Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,584 · Stories: 19,526

• Yellow-bridled Finch Melanodera xanthogramma

  

  This finch inhabits Andean rocky ground and high-altitude grassland. Males are yellow and olive, while females and young birds are brown and streaked; it searches for seeds on the ground.

• Weddell seal Leptonychotes weddellii

  

  A seal of Antarctic coasts. It swims beneath sea ice and breathes through holes and cracks in the ice.

• Christmas Shearwater Puffinus nativitatis

  

  This dark shearwater flies close to the sea, dives for prey and breeds on islands in the tropical and subtropical Pacific.

• Little Ground Squirrel Spermophilus pygmaeus

  

  The little ground squirrel is a small ground squirrel of flat steppes and semi-deserts, ranging from the lower Dnieper to Betpak-Dala in Kazakhstan.

• White-tailed Blue Robin Myiomela leucura

  

  This shy forest robin forages near the ground in dense cover. Males are blue, females brown, and both have white patches near the base of the tail.

• Wilkins's Rock Wallaby Petrogale wilkinsi

  

  This wallaby lives among rocky areas of northern Australia. Its coat is dark gray-brown, with distinct stripes on the head and sides and paler limbs. The IUCN assessment lists savanna, rocky areas, and caves among its habitats.

• White-bellied Whistler Pachycephala leucogastra

  This whistler has a patchy range in New Guinea. The male has a black head and breast band, white throat, and brown-grey back.

• Baird’s Beaked Whale Berardius bairdii

  Baird’s beaked whale inhabits the North Pacific and nearby seas. It mainly uses cold, deep offshore water, but can also occur near steep coastal slopes.

• Blue-rumped Pitta Hydrornis soror

  The Blue-rumped Pitta is a forest-dwelling pitta.

• South American fur seal Arctocephalus australis

  A fur seal of South American waters that spends much of its time at sea and gathers on rocky shores to breed.

• Maranon Crescentchest Melanopareia maranonica

  This range-restricted crescentchest is documented in the middle Marañón River basin of northwestern Peru.

• Simmons' Mouse Lemur Microcebus simmonsi

  A small lemur recorded in eastern lowland rainforest in northeastern Madagascar. Its life in the wild is still not well documented.

• Blue-masked Leafbird Chloropsis venusta

  The Blue-masked Leafbird is a small bird of humid montane forest in the foothills of Sumatra. Males show violet-blue and deep indigo markings, while females have bright blue markings on the face and throat.

• Diademed sifaka Propithecus diadema

  A lemur with a fluffy white crown around its face, a black head fading to a white tail, and orange arms and legs. It lives in eastern rainforests of central Madagascar.

• Willard's Sooty Boubou Laniarius willardi

  Willard’s Sooty Boubou was described from a small series of specimens from the western Albertine Rift. The description reports collection localities in Uganda and Burundi, but the few specimens do not establish a complete range.

• Large-eared Pika Ochotona (Conothoa) macrotis

  The large-eared pika lives among rocky high mountains in Central Asia. Its large ears and thick fur stand out, and it is active during the day.

• Varied Bunting Passerina versicolor

  The Varied Bunting lives mainly in Mexico, in scrub and streamside thickets. Males are reddish violet, while females and young birds are brown; it searches low in dense vegetation for insects.

• Black Agouti Dasyprocta fuliginosa

  The black agouti is a slim rodent whose back fur ranges from orange to almost black. It is mainly active by day, feeding on fruit and plants in forests, brush, and places near water.

• Burchell's Coucal Centropus burchellii

  This large coucal lives in southern African grasslands and around wetlands. Adult males and females look similar, but females are larger. Its glossy black head, chestnut back and wings, and pale belly stand out as it searches for small animals in thickets and reedbeds.

• Five-toed Dwarf Jerboa Cardiocranius paradoxus

  The five-toed dwarf jerboa is a small jerboa with 5 toes on its hind feet. It moves through dry rocky areas at night and eats plant seeds.

• Grey-rumped Swiftlet Collocalia marginata

  A swiftlet of the Philippines, it has white-edged rump feathers, with the extent of white varying between birds and regions.

• Brown Antechinus Antechinus stuartii

  This small carnivorous marsupial has a gray-brown back and large, thin ears. It lives in forests and woodlands of northern and eastern Australia and searches for insects at night.

• Eurasian nuthatch Sitta europaea

  A bird found in Japanese mountain woodland. It has a short tail and may perch on trees with its head pointing down.

• Oldfield Deermouse Peromyscus polionotus

  This nocturnal mouse lives in grassland and dunes in the southeastern United States. It digs underground burrows and stores seeds. Coastal animals tend to have paler coats than inland populations.