Bird Wallpaper | Owls, Penguins & Snow Geese in HD

Antarctic Penguins Wallpaper

Holly Rothbard — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 04:00:00 +0000

This Antarctic penguins wallpaper features a group of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) on the sea ice — four up close and two more receding into the distance. The scale of that glacial wall behind them making their already enormous size look almost modest. The largest of all penguin species, emperors are the only birds that breed during the Antarctic winter, enduring conditions no other creature on earth would attempt. However, the Australian Antarctic Program recently uplisted them to Endangered as climate change erodes the sea ice they depend on. The yellow-orange ear patches, the immaculate white fronts, the unhurried posture — these birds look like they own the coldest place on earth, because they do.

Antarctic Penguins Wallpaper — Built for a World Most Animals Can’t Survive

Fifteen thousand downloads and counting — it’s easy to see why. Download this free HD wallpaper and explore more stunning wildlife photography in our birds collection.

The post Antarctic Penguins Wallpaper appeared first on by Holly Rothbard.

Fluffy Owl Wallpaper

Holly Rothbard — Sat, 21 Nov 2015 07:00:00 +0000

This fluffy owl wallpaper is anything but soft — what looks like an explosion of feathers is a Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) in full threat display, wings fanned into a perfect circle and those blazing orange eyes aimed directly at the camera. One of the largest owls on earth, the eagle-owl ranges across Europe and Asia and is powerful enough to take prey as large as foxes and young deer, and the Peregrine Fund notes it has virtually no natural predators of its own. What you’re seeing here isn’t aggression so much as a warning — a statement from a bird that has nothing to prove, and knows it.

Fluffy Owl Wallpaper — When an Eagle-Owl Decides You’re Too Close

Eighteen thousand downloads and still counting — this image stops people in their tracks every time. Download this free HD wallpaper and discover more incredible bird photography in our birds collection.

The post Fluffy Owl Wallpaper appeared first on by Holly Rothbard.

Spectacled Owl Wallpaper

Holly Rothbard — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 04:00:00 +0000

This spectacled owl wallpaper puts you face to face with Pulsatrix perspicillata — the dark chocolate plumage, the crisp white facial markings that give the species its name, and those amber eyes filling the frame with an intensity that’s hard to look away from. A large tropical owl native to rainforests from southern Mexico through the Amazon Basin, the spectacled owl is a specialist of dense old-growth forest and according to The Owl Pages, its distinctive call isn’t a hoot at all — it’s a series of rapid knocking sounds, like someone tapping on a hollow tree. This close-up captures every feather, every detail of that extraordinary face

Spectacled Owl Wallpaper — The Rainforest’s Most Intense Stare

A face built for the night, photographed in the middle of the day — and somehow even more striking for it. Download this free HD wallpaper and explore more captivating bird portraits and in our bird collection.

The post Spectacled Owl Wallpaper appeared first on by Holly Rothbard.

Autumn Owl Wallpaper

Holly Rothbard — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 04:00:00 +0000

This autumn owl wallpaper catches a Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) in perhaps the most perfectly matched setting imaginable. Its warm buff and brown feathers dissolve into a halo of golden yellow leaves as the season turns. One of the most secretive owls in North America and Europe, the Long-eared Owl spends its days roosting so motionlessly in dense foliage that it’s nearly impossible to spot. Cornell Lab’s All About Birds notes its camouflage is so effective that finding one usually means stumbling on a pellet pile beneath the roost tree first. Those long ear tufts — which aren’t ears at all — give it that perpetually startled expression that makes every encounter feel a little theatrical

Autumn Owl Wallpaper — Camouflaged in Plain Sight

A nocturnal owl that dedicates its entire existence to remaining hidden. But here it is — radiating against a fall sky. Grab this complimentary HD wallpaper and discover more breathtaking bird photography in our collection of birds.

The post Autumn Owl Wallpaper appeared first on by Holly Rothbard.

Herons Twilight Wallpaper

Holly Rothbard — Sun, 24 May 2015 04:00:00 +0000

This herons twilight wallpaper captures one of wildlife photography’s most dramatic moments — two herons in silhouette, wings spread wide against a sky that has caught fire, sun rays exploding through the clouds and a distant mountain range dissolving into the orange haze below. Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) are crepuscular hunters by nature, most active at dawn and dusk when they patrol the shallow edges of lakes, rivers, and wetlands, and Cornell Lab’s All About Birds describes them as one of the most widespread wading birds in North America. In silhouette, with that long neck tucked back and those broad, bowed wings in full stroke, there is nothing else quite like them in the sky.

Herons Twilight Wallpaper — The Sky Catches Fire at Just the Right Moment

Two birds, one sky, zero warning — this is the kind of shot that happens once. Download this free wallpaper and discover more incredible bird photography in our birds collection.

The post Herons Twilight Wallpaper appeared first on by Holly Rothbard.

Wise Owl Wallpaper

Holly Rothbard — Fri, 22 May 2015 04:00:00 +0000

This wise owl wallpaper is a work of digital art. A Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) perched on a weathered branch beside a mirror-still mountain lake, the full moon hanging above snowy peaks and doubling itself perfectly in the water below. The eagle-owl has been a symbol of wisdom, mystery, and the night across cultures for thousands of years. The Peregrine Fund notes it is one of the largest and most powerful owls on earth, capable of taking prey as large as foxes and young deer. This composite captures exactly the atmosphere those myths created — a lone predator, an ancient landscape, and a sky that belongs entirely to the night.

Wise Owl Wallpaper — Lord of the Night, Master of the Mountain

Part wildlife, part dream — this image earns every download. Grab this free wallpaper for your desktop and find more remarkable bird imagery in our birds collection.

The post Wise Owl Wallpaper appeared first on by Holly Rothbard.

Miami Bound Wallpaper

Holly Rothbard — Thu, 14 May 2015 04:00:00 +0000

This Miami Bound wallpaper is a joyful piece of digital art — a fantasy flock of some of nature’s most spectacular birds soaring together above a sea of clouds, heading south. Spot the flamingo with its trailing pink legs, a bald eagle mid-bank, a white pelican, egrets, a parrot, Canada geese, and nearly a dozen more species sharing the same impossible sky. Miami sits at the crossroads of one of North America’s great migratory flyways, and the Cornell Lab’s All About Birds documents hundreds of species that pass through or winter in South Florida each year. This composite captures the spirit of that spectacle — every bird headed somewhere warmer, together.

Miami Bound Wallpaper — Every Bird Heading South for Winter

Count the species — there’s something new every time you look. Download this free wallpaper and explore more bird art and photography in our birds collection.

The post Miami Bound Wallpaper appeared first on by Holly Rothbard.

Barn Owl Wallpaper

Holly Rothbard — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 04:00:00 +0000

This barn owl wallpaper is one of those shots that stops you mid-scroll — a barn owl (Tyto alba) peering through a gap in an old brick wall, that iconic white heart-shaped face perfectly framed by weathered stone, dark eyes fixed on the camera with quiet intensity. The barn owl is one of the most widespread birds on earth, found on every continent except Antarctica, and Cornell Lab’s All About Birds describes its hearing as so precise it can locate and strike prey in complete darkness. The crack in this wall is exactly the kind of hidden hollow this species has nested in for centuries — long before “barn” was even part of its name.

Barn Owl Wallpaper — The Face That Built a Thousand Ghost Stories

Pure white, pitch dark, and utterly still — the barn owl doesn’t try to be mysterious, it just is. Download this free HD wallpaper and browse more captivating bird portraits in our birds collection.

The post Barn Owl Wallpaper appeared first on by Holly Rothbard.

Owl Running Wallpaper

Holly Rothbard — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 05:00:00 +0000

This owl running wallpaper captures something almost no one ever sees. A Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) in full sprint across open ground, wings folded tight, one blazing orange eye cocked sideways as it moves. Flight and silence define owls in most people’s minds. However, eagle-owls will run on the ground to chase prey or move between cover. The combination of that massive body, powerful taloned feet, and total focus in this shot makes it look like something from a nature documentary highlight reel. The Peregrine Fund notes the Eurasian Eagle-Owl is among the most adaptable raptors on earth, hunting everything from beetles to young deer depending on what’s available.

Owl Running Wallpaper — Not Every Hunter Needs Wings

An owl on foot is an owl on a mission. Download this free HD wallpaper and discover more extraordinary bird photography in our birds collection.

The post Owl Running Wallpaper appeared first on by Holly Rothbard.

NYC Pigeons View Wallpaper

Holly Rothbard — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 05:00:00 +0000

This NYC Pigeons View Wallpaper flips the script entirely — instead of photographing New York’s skyline, it shows Manhattan the way a pigeon sees it every day, from a high ledge above the mist with skyscrapers fading into a sepia haze below. The rock pigeon (Columba livia) is one of the most successful urban birds on earth. Cornell Lab’s All About Birds notes colonists introduced pigeons from Europe to North America in the early 1600s, where they have thrived in cities ever since, exploiting building ledges as stand-ins for the cliff faces they originally nested on. New York has approximately one million of them – and almost nobody ever looks at the city from their point of view, much like the cliff faces where they naturally nest.

NYC Pigeons View Wallpaper — Eight Million People, One Million Pigeons, One View

The city looks different when you’re the one who owns the rooftops. Download this free wallpaper and explore more bird photography in our birds collection.

The post NYC Pigeons View Wallpaper appeared first on by Holly Rothbard.