The Australian Magpie is a medium-sized bird that is native to Australia and southern New Guinea. They are closely related to butcherbirds, and are member of the Artamidae. The watchful eye of the magpie They are famous for their black and white plumage. Adult Australian Magpies are fairly robust, and are between 37 to 43
The Madeira Firecrest is a small bird that is endemic to the island of Madeira. It is part of the Kinglet family, and is sometimes known as the Madeira Kinglet. It was only recognised as a separate species in 2003, and before it was classified as a subspecies of the Common Firecrest. However it has
The Eurasian Crag Martin is a small bird that is part of the swallow family. It has a very large range. It breeds in the mountains of Iberia and north-west Africa, through to Southern Europe, the Persian Gulf, the Himalayas, and northeastern China. The populations in the north are migratory and will spend their winter
The genus, Delichon, is part of the swallow family, and contains 3 species that are known as house martins. They are a passerine bird, and they are closely related to other swallows that build mud nests such as the Hirundo barn swallows. It was first described by Thomas Horsfield and Frederic Moore in 1854. The
The Arctic Tern is a sea bird belonging to the tern family of Sternidae. It is a very migratory bird, which has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of the northern hemisphere, such as Europe, Asia, and North America (as far south as the state of Massachusetts). This bird sees 2
The Black Vulture, also known as the American Black Vulture (as opposed to the unrelated Eurasian Black Vulture) is a bird that is found from the south-east of the United States of America to Central Chile and Uruguay in South America. It is a common and widespread species, and is the only current member of
The Elfin-woods Warbler, also known as Reinita de Bosque Enano (in Spanish) is a bird that is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is a local but uncommon species. It was first discovered in 1968 and described in 1972 by Cameron and Angela Kepler, and Parkes. The elusive Elfin-woods Warbler This bird is predominantly black and
Native to east Australia and Lord Howe Island, the Pied Currawong is a medium-sized black passerine bird. It is one of 3 currawong species in its genus, Strepera, and is closely related to the Australian Magpie and butcherbirds in the Artamidae famliy. There are 6 subspecies of the Pied Currawong that are currently recognised. In
The Golden White-eye is a species of bird in the white-eye family of Zosteropidae. It is the only species within its genus, Cleptornis. However, it was previously thought to be a honeyeater and was then calld a Golden Honeyeater. This bird’s range is restricted to the Aguijan and Saipan islands that form part of the
Also known as the Yellow-billed Chough, the Alpine Chough is a bird that belongs to the crow family. It is only one of two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax, and it has two extant subspecies that breed from the high mountains from Spain through to southern Europe and North Africa to Central Asia, India, and
The Peppermint Stick Insect, also known as Megacrania Batesii, is one of the most interesting rare insects in the world. It is a tropical rainforest insect that is bluish green in colour. It can also be found in some beaches in Australia such as in the north coastal region of Queensland. It is also found
The Collared Aracari (Pteroglassus torquatus) is part of the toucan family. It breeds year round in the tropical rainforests of Central American and southern Mexico. It is a near-passerine bird which is brithly marked and its most distinctive physical characteristic is its amazingly large beak. Their beaks are about 4 inches long, which is a
The Toucan Barbet or Semnornis ramphastinus is a small bird that can be found in the tropical forests in southwestern Colombia and western Ecuador in South America. Previously, this bird was grouped together with the other barbets in the Capitonidae. However, there were DNA studies which confirmed that this arrangement is paraphyletic where barbets are
The Keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) is also known as Sulfur-breasted Toucan and is belong to a colorful Latin American member of the toucan family. They can be found mainly in Southern Mexico to Venezuela and Colombia. The Keel-billed Toucan range between 42 – 55cm long, including its famous long beak. Their large and colourful beak
Thresher sharks can be found in almost every part of the temperate and tropical ocean and there are three type of the same species altogether. The most common thresher shark is also the largest of its species as it can attain up to six meters of length and half of its length is mainly of
