Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,824 · Stories: 19,540

• Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus

  

  A falcon that catches birds in flight. In North America it is common around coasts and cliffs and may nest on tall buildings.

• Western Japanese skink Plestiodon japonicus

  A smooth-scaled lizard of woodland edges and stone walls that basks during the day.

• Cuckoo Roller Leptosomus discolor

  It lives in woodland and forest in Madagascar and the Comoros. Males have iridescent green upperparts, while females are brown above.

• Sei Whale Balaenoptera borealis

  The sei whale is a baleen whale found widely in subtropical, temperate and subpolar seas around the world.

• Ladak Pika Ochotona (Conothoa) ladacensis

  The Ladak Pika is a large pika living in groups in open high-elevation habitats of Ladakh. A study in Changthang observed it gathering plants and storing them in haypiles.

• Greensnake Opheodrys aestivus

  This snake sometimes moves around alligator nests.

• Northern pintail Anas acuta

  A slender, long-necked duck. In breeding males the central tail feathers become especially long.

• Plateau Lark Corypha nigrescens

  This lark is very localized on high plateaus in Tanzania and Malawi. Its natural history is poorly documented.

• Mesoamerican Common Mustached Bat Pteronotus (Phyllodia) mesoamericanus

  An insect-eating bat studied in a Costa Rican dry-forest population in 2020, where researchers examined how wing shape related to diet.

• Snow leopard Panthera uncia

  A snow leopard is a cat of Central Asian mountains. Thick fur and a long tail suit its life on rocky slopes.

• Toko Narrow-disked Gecko Gekko gecko

  This large gecko is active at night. Its blue-gray body has red or orange spots.

• Violet Wood Hoopoe Phoeniculus damarensis

  This bird searches trees along dry rivers for insects and small geckos. A Namibian subspecies has coppery and violet iridescence on its mantle feathers.

• Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs

  A familiar finch in Britain and Ireland. It searches the ground for seeds and insects, and shows white on its wings in flight.

• Northern muriqui Brachyteles hypoxanthus

  A large monkey that moves through the forest canopy using long limbs and a grasping tail. It is restricted to Atlantic Forest in eastern Brazil.

• Eastern Glass Lizard Ophisaurus ventralis

  This lizard sometimes basks and shelters around alligator nests.

• Eurasian red squirrel Sciurus (Sciurus) vulgaris

  A bushy-tailed squirrel of forests in Europe and northern Asia.

• Yellow-browed Toucanet Aulacorhynchus huallagae

  The Yellow-browed Toucanet is a green toucanet of montane cloud forest in north-central Peru. Its narrow yellow eyebrow is a striking field mark.

• Greater White-toothed Shrew Crocidura russula

  The Greater White-toothed Shrew occurs throughout mainland Portugal. Its back changes from gray in winter to reddish brown in summer. It uses open places, shrub-rich woodland edges, gardens and farmland, and is mostly nocturnal but also active by day.

• European starling Sturnus vulgaris

  A bird native to Europe and other Palearctic regions, introduced to North America. Outside breeding season it may form large flocks.

• Yellow-bellied Slider Trachemys scripta

  This turtle sometimes basks and moves around alligator nests.

• Long-billed Gnatwren Ramphocaenus melanurus

  This small bird uses humid tropical forest and its edges, especially vine tangles in the mid to upper levels.

• Beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas

  An Arctic whale that becomes white as it matures. It has a rounded forehead and no dorsal fin.

• Narrow-toed feathertail glider Acrobates pygmaeus

  A tiny gliding marsupial with a feather-like tail.

• Carolina Anole Anolis carolinensis

  Males of this lizard can extend skin under the throat.