Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,025 · Stories: 19,293

• 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.

• Ochotona roylii Ochotona (Conothoa) roylii

  

  Ochotona roylii is a pika of rocky Himalayan sites. In summer, its head, shoulders, and forebody become rufous; it uses cavities among loose rocks and stone heaps as shelter.

• Pygmy Sperm Whale Kogia breviceps

  

  A small toothed whale of temperate and tropical seas worldwide, with a darker back and paler underside.

• Cassin's Honeybird Prodotiscus insignis

  

  This small honeybird is about 10 cm long. It lives in the Afrotropical region and searches for invertebrates in trees.

• 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.

• Common kingfisher Alcedo atthis

  

  A bird that dives from waterside perches to catch small fish. Its blue back contrasts with a chestnut belly.

• Purple-backed Fairywren Malurus assimilis

  The Purple-backed Fairywren inhabits dense inland Australian scrub and saltbush. It moves close to the ground and through grasses while searching for arthropods and seeds.

• Southern Highland Yellow-toothed Cavy Galea comes

  This cavy is known from the southern Bolivian and northern Argentine Andes. Its back is mottled olive, brown, and tan, while its underside mixes yellow and white. At one Bolivian valley site, a colony was observed foraging by day near burrows.

• Honey badger Mellivora capensis

  A robust mustelid found in parts of Africa and Asia.

• Slender-billed Prion Pachyptila belcheri

  This small seabird breeds on islands near the southern tip of South America and in the southern Indian Ocean. Some reach New Zealand waters in winter.

• Koala Phascolarctos cinereus

  An animal of Australian eucalypt forests. Trees provide both resting places and the leaves it eats.

• Gray Partridge Perdix perdix

  A ground-dwelling bird native to Eurasia. Family groups walk through fields and grasslands, picking seeds from the ground. North American populations were introduced from Europe.

• Cockatiel Nymphicus hollandicus

  A bird of open Australian country, recognized by its crest, long pointed tail and orange cheek patches.

• Naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber

  The naked mole-rat lives in underground tunnels in dry parts of eastern Africa.

• Common minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata

  A whale with a pointed head and a curved dorsal fin set well back on its body.

• Sulphur-billed Nuthatch Sitta oenochlamys

  This Philippine endemic nuthatch has violet-blue upperparts and pale orange underparts. It searches trees for insects and spiders.

• Greater Cane Rat Thryonomys swinderianus

  The greater cane rat is a stocky African rodent with a rounded nose and short ears. It lives near marshes and riverbanks, feeding mainly on grasses and cane.

• White wagtail Motacilla alba

  A bird that walks in search of insects along watersides and farmland in Japan. Birds commonly seen there have white faces with a dark line through the eye.

• Pale-winged Trumpeter Psophia leucoptera

  A ground-walking bird of Amazonian forest, with glossy black plumage and a broad rounded white area on the back.

• Caucasian Birch Mouse Sicista caucasica

  The Caucasian birch mouse is a small rodent recorded in grasslands of the western Great Caucasus. Its back lacks a dark stripe, and field records include places with tall, dense vegetation.

• Raccoon Procyon lotor

  Native to North and Central America, it has a black mask around the eyes and rings along its tail.

• Hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin

  The Hoatzin has a long tail and crest; young birds have claws on their wings that help them grip branches.

• Dusky Pademelon Thylogale brunii

  This is a small member of the kangaroo family, with large ears, strong hind legs, and a short, thick tail. It is mainly active at night and eats plants such as grasses and young shoots.

• Northern shoveler Spatula clypeata

  A duck with a broad, shovel-shaped bill. The large bill gathers tiny food items from the water.