Fly through our inspirations

Blue tits are small passerines with colourful, clean-cut plumage, characteristic of the paridae family. They are found mainly in deciduous forests stretching from Europe to Asia, but also in copses, parks, hedgerows, gardens and coniferous forests. Rarely found on the ground, tits are constantly on the lookout for food, whether insects or seeds depending on the season, and may move closer to urban areas if food is too scarce. They can be aggressive in defending their territory, usually a cavity with a small enough entrance to protect themselves from predators. Housed in this way, they lay 9 to 13 eggs from April to July, often in 2 stages, with chicks becoming completely independent within 4 weeks, their first flight taking place between the 19th and 20th day after hatching. Their population is widespread and healthy. With the exception of a few local declines, the species is considered to be non-endangered.

In the coastal forests and plains of Australia and New South Wales, the bowerbird feeds on fruit and insects. A member of the gardener family, the species places great importance on aesthetics, engaging in remarkable courtship displays to reveal its colours, one of the rare moments when it is on land. Their cradles, well hidden in the vegetation, are an arrangement of vertical sticks, forming a tunnel decorated with yellow paint and red or dark yellow elements. Snail shells, berries, leaves and pebbles are arranged at the two narrow ends of the tunnel. Such a cradle requires maintenance, and the dominant male is often assisted in this task by the non-breeders. However, brown females do not lay eggs indoors, but two in their own nests: Prince-Regent gardeners are probably polygamous.

Like the gardener, the white winger chough belongs to the order Passeriformes and is endemic to Australia, where it is found in woodlands and open forests in the east and south-east. Its affection for wetlands is due to the abundance of leaves hiding small invertebrates, the basis of their diet, but also of mud, essential for the construction of its ball-shaped nest. Long to build due to the drying time between layers, the corbicrave's nest is placed 15 metres above the ground, despite the fact that it is not very skilful in flight and spends most of its time on the ground with its family. This is a gregarious species whose chances of survival depend on its numbers: there are between 4 and 20 individuals in a group, all from the same nesting pair, which may take young from other broods. The whole family helps to build the nest, search for food and incubate the eggs, which take 19 days to lay 3 to 10 eggs. The young are dependent on their family, and with good reason: it takes them almost 4 years to reach maturity.

Like most ardeids, the little egret is a fish-eater: it prefers open water, whether fresh or brackish, and can be found over a large part of the globe, inland, near bodies of water, rice fields, salt marshes or estuaries. Due to its colonial breeding, it also needs tree-covered, scrubby and flooded areas to nest, often in cohabitation with other species. The nests are fragile and occupied for one season only, with 3 to 5 eggs laid 2 days apart. Incubation begins with the 2nd or 3rd egg laid and lasts 21 to 25 days, so the chicks are born days apart. At 3 weeks old, they venture out of the nest and take their first flight at 5 weeks. Groups of egrets may migrate in small, loosely-organised groups, or move to their resting places on the ground (in an open area such as a field or marsh) or perched (in a copse or on the edge of water).

An endangered species of the Galliformes order, the palawan peacock-pheasant is endemic to the Philippines, more specifically the island of Palawan. Its preferred habitat is humid forest close to the coast. A vegetarian bird, it eats mainly seeds, nuts, fruit, leaves and roots, supplemented by a few insects. It also uses them during its courtship, from the age of 3, which combines food and dance: ruffling its feathers, it waves a piece of food in its beak before dropping it in front of the female. If she accepts, the male begins the next part of the parade, revealing his colourful feathers. After breeding, the female lays 1 or 2 eggs in a nest on or above the ground, which she incubates for 18 to 20 days, while the male provides the food.