Our special 10th anniversary 10 species Birdorable Bonanza concludes today with the Purple Gallinule!

The Purple Gallinule is a duck-like species in the rail family. They are native to the southeastern United States, much of Central America, and a wide range within South America. They prefer wetland-type habitats like swamps, lakes, and marshes.

Purple Gallinules are omnivorous with a varied diet that includes both plant and animal material. They will feed on seeds, leaves, and fruit, as well as take prey items including spiders, worms, snails, and fish. They find food by swimming on the water's surface or by walking around on vegetation that is floating or at the shoreline.

Photo by Andy Morffew (CC BY 2.0)

Adult Purple Gallinules have a striking plumage and are easy to recognize. The underparts are purple-blue while the upperparts are iridescent green. The face is a palatte of colors including the yellow and red of the bill and the pale blue of the facial shield. The legs and oversized feet are bright yellow.

This concludes our 10th anniversary Birdorable Bonanza! Thank you for following along! We wish all of our followers all the best for a wonderful holiday season!

Today's new bird, the 9th in our special 10th anniversary Birdorable Bonanza, is a bird found in South America as well as Hawaii and Puerto Rico: the Red-crested Cardinal!

Red-crested Cardinals are pretty birds native to south-central parts of South America. Because of their beauty, Red-crested Cardinals have been kept as pet birds and escaped birds have created wild populations elsewhere in the world, including Hawaii (primarily Oahu), Puerto Rico, Tawain, and Japan.

Red-crested Cardinals are named for their striking red crested heads. The red feathers extend down the front bib of the bird. The underparts are white and the upperparts are dark grey.

Photo by Murray Foubister (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Tomorrow's new bird will be our last new species in this year's Birdorable Bonanza! The purple species has big feet that it uses to walk across floating vegetation -- can you guess the bird?

Today's new Bonanza bird is a species of stork found in parts of Asia: the Painted Stork!

Painted Storks live in wetlands across most of India, as well as coastal areas around parts of southeast Asia. Painted Storks remain on their territory all year and don't migrate seasonally.

Painted Storks are named for their plumage. Specifically, the pink tipped wing feathers (tertials) that hang over their backs and rumps gives them the name Painted Stork. These pretty birds can also be recognized by their heavy yellow beaks that curve downwards.

Painted Storks feed on small fish. They hunt by sweeping their partially opened beaks through shallow water; prey is detected by touch.

Photo by shankar s. (CC BY 2.0)

Tomorrow's new bird is native to parts of South America but is established in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere in the world. Can you guess the species?

Today's new bird is a golden beauty: the Eurasian Golden Oriole!

Eurasian Golden Orioles breed across large parts of Europe and Asia. They are migratory, spending the winter across the southern half of the African continent.

During the breeding season they are usually found in forests. Although male birds are striking with their yellow and black plumage, these are shy birds and are able to blend into their environment and remain undetected. Females and juvenile birds have a duller plumage that constrasts yellowish-green with olive-brown.

The diet of the Eurasian Golden Oriole has a varied diet with an emphasis on insects like caterpillars, cicadas, and dragonflies. They also feed on fruit, berries, seeds, and even nectar. Small prey items like lizards, mice, snails, and worms may also be taken.

Photo by m-idre31 (CC BY 2.0)

Tomorrow's bird is a species found in India and elsewhere in Asia. They are named for their pink wing feathers that hang over their rumps. Can you guess the species?

Today's new bird in this special 10th anniversary Birdorable Bonanza is the Masked Lapwing, a species found in parts of Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea.

There are two distinct subspecies of Masked Lapwing; birds in the northern range have an all white-neck while southern-dwelling birds have a distinct black neck stripe. The size of the wattles varies between the subspecies as well.

Male and female Masked Lapwings look alike; both have greyish-brown upperparts and white underparts. Their plumage does not change seasonally. Males and females both also have yellow wing spurs that are used in defending the nest or territory. Swooping attacks against potential invaders are especially common at nest sites after chicks have hatched and are mobile.

Photo by Greg Schechter (CC BY 2.0)

Tomorrow's new bird is a shy Eurasian forest species with a striking plumage and a melodious song. Can you guess the species?

Today's new species is a relatively large ground-dwelling wood warbler that lives across much of North America: the Ovenbird!

Ovenbirds are relatively abundant across their range, which includes much of North America; they are not found in the far west. They are migratory, spending the winter across parts of Central America, the Caribbean, and Florida.

Because of their abundance, Ovenbirds have often been the subjects of scientific studies. The species has been the focal point of several habitat fragmentation studies.

Ovenbirds are known for their breeding song, a loud chant that sounds like the mnemonic "Teacher! Teacher! Teacher!". Their relatively drab plumage and tendency to stay close to the ground make them hard to find visually, but their conspicuous and familiar song makes them fairly easy to locate.

Photo by leppyone (CC BY 2.0)

Tomorrow's new bird is a type of plover found Down Under. It has spurs and wattles but is named for a facial feature. Can you guess the species?

Today's new Birdorable Bonanza bird is a pretty bird from Africa: the White-cheeked Turaco!

White-cheeked Turacos are beautiful birds in the Musophagidae ("banana eater") family. Turacos are gregarious and social birds that live in family groups of around 10 birds.

The underside of the White-cheeked Turaco's wings are crimson red. This, along with their green feathers, makes their plumage special in the avian world. Most green plumage in birds is the result of a yellow pigment combined with the physical structure of the feather (the way they reflect light) -- they only appear green but are not truly green. Turacos have the only truly green pigment known in birds. The red underwings have a similar story: turacos are the only birds to have the true red pigment turacin.

Although they are from eastern central Africa, colorful turacos are common in captivity and can be viewed in zoos all over the world. The White-cheeked Turaco is found in aviaries at the Toronto Zoo, the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Folly Farm in the U.K., and others.

Photo by Ozzy Delaney (CC BY 2.0)

Tomorrow's new bird is a large species of North American wood warbler, named for the shape of its nest. Can you guess the species?

Our special 10th anniversary 2016 Birdorable Bonanza continues today with the third bird in the series: the Steller's Sea Eagle, a very large raptor that lives in coastal habitats in northeast Asia. These powerful, heavy birds are among the world's largest eagles, along with the Philippine Eagle of the Philippines and the Harpy Eagle of South America.

Steller's Sea Eagles feed mainly on fish hunted in relatively shallow freshwater. They also take other items as prey, including seabirds like gulls, ducks, and herons.

The Steller's Sea Eagle is considered to be vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), and its population is in decline. It faces threats including loss of habitat due to human development and water pollution from industry and agriculture.

Photo by Alastair Rae (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Tomorrow's new bird is known for its special plumage. Its greens are truly green, and its reds are truly red. Can you guess what the species is?

It's the second day of our 2016 Bonanza, where we're introducing a new Birdorable bird each day through December 4th.

Today's new bird is the Greater Bird-of-paradise, a large species found in parts of New Guinea.

There are 42 species in the birds-of-paradise (Paradisaeidae) family, and seven in the same genus (Paradisaea) as the Greater Bird-of-paradise. The birds in this family are known for being sexually dimorphic, meaning that males differ in appearance from females. Males typically have long ornamental plumes around the flanks that are used during breeding displays. As the name implies, this species is the largest of the genus. Our cute version here is the male; females have a uniform reddish-brown plumage.

The scientific name of this species is Paradisaea apoda, which means "legless bird of paradise". Early study skins were prepared without feet and legs by locals, so Europeans studying the specimens were unable to observe the feet.

Tomorrow's new bird is considered by some to be the largest species of raptor in the world. It is certainly among the largest, along with the Harpy Eagle and the Philippine Eagle. Can you guess the species?

It's time for our 2016 Birdorable Bonanza! This time we are commemorating the 10 year anniversary of Birdorable with a 10-bird celebration.

Today's new bird is the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, a beautiful species in the kingbird genus and the tyrant flycatcher family. These beauties breed in south central parts of the United States and migrate down into Central America for the winter.

Male and female Scissor-tailed Flycatchers have similar plumage: greyish upperparts, light underparts with salmon or pink flanks, and black and white feathers on their extremely long tails. Males have longer tails in general -- up to 30% longer than typical females.

Scissor-tailed Flycatchers feed on a variety of insects which they hunt in a hawking fashion (flying out to capture prey discovered while waiting on a perch). Their long tails make them agile in flight, able to make quick turns and drops in pursuit of prey.

Tomorrow's new bird is the largest in a family known for their unique plumage and remarkable courtship rituals. Can you guess what species it is?