Monarch flycatchers can be found in southern Africa, India and Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and the southern tip of Saudi Arabia. Indonesia is the home of thirty species that nest in the archipelagoes, or groups of tiny islands. Monarch flycatchers prefer forest habitats, living in clearings and along the edges of the forest growth. They also can be found nesting in fruit plantations, formal ga…
Australian robins can be found in India, Southeast Asia, Micronesia, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Australia. Most Australian robins live in forests and woodlands, but scrub robins live in semi-arid scrub, dry areas with short trees and shrubs. Some species live in mangroves and eucalyptus (yoo-kah-LIP-tus) forests. Some Australian robins can be found nesting in trees and bushes along cultivate…
Whistlers are found in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Micronesia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia, and islands in the southwest Pacific. New Guinea and Australia, in particular, have the greatest number of different species in their regions. Some whistler species live in dense rainforests in the tropics or the forests and woodlands of temperate zones, and others occupy mangrov…
Australia and lowland New Guinea. This family of birds eats mainly insects and spiders but sometimes will eat seeds, buds, and fruit, and even small reptiles. Pseudo babblers have no known significance to humans. Pseudo babblers in some areas of Australia are threatened, or at a risk of extinction, or dying out. They have disappeared from some regions altogether. This is a result of habitat l…
AUSTRALIAN CREEPERS: Climacteridae RUFOUS TREECREEPER (Climacteris rufa): SPECIES ACCOUNT Australian treecreepers live in various environments throughout the continent, preferring eucalyptus forest, dry savanna, or semi-arid mulga, an evergreen shrub, that inhabits Australia's interior. Brown treecreepers and rufous treecreepers can also be found in mallee—low woodland with…
One species of titmice, the bushtits, can be found in western North America, from the northernmost parts of British Columbia to the southern regions of Mexico. Five species are found in the Himalayas, and mountainous regions of western China. Long-tailed tits, the species that is most common, have a range from Western Europe and Asia, to China and Japan. Pygmy tits, the smallest titmice speci…
Penduline tits are widely found from Africa through Europe and into Asia. One species, the verdin, is located in North America, specifically in southwest United States and northern Mexico. Penduline tits are found in a large range of open country habitats including deserts, large reed beds in marshes and along riverbanks, and scrublands and forests. Penduline tits eat many invertebrates (anim…
Titmice and chickadees are located in Europe, Asia, the far north and most parts of central and southern Africa, North America, and Mexico. Titmice and chickadees eat many types of invertebrates (animals without backbones). They also eat seeds, nuts, fruits, and nectar (sweet liquid that flowering plants produce). Most species forage (search for food) in the canopies (uppermost layer of veget…
Nuthatches and wall creepers are distributed throughout North America, Eurasia, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australasia (region consisting of Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the neighboring islands of the South Pacific). They inhabit mostly coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests and woodlands, while others live in rocky scrublands. People do not have any direct, significant relation…
They range widely across the Northern Hemisphere, and in many areas of central and southwest Africa. Treecreepers inhabit mature pine-oak woodlands and open pine forests. Depending on the species, treecreepers are found anywhere from sea level to mountainous regions and from temperate (mild) to tropical climates. Treecreepers eat primarily small insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates…
Philippine creepers are limited to the range of the major Philippine Islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, Mindanao, Negros, and Panay and of the minor islands of Catanduanes, Masbate, Calicoan, Dinagat, Basilan, and Bohol. Philippine creepers inhabit deep, dense, tropical primary and secondary lowland and mountainous forests, along with the edges of forests. They specifically prefer the upper leve…
Flowerpeckers and berrypeckers are found on the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, southern China, Hainan Island, Taiwan, the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sulawesi, the Moluccas, New Guinea and its surrounding islands, and Australia. Flowerpeckers reside in tall forests, from sea level up to more than 12,000 feet (3,700 meters) in altit…
Pardalotes are found only on the continent of Australia. Pardalotes inhabit areas of woodlands and forests, mostly living alongside eucalyptus (yoo-kah-LIP-tus; tall, aromatic trees) and acacia (uh-KAY-shah; flowering trees). They range from the wet coasts to the arid interior of the continent, missing only from certain small areas of the southern desert. People and pardolotes have no special…
Sunbirds live in tropical Africa, Madagascar, tropical Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Philippine Islands, Australia, and New Guinea. Sunbirds can be found in lowland and mountain tropical rainforest, savanna with open woodlands, gallery forests (along rivers in dry country), thornscrub, and mangrove. Sunbirds eat mostly nectar but also fruit, insects, spiders and related creatures. Sunbirds are n…
White-eyes are found widely in sub-Saharan Africa, southern Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and the smaller islands of the Pacific Islands. They have been introduced in Hawaii and Tahiti. White-eyes are found in almost every kind of wooded habitat including woodlands, forest edges and canopies (uppermost layer of vegetation of forest, treetops), and bushes within parks and gardens. They are foun…
Australian honeyeaters are found throughout Australia (except for dense grasslands without trees and shrubs), New Guinea, Melanesia, Moluccas, and Lesser Sundas, west to Bali, Micronesia, New Caledonia, and New Zealand; through Polynesia to the Hawaiian Islands. Two species occur in southern Africa. People often find Australian honeyeaters in parks and gardens. A few species are regarded as p…
The family ranges widely over the Americas including most of the continental United States, all but the northern-most parts of Canada, Mexico, and Central America, most of South America including as far south as Uruguay, northern Argentina, and northern Chile. Vireos and peppershrikes are found in boreal (northern), temperate, and tropical habitats including woodlands, scrublands, and forests…
New World finches range throughout the world, except for the interior of Greenland, far Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and Madagascar. They have been introduced in New Zealand. New World finches live in open and semi-open bushy or grassland areas, forest edges, tundra, prairies and meadows, deserts, hilly meadows, salt and freshwater marshes, and oak and pine woods. Diet consists most…
New World warblers live in North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. Primarily forest birds, different species of New World warblers, also known as wood warblers, may be found in everything from thick and dark forests to dry and open woods. Some have more unusual habits, and will live either in deserts or swamps. These smallish birds spend much of their days on the m…
NEW WORLD BLACKBIRDS AND ORIOLES: Icteridae BALTIMORE ORIOLE (Icterus galbula): SPECIES ACCOUNTS RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Agelaius phoeniceus): SPECIES ACCOUNTS BAYWING (Agelaioides badius): SPECIES ACCOUNTS As their name implies, New World blackbirds are found throughout North and South America, as are orioles. Some species are also found in the Caribbean. Grasslands and marshes are popula…
Finches range throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. They prefer forests, shrubby areas, savannas (flat grasslands), grasslands, agricultural areas, parks, and gardens. Finches eat seeds, grains, and other vegetable matter. They also eat insects and other small invertebrates (animals without a backbone). Many species forage on the ground, while others feed in trees. One species is…
HAWAIIAN HONEYCREEPERS: Drepanididae APAPANE (Himatione sanguinea): SPECIES ACCOUNTS LAYSAN FINCH (Psittirostra cantans): SPECIES ACCOUNTS Hawaiian honeycreepers are found only on the Hawaiian Islands. They are believed to have descended from a single species of cardueline finch that came to the Hawaiian Islands (it is believed) about three to four million years ago. Most Hawaiian honeyc…
They are found in sub-Saharan Africa, southeastern Asia, Australia, and South Pacific islands. Various small populations have been introduced throughout other parts of the world. Weaverfinches are found in savannas (flat grasslands), forests, and semi-deserts, preferring forest edges. Their diet consists of small half-ripe and fully ripe grass seeds, and during the breeding season they also e…
WEAVERS: Ploceidae VILLAGE WEAVER (Ploceus cucullatus): SPECIES ACCOUNTS BAYA WEAVER (Ploceus philippinus): SPECIES ACCOUNTS SOUTHERN RED BISHOP (Euplectes orix): SPECIES ACCOUNTS Weavers live mainly in tropical Africa, as well as Madagascar, southern Asia, and as far east as Borneo and Java. Some species have been introduced into non-native habitats, where they have quickly adapted and …
Sparrows are small plumpish birds with short, powerful bills and short tails. They have different shades of brown and gray on their upperparts that is sometimes streaked lightly to heavily, and white or buff under parts that are streaked with black or brown. Adults are 4.5 to 7.0 inches (12.0 to 17.5 centimeters) long and weigh in the approximate range of 0.4 to 1.9 ounces (10 to 55 grams). T…
Starlings and mynas range through Africa (except for northern regions), Eurasia (except for northern areas), the South Pacific, and southeastern Australia. The birds have been introduced onto all continents except for South America and Antarctica, and on many oceanic islands. These birds are located in barren semideserts, temperate (mild) grasslands, tropical savannas (flat grasslands), tropi…
Orioles and figbirds are located throughout the far northwest Africa and the sub-Saharan, temperate Eurasia (except its central deserts), south and east to India, Southeast Asia, and Indonesian archipelagos as far as New Guinea, and north and east Australia. Orioles and figbirds are found in medium to tall woodlands and forests, including rainforests. They prefer to live in the upper dense fo…
Tropical Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, New Guinea, Java, Taiwan, Solomon Islands. Tropical rain forest, mixed open forest and grassland. Drongos eat mainly insects, but sometimes spiders, small birds, and nectar. There is little interaction between drongos and humans. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists two drongo species as Endangered, facing a very high risk of extinction, and …
NEW ZEALAND WATTLEBIRDS: Callaeidae KOKAKO (Callaeas cinerea): SPECIES ACCOUNT Wattlebirds live on both main islands (North and South Islands) of New Zealand and many offshore islands. Wattlebirds are New Zealand endemics, meaning that they are found only there and nowhere else in the world. Wattlebirds inhabit native temperate forests of New Zealand, which are made up of a mix of hardwo…
Members of the Grallinidae family are various colorations of black, white, gray, and brown. The average length of an adult is 8 to 18 inches (20 to 45 centimeters). Mudnest builders are found in Australia, New Guinea, Timor, and Lord Howe Island. All but one species of Grallinidae dwell in open space with trees for nesting. The torrent-lark prefers wooded areas near rivers and streams, where …
Woodswallows are found in Australia and Tasmania, throughout the islands of the South Pacific region, Southeast Asia, and across south China to India and Sri Lanka. This family lives in a wide variety of habitats including open forests, woodlands, scrublands, mangroves (groups of tropical evergreen trees located near tidal coasts), edges of forests, orchards, urban areas, and clearings. In fa…
Magpie-shrikes are found in Australia and New Guinea, along with one species in Borneo. Their diet consists of various small vertebrates and invertebrates (animals with backbones and without backbones), such as insects, grubs, and worms. Magpie-shrikes also eat eggs, nestlings (young birds unable to leave the nest), and berries. There is little significance between people and magpie-shrikes o…
Bowerbirds are found primarily on the mainland of New Guinea, but also in Australia and the offshore islands of both countries. They inhabit rainforests, rainforest edges, moss forests, woodlands, open riverine (located near river) forests, borders between forests and grasslands, open woodlands, savannas (flat grasslands), and semi-deserts. Their diet consists of fruits from trees and bushes …
Birds of paradise are known for their bright and beautiful plumage and unique ornamental tail and head feathers. Males are almost universally more colorful than their female counterparts. Most species have a hooked bill that they use to extract insects from dead wood and tree bark. Sizes range from 6.3 to 43.3 inches (16 to 110 centimeters) in length and 0.11 to 1 pound (50 to 450 grams) in w…
Corvids are located throughout most of the world. They are found on all continents except Antarctica. Members of this large family live in habitats ranging from treeless tundras where land is flat to mountain forests. Birds live in deciduous forests, where trees shed their leaves, and coniferous forests, with cone-bearing evergreen trees. Corvids range in deserts, grassland steppes where ther…
