a bird. Passerines include over half in total numbers of the known birds in the world. Passerines help to control insects that destroy trees. In…
Broadbills are found in sub-Saharan Africa, Himalayan portions of India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, far southern China (also Hainan Island), Borneo, Sumatra, Java, peninsular Malaysia, and the Philippines. Broadbills inhabit mostly humid tropical and subtropical lowlands (including evergreen or mostly evergreen broad-leaved lowland forests), while a few species are located in montane (mount…
These species live in Madagascar, along the east coast and in the sambirano region, another rainforested area in the northwest. Asities eat nectar, fruits, insects, spiders, and other small creatures. Asities are not considered pests in any way, since they stay in rainforest and have no interest in human cultivated crops. The tiny, brilliant birds have become a ecotourist draw, especially for…
Pittas are found from Africa to the Solomon Islands and from Japan through Southeast Asia to New Guinea and Australia. They are mostly found in peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java. One species is found in India, two species are found from west-central to east-central Africa, and two species live along the northern and eastern coasts of Australia. Most pittas inhabit the understory …
New Zealand wrens are found on the North and South Islands, and some of the other surrounding islands of New Zealand. New Zealand wrens are found in forests, beech forests, scrublands, and alpine, high mountain, areas, especially when large amounts of insects are available. They are usually found from sea level to 1,150 feet (350 meters) in elevation. The diet of New Zealand wrens consists mo…
Ovenbirds are found from central Mexico to Patagonia in southern South America. Ovenbirds inhabit forests of various types, brushlands, pampas (grasslands), alpine areas (high mountain regions), and semi-deserts. Their diet consists of mostly insects, spiders, other invertebrates, animals without backbones, and sometimes small seeds. They forage, search for food, among litter on the ground, i…
Woodcreepers are found throughout the Central American and South American tropics. They occur from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. The greatest species diversity of woodcreepers is found in tropical Amazonia, the Amazon River basin area. Woodcreepers are found in many types of rainforests, montane (mountain) forests, and brush lands. Woodcreepers, along with other tropical birds, attra…
Antbirds are found in tropical and subtropical rainforests from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. However, the greatest number of species is found in the rainforest of the Amazon River basin in Brazil and the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela. Antbirds live in damp, shrubby, forested regions and woodland areas in the tropics, including areas where the original trees have been cut down and…
Tapaculos are found from Costa Rica in southern Central America to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. Many species live in the Andes Mountains in western South America. They are mostly absent from the hot, humid rainforest of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in Brazil and Venezuela. Because they are such shy birds, tapaculos are often overlooked by people wh…
Tyrant flycatchers are found from the southernmost tip of South America to north of the Arctic Circle in North America. Species that summer in the Arctic usually migrate to Central or South America in the winter. The only area in the Western Hemisphere where tyrant flycatchers are not found is in the extreme northern edge of Canada. Tyrant flycatchers live wherever insects live. They have ada…
The range of the sharpbill is unusual, because it is discontinuous, or broken. Sharpbills are found in isolated patches throughout Central and South America. They live year round in parts of Costa Rica and Panama, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. The broken up nature of their range suggests that at one time they may have been…
Manakins are found continuously from Mexico to Argentina and on the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Manakins live year round in the same location. They do not migrate, or relocate seasonally. Manakins prefer the understory, which is the part of the forest midway between the forest floor and the tops of the trees. They live in thick, subtropical woodlands and lowland tropical rainfor…
Cotingas live in southern Mexico, almost all of Central America, and in South America as far south as Argentina. The greatest number of species live in the Amazon River basin of Brazil and the Orinoco River basin of Venezuela. Most cotingas prefer lowland tropical rainforests where they live in the middle and upper levels of the forest. Some of the larger species prefer living along rivers an…
The Peruvian plantcutter lives only in the dry forest and scrublands of Peru's northwest coasts. The rufous-tailed and red-breasted plantcutters occupy a larger area, and may be found in Argentina's southern temperate zone and Chile, and north to subtropical Bolivia and Paraguay. The Peruvian plantcutter lives exclusively in the dry forests of Peru's northwest coast, wher…
Both Albert's and the superb lyrebird are native to Australia, where they occur from southern Queensland and northern New South Wales along the Great Dividing Range and south to southwestern Victoria. Both species of lyrebird live only in Australia's rainforests and mixed temperate forests, although the Albert's specializes in mountainous areas and the superb occupies a b…
Both species of scrub-bird occur only in Australia and only within restricted ranges. The rufous species lives in isolated populations in the Queensland-New South Wales border area. The noisy scrub-bird occupies the far southwestern corner of the country in Two People's Bay Nature Reserve near Albany and, since they were reintroduced there in 1998, the Darling Range of Western Australi…
Larks occur all over the world, but many of the species are extremely localized and are either rare or endangered. Most larks live in Africa, but many types also inhabit Asia, Australia, North America, South America, and all of Europe. …
The majority of swallow species are found in Africa, but one can find swallows on virtually every major continent, except Antarctica and the high Arctic. They are also absent from New Zealand and other oceanic islands. Most swallows form monogamous (muh-NAH-guh-mus) pairs. Some species build their nests either in natural or human-made holes, such as tree crevices or nesting boxes. Other speci…
Most species live in open or semi-open country, and many prefer grassy areas such as fields and rocky meadows. Wagtails particularly favor streams, lake edges, rivers, and wetlands, while pipits search out open grasslands from sea level to as high as 17,400 feet (5,300 meters) in the Himalayas. Longclaws also tend to stick to open grasslands and the edges of wetlands. All members of this fami…
Cuckoo-shrikes are found only in middle and southern Africa, south and Southeast Asia, Australasia, and the western Pacific Islands. Cuckoo-shrikes mostly eat insects such as caterpillars and some fruit, but some species also eat seeds and plant parts. Cuckoo-shrikes do not have a special significance to humans. Four cuckoo-shrike species are listed as Vulnerable, facing a high risk of extinc…
Fairy bluebirds and leafbirds can be found throughout Asia, in southern China, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, the Greater Sundas, and in India. Some species have limited distribution such as the Marshall's iora that is found only in tropical Pakistan and northwestern India, or the yellow-throated leafbird that can be found only on the western Philippine island of Palawan and some its …
Shrikes appear throughout the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, Russia, and New Guinea. Virtually all of the bush-shrike species live in Africa, while the helmet-shrikes and the true shrikes live in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the true shrikes, the loggerhead is the only species to occupy North America. The other species are more widespread. Shrikes have only recently overcome their re…
Vangas occupy varying ranges in the forested parts of Madagascar, a large island off the southeastern coast of Africa. One species, the blue vanga, is the only species found outside of Madagascar, it also lives on the Comoro Islands between Madagascar and Africa. All vangas are forest species, and are found in all the major forest types of Madagascar, which includes tropical rainforest along …
Each of the three groups has a different range. Waxwings are present across temperate regions of North America, Europe, and Asia, while the cedar waxwing winters as far south as Guatemala. Silky flycatchers occupy habitat from the southern United States into Central America, and the gray hypocolius lives in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Waxwings have become increasingly common …
The palmchat is one of only two birds native to the Caribbean (the other is the Jamaican tody). It is native to the West Indian island of Hispaniola, which is split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic, including the Saona and Gonave islands. Palmchats forage and breed almost exclusively in savannas, flat grasslands, dotted with royal palms and in valleys, and tend to stay at elevations betw…
Hedge sparrows are known to be widely distributed throughout the Palearctic region that includes the area from western Europe to Japan, in Asia north of the Himalayan mountains, and in Africa, north of the Sahara desert. Hedge sparrows tend to live in the thick undergrowth of shrubs, and in alpine meadows rather than in the trees themselves. Habitats can vary slightly among the species. The r…
Mimids, members of the Mimidae family, average in length from 8.2 to 12.2 inches (20.5 to 30.5 centimeters). Their plumage, feathers, is not bright or colorful. Most species are shades of gray or brown and gray with some black or whitish markings. Many have long, curved bills used for foraging for prey on the ground or in trees. Mimids are found throughout North and South America, and on a nu…
Dippers can be found in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the western regions of North and South America. Though conditions are suitable for dippers to nest in other areas, they have not done so. Dippers make their nests above shallow mountain rivers and streams, behind waterfalls, and sometimes on rocky ledges beside mountain lakes. The water must be fast moving to keep it rich in oxygen and f…
THRUSHES AND CHATS: Turdidae EASTERN BLUEBIRD (Sialia sialis): SPECIES ACCOUNTS STONECHAT (Saxicola torquata): SPECIES ACCOUNTS AMERICAN ROBIN (Turdus migratorius): SPECIES ACCOUNTS Thrushes and chats are widely distributed throughout the world except in desert regions or those far northern regions that are not woodland areas. They can be found in the new and old worlds, in the islands o…
With the exception of the picathartes, which evolved in Africa, most members of this family originated in Asia. Babblers can be found in regions of China, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Australia and New Guinea, Japan and the Philippines, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The only American species traces its roots to Asia as well. Most babblers live in forested regions. A few adapted to desert and sava…
Wrens are an American family of birds that can be found throughout North and South America, as far north as Alaska and northern Canada and as far south as Tierra del Fuego in Argentina (the southern tip of South America). One species lives in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The greatest diversity of species can be found in Central and South America. The many species and subspecies of wrens li…
These birds have a wide distribution, including the subarctic, Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, Australia, and Pacific islands. Old World warblers occupy a variety of habitats from arid scrubland to islands in the ocean, and every habitable niche in between, ranging from sea level to as high as several thousand feet (meters). Many species occupy specific levels within a habitat,…
Old World flycatchers can be found in Europe, Asia, Africa, India, Micronesia, and Australia and New Guinea. The greatest concentration of species lives in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. African flycatchers are found only in Africa. Some Old World flycatchers live in dry forests, grasslands, and savanna, while others prefer wetlands and moist forests. Still others make their homes in pa…
Fairy-wrens can be found throughout Australia and New Guinea. Some species are found only in a limited area, while others are distributed over the entire continent. Emu-wrens and grasswrens only inhabit Australia. Fairy-wrens are found in New Guinea as well as Australia. Australian fairy-wrens are omnivores, eating both plants and animals. They forage, search for food, on the ground for wide …
Australian warblers are distributed throughout Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands. They are also found in Indonesia and South East Asia. Australian warblers occur in many different habitats throughout their distribution area including, mangroves, rainforests, eucalyptus (yoo-kah-LIP-tus) forests and woodlands, shrub lands, and desert. Most of this family cap…
Australian chats are usually linked to various kinds of shrublands. They also live in the nearby semi-arid woodland areas full of acacias (uh-KAY-shahz). Gibberbirds live in areas that have come to be known as "Gibber plains" and are stony deserts, with a light grass and saltbush cover. Yellow chats prefer the low vegetation that grows close to swamps, floodplains, and bore drai…
Logrunners and chowchillas live on the litter-strewn floor of dense rainforests and wet sclerophyll (SKLARE-uh-fill) forests. Sclerophyll forests have plants with hard leaves that have adapted, changed, to low levels of phosphorous, a chemical that encourages plant growth. Logrunners and chowchillas will move into nearby vegetation if it is dense enough. These adjacent territories may include…
All of the species except the rail-babbler are found exclusively in Australia and New Guinea. The rail-babbler lives in the lowland peninsular areas of Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo. …
