Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,813 · Stories: 19,540

• Markham’s Storm Petrel Hydrobates markhami

  

  This small seabird, about 21–23 cm long, ranges over the tropical Pacific. It breeds in fissures and cavities in salt flats in Peru and Chile.

• Pygmy Ring-tailed Possum Pseudochirulus mayeri

  The pygmy ringtail lives in trees in the forests of New Guinea's central highlands. It is active at night and builds nests of leaves and moss in tree forks.

• Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura

  This small bird is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. Breeding males grow long tails, and the species lays eggs in other birds' nests.

• Black-lipped Pika Ochotona (Ochotona) curzoniae

  This small pika lives in high grasslands and steppes of the Tibetan Plateau and has no obvious visible tail. Meadow populations are known to gather and store plants.

• Eurasian siskin Spinus spinus

  A yellow-and-brown bird that feeds on seeds of trees and grasses.

• Golden-crowned Sifaka Propithecus tattersalli

  A sifaka with mostly white fur and a golden crown. It lives in limited forests in northeastern Madagascar and leaps between trees.

• Short-tailed Antthrush Chamaeza campanisona

  A Short-tailed Antthrush of Bolivia’s humid montane forests. It searches for food on the forest floor by turning leaves with its bill.

• Thomas's Nectar Bat Hsunycteris thomasi

  This small nectar bat is distinguished by the arrangement of skin papillae on its chin. It has been recorded from Panama across much of northern South America, although the current species may include unresolved lineages.

• Quail-plover Ortyxelos meiffrenii

  This small bird walks through dry grassland. Males have rufous and black-and-white markings, and only males incubate the eggs.

• Santa Marta White-fronted Capuchin Cebus malitiosus

  This capuchin lives around the Santa Marta mountains of northern Colombia. Its dark coat contrasts with pale fur on the head and shoulders.

• Large-billed Gerygone Gerygone magnirostris

  This small bird is 10–12 cm long and uses lowland wetlands and mangroves. It is active by day and searches trees for invertebrates.

• Djungarian hamster Phodopus sungorus

  A small hamster originating in Kazakhstan and southwestern Siberia. It carries material in large cheek pouches.

• White-throated Jacamar Brachygalba albogularis

  A jacamar with a white throat and facial markings and a long, pale-yellow bill; it catches flying insects along riverside forest.

• Javan Mongoose Urva javanica

  The Javan mongoose is a mongoose found in Southeast Asia. A study on Java examined traces of its varied animal prey in fecal DNA.

• African Houbara Chlamydotis undulata

  A bustard of dry North African landscapes. It uses sandy or stony semi-desert with scattered plants and shrubs.

• South-eastern Pocket Gopher Geomys pinetis

  The southeastern pocket gopher spends much of its life underground in sandy soil, digging tunnels and eating roots and tubers.

• Merlin Falco columbarius

  A small falcon that visits Japanese coasts and farmland in winter and pursues small birds.

• Chinese Ferret-badger Melogale moschata

  The Chinese ferret-badger is a small badger with a white forehead, black face, and long bushy tail. It is active at night and eats insects, earthworms, and small animals.

• Magpie Shrike Lanius melanoleucus

  The Magpie Shrike is an African shrike with a long tail and black-and-white plumage. It watches for prey from savanna branches and may breed cooperatively in family groups.

• Eastern Forest Hedgehog Mesechinus orientalis

  This hedgehog was described from eastern China in 2023. Its short spines have bands of white, black, and pale color.

• Lorentz's Whistler Pachycephala lorentzi

  Lorentz's Whistler is a small whistler of the central New Guinea highlands. Its grey breast band and mottled white throat are distinctive, and it searches for insects in damp highland scrub.

• Brush-tailed Phascogale Phascogale tapoatafa

  This Australian marsupial climbs rough-barked trees to search for arthropods. It also uses tree hollows as nests or shelters.

• Tristram's Starling Onychognathus tristramii

  Tristram's Starling is a starling whose orange wing panels stand out in flight. It uses rocky ravines and wadis, feeding on fruit and small animals.

• Checkered Elephant Shrew Rhynchocyon cirnei

  This large sengi has a checkered back and a long, mobile snout. It is active by day and searches on the ground for ants, termites and other invertebrates.