Green Woodhoopoes are very social and extremely curious about their environment – known to probe their long, curved, bright red bill into cracks and crevices in search of insects. They use their bill to pry apart bark and buds, gaining access to the food within. 

Woodhoopoes all have striking iridescent green, blue, and purple plumage, long curved bills, and long tailfeathers. When they fly, they have two or three bright white stripes on their wings. 

In total, there are four species of Woodpoes, and an additional four species of closely-related Scimtarbills, all in the “Phoeniculidae” family.

Yellow-rumped Caciques are named after the bright yellow plumage on their rump, which is brighter in males than females. They are highly social birds that build nests in tight clusters of 20-100 nests in just one or two trees. 

Speckled Mousebirds are very social, often living in flocks of twenty or more birds. They are among the few folivorous bird species specializing in eating leaves. When food is scarce, or in cooler weather, mousebirds often huddle in large groups and can reduce their energy requirement by going into a state of inactivity known as torpor.

Scientists have described the six extant species of mousebirds, including the Speckled, as “living fossils” due to their lineage of more than two dozen species from the end of the Cretaceous (66 million years ago)  to the end of the Miocene era (5 million years ago).

Puna Teal are dabbling ducks that feed by tipping up and reaching down into shallow water and are commonly found on bogs, lakes, and wetlands in the high Andes Mountains. Male and female Puna Teal look alike and sport a blue bill and a crisp, black cap, though males tend to be slightly brighter.

The striking Scarlet-faced Liocichla is found in the dense, hilly forests in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and China. These birds are typically furtive, spending much of their time foraging in the forest undergrowth. Scarlet-faced Liocichlas are known for being very vocal and musical like other members of the bird family that contains laughinghthrushes and babblers. As such, they are susceptible to illegal wildlife trafficking.

The Pink-headed Fruit-Dove is a stunning resident of the montane forests in high mountains throughout Indonesia. They feed on figs and small berries, staying high up in the forest canopy. This species lays a single egg, which the male incubates during the day and the female at night. While the Pink-headed Fruit-Dove is considered a species of least concern, it is facing declines in the wild. Pink-headed Fruit-Doves are found in a very restricted range, found only in very tall mountain regions within a band of high elevation forests, and deforestation poses a threat to their habitat.

The Spotted Whistling-duck is a distinctive duck species found in southeast Asia. Also known as the tree duck, it has long legs and a long neck compared to other ducks, and is very comfortable perching high up in trees. They favor low-lying wetlands, where they both dabble and dive for food which includes seeds and invertebrates; they are most active at night. This species is not globally threatened.

The Ringed Teal is a colorful dabbling duck of South American forests where it favors swampy tropical forests and marshy clearings in well-wooded lowlands. Although its diet is not well known, it probably includes mostly seeds, other vegetable matter, and aquatic insects. A cavity nester, the Ringed Teal forms very strong pair bonds that can last a lifetime.

The Hooded Merganser is a showy diving duck with a distinctive head crest and bright eyes. The smallest of the three merganser species found in North America, the Hooded Merganser is found throughout most of the continental United States and southern Canada. The serrated edge and hooked tip of its bill helps the Hooded Merganser seize its prey, and its eyes are adapted to help it see underwater. Sometimes other duck species will lay their eggs in Hooded Merganser nests, a breeding strategy called “nest parasitism.” Hooded Mergansers, too, will lay their eggs in other bird’s nests. This species is not threatened but can be vulnerable to pesticides and contaminants and habitat degradation.

A very common dabbling duck of the Nearctic region, and introduced elsewhere where it is sometimes considered an invasive pest, the Mallard occurs on almost any body of shallow water, but especially those with submerged or floating vegetation. In the breeding season the Mallard eats mostly animal foods such as aquatic insect larvae and snails, but at other times of year they favor seeds, aquatic vegetation, and cereal crops. The Mallard usually nests near water but on the ground  in upland areas, with the nest hidden under overhanging vegetation.

The Bufflehead is a small, handsome resident of permanent freshwater ponds and lakes within the boreal forest and aspen parkland zone of North America. The smallest duck species in North America nests in old woodpecker cavities in poplar, spruce, or fir trees near water. This duck is small enough to fit in the nest cavities of Northern Flicker woodpeckers, which have a hole only about 2.5 inches in diameter! Buffleheads are almost exclusively monogamous and nest in the same spot every year. Bufflehead chicks are precocial, meaning they are able to walk and feed themselves shortly after hatching, and they leave the nest only a day after they’ve hatched. Although not threatened, this diving duck is susceptible to loss of nesting sites from timbering and development of the forest near lakes, and to environmental contamination by heavy metals like mercury and cadmium.

Weighing just over half a pound, the African Pygmy-Goose is the smallest species of waterfowl in the world! This goose inhabits swamps, marshes, shallow freshwater lakes, and slow-flowing rivers in Africa which have abundant aquatic vegetation. Here it feeds primarily on seeds, leaves, and flowers of various aquatic plants, and nests in a variety of situations. The African Pygmy-Goose is not globally threatened, but populations are adversely affected by introduced fish, like tilapia, and by the invasive aquatic water hyacinth, which tends to take over waterways.