Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,038 · Stories: 19,488

• Asian elephant Elephas maximus

  

  An Asian elephant lives in South and Southeast Asia. It uses its trunk to grasp food and pour water into its mouth.

• Greater Asian False-vampire Lyroderma lyra

  

  The greater Asian false-vampire is a large carnivorous bat distributed across South Asia. It has large ears and a prominent noseleaf, and catches insects and small vertebrates.

• Blood-breasted Flowerpecker Dicaeum sanguinolentum

  

  At Gunung Merapi National Park on Java, a male was recorded visiting a nest and feeding two chicks. This was an observation of one nest and does not establish the species' general breeding behaviour.

• Black kite Milvus migrans

  

  A familiar raptor in Japan, with long wings and a long tail that has a shallow notch at its tip.

• Greater Mouse-tailed Bat Rhinopoma microphyllum

  

  This bat has a long tail that extends beyond the tail membrane, and its fur ranges from gray to reddish brown. It eats insects and roosts in caves and old buildings in dry regions.

• Blue-throated Motmot Aspatha gularis

  

  The Blue-throated Motmot has a vivid blue throat and a short tail. It lives in mountain forest from southern Mexico into northern Central America.

• Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni

  NOAA distinguishes an Eden's whale form within Balaenoptera edeni that is smaller and more coastal.

• Gray African Climbing Mouse Dendromus melanotis

  Its gray coat has a dark stripe down the back, and its long tail helps it climb grass stems. It is active at night, builds grass nests, and eats seeds and insects.

• Olive Warbler Peucedramus taeniatus

  In the southwestern U.S. mountains, the male Olive Warbler is recognizable by its copper-colored head, gray back, and white wing bars. It searches high in trees for insects and gives a soft whistled call.

• Common Quail Coturnix coturnix

  A small pheasant-family bird that visits Britain's lowlands in summer, where open grassland and farmland occur. It is secretive and may be noticed by its call.

• Spix's Night Monkey Aotus vociferans

  Spix's night monkey is active at night. A feeding study in Peruvian river basins found fruit to be its main recorded food, with flowers and nectar also used.

• Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni

  The Black Petrel is seen in pelagic waters around northern New Zealand. It breeds in island burrows and feeds at sea at night, including on squid.

• Domestic Bactrian camel Camelus bactrianus

  A domestic Bactrian camel has two humps. Kept in Central Asia, it is adapted to cold winters and hot summers.

• Caspian Seal Pusa caspica

  The Caspian seal lives only in the Caspian Sea. Newborn pups have a white coat, and many are born on winter ice in the north.

• Curl-crested Jay Cyanocorax cristatellus

  The Curl-crested Jay is a social bird marked by blue wings and tail and a curled crest.

• 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.

• Coppery Brush-tailed Possum Trichosurus johnstonii

  Johnston's brushtail possum has coppery-red fur and a cream-colored underside. It lives in forests of northeastern Australia and is mainly active in trees at night.

• Moustached Tinkerbird Pogoniulus leucomystax

  This small African barbet has a white moustache-like marking. It is usually seen alone or in pairs in montane forest.

• Plains zebra Equus quagga

  A plains zebra lives in eastern and southern African grasslands and woodlands. Family groups contain a stallion, mares and their young.

• Juan Fernández Fur Seal Arctocephalus philippii

  The Juan Fernández fur seal lives on islands off Chile. It eats squid and fish and uses steep, rocky shores for resting and breeding.

• Philippine Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster

  This pitta searches for food near the ground in forests and scrub. Typical adults show a blue breast band and red belly; the species occurs across the Philippines and on Indonesia's Talaud Islands.

• Eurasian teal Anas crecca

  A small duck seen on Japanese waters in winter. Breeding males have a chestnut head with a dark green band around the eye.

• Short-beaked echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus

  A spiny egg-laying mammal found in many Australian habitats.

• Andean Flamingo Phoenicoparrus andinus

  A flamingo of high Andean lakes, it has a pale pink body and yellow legs and filters algae and other small food from the water.