Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,584 · Stories: 19,526

• Sand Martin Riparia riparia

  

  A small martin with a grey-brown back, pale underside, and dark chest band. In Britain it arrives from Africa in spring to breed, digging nest burrows in sandy banks near water.

• Coscoroba Swan Coscoroba coscoroba

  

  The Coscoroba Swan is a large white waterbird of South American wetlands and lakes.

• Dugong Dugong dugon

  

  A mammal of warm coastal seas that feeds mainly on seagrass and uses shallow sheltered waters.

• European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus

  

  A rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula and nearby regions. It digs complex burrows and lives in groups where conditions allow.

• Caucasian Black Grouse Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi

  

  The Caucasian Black Grouse inhabits meadows near the forest line in the Caucasus Mountains. Males and females differ in plumage and tail shape.

• Chinese Water Deer Hydropotes inermis

  

  A deer whose males are notable for long canine teeth that project from the mouth.

• Eurasian jay Garrulus glandarius

  A woodland bird with a conspicuous white rump in flight. In Britain it is found widely except in northern Scotland.

• Pink-tailed Rosefinch Urocynchramus pylzowi

  This finch-like bird has a long graduated tail with bright pink. In field studies at Qinghai Nanshan it stayed among shrubs and foraged at or near the ground.

• Northern White-breasted Hedgehog Erinaceus roumanicus

  A European hedgehog with spines across its back.

• American black bear Ursus americanus

  A bear of North American forests. Many are black, while western populations also include brown and paler individuals.

• Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus

  A white seabird with a red bill; adults have conspicuously long tail streamers.

• Coruro Spalacopus cyanus

  The coruro is a rodent of Chilean grasslands that lives in groups in underground tunnel systems and feeds on plant bulbs.

• Eurasian goshawk Astur gentilis

  A broad-winged hawk that flies swiftly between trees. In Britain it lives in woodland and is often hard to see.

• Sharpbill Oxyruncus cristatus

  A sharpbill of mid-elevation rainforest. Males have a bright vermilion crest, sing high in the canopy, and feed on fruit and animal prey.

• Pygmy hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis

  The pygmy hippopotamus is a small forest hippo from West Africa that usually lives alone.

• African wild ass Equus africanus

  A wild ass of Northeast Africa. This entry treats it as a wild species, separate from the domestic donkey.

• Red-browed Pardalote Pardalotus rubricatus

  This pardalote occurs in Australia. Gould’s early description notes a vivid orange spot before the eye, while a regional account from the southern Carnarvon Basin reports it mainly in eucalypt canopies.

• Striped skunk Mephitis mephitis

  A North American skunk with a black coat, white markings and a bushy tail.

• Eurasian wren Troglodytes troglodytes

  A tiny brown bird with a loud, extended song. In Japan it breeds in habitats such as woodland beside mountain streams.

• Sira Barbet Capito fitzpatricki

  This small barbet is known only from the eastern slope of Peru’s Cerros del Sira. Its description paper reported three localities at 950–1,250 m and mainly describes paired birds foraging in the canopy.

• Amazon manatee Trichechus inunguis

  A manatee restricted to the fresh waters of the Amazon River system, with thick dark-gray skin and a pale belly patch.

• Aardvark Orycteropus afer

  An African mammal that searches for ants and termites on the ground at night and uses burrows as shelter.

• Black-and-yellow Phainoptila Phainoptila melanoxantha

  The Black-and-yellow Phainoptila eats fruit in mountain forests, and males and females differ markedly in plumage.

• Common Bear Cuscus Ailurops ursinus

  The common bear cuscus is an arboreal marsupial that moves slowly through trees with its grasping tail and forefeet and feeds mainly on leaves.