Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,673 · Stories: 19,540

• Quail-plover Ortyxelos meiffrenii

  

  This small bird walks through dry grassland. Males have rufous and black-and-white markings, and only males incubate the eggs.

• Bushy-tailed Mongoose Bdeogale crassicauda

  The bushy-tailed mongoose has a short muzzle and a bushy tail. It is active alone at night and feeds mainly on insects.

• African Hoopoe Upupa africana

  The African Hoopoe uses open woodland, short grass, and places with exposed ground. A southern African species account describes it probing the ground with its long bill to find insects.

• Blainville's Beaked Whale Mesoplodon densirostris

  Blainville's beaked whale is a toothed whale of deep offshore waters in tropical to temperate regions. In mature males, tusk-like teeth project from the arched lower jaw.

• Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris

  Males combine dark grey and rufous plumage, while females are grey-brown and streaked; the birds often search for insects high in trees.

• White-footed Sportive Lemur Lepilemur leucopus

  The white-footed sportive lemur has a gray-brown back and pale underside. It rests in tree holes and leaps among branches at night.

• Black-spotted Barbet Capito niger

  This barbet lives in moist lowland forest and swamps in northern South America. Both sexes excavate nest cavities in tree stumps, and the diet consists mainly of fruit and oily seeds.

• Eastern Rock Elephant Shrew Elephantulus myurus

  The eastern rock elephant shrew is a small mammal with a mobile, slender snout. It forages among rocky outcrops in southern Africa.

• Pitta-like Ground Roller Atelornis pittoides

  The Pitta-like Ground Roller lives in forests of eastern Madagascar and the central High Plateau. Its blue head and black eye mask stand out, while it searches the leaf litter for prey.

• European badger Meles meles

  A badger with a sturdy body and conspicuous black-and-white facial markings.

• Black Fantail Rhipidura atra

  The Black Fantail lives in New Guinea's mountain forests. One pair was observed nesting and raising young in the Arfak Mountains.

• Large Long-fingered Bat Miniopterus magnater

  The large long-fingered bat has dark brown to nearly black dorsal fur. Meghalaya records came from cave sites and above a river, and researchers recorded calls from bats flying in front of a cave.

• Black-faced Friarbird Philemon moluccensis

  The Black-faced Friarbird is a honeyeater found on Buru Island, Indonesia. Its grey-brown body contrasts with pale cheeks, a dark facial mask, and red eyes.

• Rock hyrax Procavia capensis

  A mammal of rocky habitats in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It shelters in crevices and eats grasses and leaves.

• Black-bellied Bustard Lissotis melanogaster

  The Black-bellied Bustard lives in African savanna and tall grassland. Males perform courtship displays during the breeding season.

• Greater Mouse-tailed Bat Rhinopoma microphyllum

  This bat has a long tail that extends beyond the tail membrane, and its fur ranges from gray to reddish brown. It eats insects and roosts in caves and old buildings in dry regions.

• Tit Berrypecker Oreocharis arfaki

  The Tit Berrypecker is a fruit-eating bird of New Guinea’s montane forest. Males show bright yellow and orange, while females are mainly olive and gray.

• Antillean Ghost-faced Bat Mormoops blainvillei

  This nocturnal, insect-eating bat roosts in caves. Its face has conspicuous folds of skin, and the species occurs on Caribbean islands.

• Black Butcherbird Cracticus quoyi

  A black bird with a strong bill hooked at the tip. James Cook University's page documents a campus-area occurrence in Cairns.

• Masked Ring-tailed Possum Pseudochirulus larvatus

  The masked ring-tailed possum is a marsupial of New Guinea’s forests. It has been recorded in mid-montane primary and secondary forest.

• Drakensberg Rockjumper Chaetops aurantius

  It lives in rocky mountain grassland and searches the ground for insects and other small invertebrates. The male has bold facial and chest markings.

• Hinde's Pouched Rat Beamys hindei

  Hinde's pouched rat is a relatively large, burrowing rodent that eats a range of plant matter, including seeds and roots. It has been studied in a montane forest reserve in southern Tanzania.

• Blue Mountain Vireo Vireo osburni

  This vireo lives in humid montane forests of north-western Jamaica and feeds within dense leaf cover.

• Hairy Long-eared Bat Nycteris hispida

  The hairy long-eared bat occurs widely in sub-Saharan Africa. Its ears are longer than its head, and the long tail has a T-shaped tip.