Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,825 · Stories: 19,540

• Gray-brown Mouse Lemur Microcebus griseorufus

  

  The gray-brown mouse lemur is a small lemur of dry scrub in southwestern and southern Madagascar. Its diet changes with the seasons.

• Striped Pipit Anthus lineiventris

  The Striped Pipit has a patchy range east and south of the equatorial rainforest belt. Bold streaks below and pale lemon edges on the wings and tail help identify it.

• Common Mole-rat Cryptomys hottentotus

  The common mole-rat has a cylindrical body, small eyes, and a white spot on the head. It digs underground tunnels and lives in groups centered on a breeding pair.

• Great white pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus

  An aquatic bird with a long bill and a stretchy pouch beneath it.

• Gervais' beaked whale Mesoplodon europaeus

  Gervais' beaked whale is a member of the beaked-whale family that lives in deep Atlantic waters. It is rarely seen at sea and is usually alone or in small, closely associated groups.

• McKay's Bunting Plectrophenax hyperboreus

  McKay's Bunting breeds on islands in the Bering Sea and moves to the west coast of Alaska for winter.

• Sumichrast's Vesper Rat Nyctomys sumichrasti

  This arboreal rodent lives in forests from southern Mexico to Panama. Its orange-tinged back and brush-like tail tuft stand out.

• Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus

  The Caspian Plover breeds in Central Asia and winters inland in Africa. It moves between these regions seasonally.

• Pampas Fox Lycalopex gymnocercus

  A medium-sized fox of grasslands and other habitats in southern South America, with regional variation in diet and coat color.

• Little Pratincole Glareola lactea

  The little pratincole is a small bird that catches insects while flying over water and farmland. It is also recorded along Thai rivers and lakeshores.

• Thongaree's False-vampire Eudiscoderma thongareeae

  This rare bat is known from Bala Forest in southern Thailand. The original description was based on three specimens, and little is known about its natural history.

• Northern Crombec Sylvietta brachyura

  This small warbler occurs in West Africa and forages for insects in dry savanna and scrub. The account places it in the canopy and bushes.

• Striped hog-nosed skunk Conepatus semistriatus

  A skunk with a white band that splits into two stripes along the back and a broad, hog-like nose.

• Macaroni Penguin Eudyptes chrysolophus

  The yellow crest makes the Macaroni Penguin easy to notice. It breeds on sub-Antarctic islands and elsewhere nearby, and feeds on krill and fish at sea.

• Large-eared Free-tailed Bat Otomops martiensseni

  This large-eared free-tailed bat occurs in Africa. A 2001 study in South Africa found it using buildings as daytime roosts.

• Great Shearwater Ardenna gravis

  The Great Shearwater breeds on South Atlantic islands and moves to the North Atlantic during boreal summer.

• Cowan's Shrew Tenrec Microgale cowani

  Cowan's shrew tenrec is a small tenrec from the humid forests of eastern Madagascar. It searches among leaf litter and fallen wood for small prey.

• Tit Hylia Pholidornis rushiae

  This small bird lives in moist lowland forest in West and Central Africa. It is also recorded at forest edges and clearings, in gardens, and on plantations.

• Southern Naked-tailed Armadillo Cabassous unicinctus

  This armadillo is marked by a gray, banded shell and an unarmored tail. It lives mostly alone underground and feeds on ants and termites.

• Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster

  This waterbird swims with its long neck above the surface and spears fish underwater with its bill. After leaving the water, it perches on rocks or other supports and spreads its wings to dry.

• Montane Guinea Pig Cavia tschudii

  The montane guinea pig is a cavy of the Andes and surrounding areas. Its back is gray-brown, and it uses burrows in grassland and damp rocky places.

• Madagascar Jacana Actophilornis albinucha

  The Madagascar Jacana inhabits wetlands in western Madagascar. A 2016 survey found it at 22 of the 54 lakes examined.

• Mexican Funnel-eared Bat Natalus mexicanus

  This small bat ranges from northern Mexico to Panama. It mainly inhabits tropical deciduous and semideciduous forests, roosts in caves, and eats insects.

• Red-billed Oxpecker Buphagus erythroryncha

  This bird occurs in sub-Saharan Africa and feeds on ticks and flies while clinging to large mammals such as giraffes and cattle. Southern African accounts also describe nesting in tree cavities and, in some cases, helpers that assist a pair with chick care.