Bing Wallpaper Archive - Daily Desktop Backgrounds

A bill like a multitool and plumage full of color—the plate-billed mountain toucan is one of the Andes' most distinctive birds. It lives in the humid mountain forests of Ecuador and southwestern Colombia, perfectly adapted to life high in the canopy.

Founded by Greek settlers from Corinth around 734 BCE, the Italian city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, grew into one of the ancient Mediterranean's great powers and is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 'Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica.' It is forever linked to Archimedes, whose genius still shapes its identity, and to Plato, who came to Syracuse hoping philosophy might shape political life. That layered past still feels tangible at Castello Maniace, a seafront fortress built for Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the 13th century, which can still be admired today.

In southeastern France, on the Valensole Plateau, summer arrives in waves of purple and blue. Valensole—one of the largest plateaus in the region—lies in the Verdon Regional Natural Park between the Durance and Asse valleys, near the Gorges du Verdon and its lakes. From mid-June to early July, depending on altitude and weather, lavender and lavandin bloom and transform the landscape into one of Provence's most recognizable sights. The air carries a sharp, dry, and unmistakably Mediterranean scent.

Today, the United States marks 250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence—a milestone known as the 'semiquincentennial.' This anniversary commemorates 1776, when the Declaration articulated the idea that a nation could be defined by shared principles rather than inherited rule. Two and a half centuries later, this date is marked not only as an anniversary but also as an opportunity to reflect on the nation's long and evolving story.

In Okayama Prefecture, when humid air settles over a stream, hotaru—Japan's fireflies—begin signaling. On warm, windless evenings, they often start glowing about two hours after sunset under favorable conditions, inviting silence beside water.

At the Temple of Esna, south of Luxor, Egypt, visitors enter a vivid world devoted to Khnum, the ram-headed god believed to have molded humanity from Nile clay. Built mainly during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras, the temple's surviving hall is supported by 24 towering columns, each carved with intricate reliefs and ritual texts honoring various deities.

On July 1, Canada celebrates its national day, marking the events of 1867, when the British North America Act (now called the Constitution Act, 1867) united three British colonies into one Dominion.

As the sun sinks low in the Masai Mara National Reserve, the silhouettes of Masai giraffes rise against a blazing sky and open plains. Another day comes to an end in the reserve, which stretches across about 580 square miles in southwestern Kenya, bordering Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. It is a vast expanse, one of the world's greatest wildlife arenas. Rolling grasslands, scattered acacia trees, and the life-giving Mara River set the stage for unforgettable encounters.