Bluebird (Sialia)

Bluebird

 

Sialia

Eastern bluebirds are known for their vibrant coloring and sweet songs.

Photograph by Richard Day/Animals Animals—Earth Scenes

There are three species of these colorful North American birds. Eastern and western bluebirds have a reddish brown breast, which contrasts with their predominately blue plumage. Their relative, the (male) mountain bluebird is entirely blue.

Eastern bluebirds are primarily found east of the Rockies, and range from Canada to Mexico and Honduras. They are much admired for their lovely coloring and for a distinctive song that many hear as "chur-lee, chur-lee." The eastern bluebird is the state bird of both New York and Missouri.

Read full here... http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/bluebird/

Rockhopper Penguin

 

Eudyptes chrysocome

These gregarious marine birds are among the world's smallest penguins, standing about 20 inches (50 centimeters) tall.

Photograph by Michel Gunther, Photolibrary

Rockhopper penguins are distinguished by the irreverent crest of spiky yellow and black feathers that adorns their head.

Biologists left little ambiguity about this species’ preferred habitat when assigning its name. Rockhoppers are found bounding—rather than waddling, as most other penguins do—among the craggy, windswept shorelines of the islands north of Antarctica, from Chile to New Zealand.

Read full here.... http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/rockhopper-penguin/

Great Horned Owl

 

Bubo virginianus

The most common owl in North and South America, the great horned owl has adapted to a wide variety of habitats and climates.

Photograph by Joel Sartore

Read full here... http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/great-horned-owl/