Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,676 · Stories: 19,540

• Black-breasted Plovercrest Stephanoxis lalandi

  

  This small crested hummingbird occurs in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. A 2014 taxonomic study restored the boundary between two forms that earlier authors had treated as one species.

• Northern White-breasted Hedgehog Erinaceus roumanicus

  A European hedgehog with spines across its back.

• Cryptic Warbler Cryptosylvicola randrianasoloi

  This small bird lives in Madagascar. A species account lists montane forest as its habitat and describes it searching for small invertebrates on branches. A separate field account records the appearance of recently fledged young.

• Andean Mountain Cavy Microcavia niata

  The mountain cavy is a small rodent of high Andean grasslands. It may live in groups and eats plants.

• Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher Ceyx erithaca

  The Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher is a small kingfisher found from India to Southeast Asia. Northern populations move south for winter.

• Narrow-nosed Planigale Planigale tenuirostris

  The Narrow-nosed Planigale is a small marsupial with a flattened, triangular head and a thin tail about as long as its body. It lives in grasslands, shrublands and other habitats in eastern Australia.

• Black-throated Accentor Prunella atrogularis

  The Black-throated Accentor breeds in mountain regions of Central Asia and around the Urals. The nominate form and subspecies huttoni differ in throat markings and winter movements.

• Nepal Gray Langur Semnopithecus schistaceus

  The Nepal gray langur lives in Himalayan forests and rocky areas. Its back and limbs are dark gray, its belly is creamy white, and the bare skin of its face, hands, and feet is black.

• Eurasian Treecreeper Certhia familiaris

  The Eurasian Treecreeper climbs tree trunks to find small animals in the bark. Its brown, white, and golden plumage blends into the tree.

• Bastard big-footed mouse Macrotarsomys bastardi

  The bastard big-footed mouse is a small rodent of southern and western Madagascar's dry habitats. It rests in a burrow by day and searches for plant foods at night.

• Spotted Jewel-babbler Ptilorrhoa leucosticta

  The Spotted Jewel-babbler lives in montane forest on New Guinea. It walks on the forest floor in search of insects and other small animals.

• Bokhara Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus bocharicus

  The Bokhara horseshoe bat lives in arid Central Asian foothills and uses caves and mines as roosts.

• Horned Puffin Fratercula corniculata

  The Horned Puffin is a black-and-white seabird with an orange-and-yellow bill in breeding adults. It nests on rocky cliffs and spends winter far offshore in the Pacific.

• Southern Stripe-headed Round-eared Bat Tonatia maresi

  Tonatia maresi is a bat distributed in South America. The adult female used as the holotype reference in the paper had dark gray-brown fur above and a grayer, paler underside. The species roosts in hollow trees.

• Musician Wren Cyphorhinus arada

  This small wren is recorded in Bolivian Amazonian forests. It forages mainly in leaf litter and keeps to dense lower growth or the ground, alone or in pairs.

• False Water Rat Xeromys myoides

  A small rodent recorded along northern and eastern Australia and in western New Guinea. It uses coastal saltmarsh and mangroves, as well as nearby freshwater wetlands.

• Asian Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus

  The Asian Woolly-necked Stork is a large wetland bird with a neck covered in fluffy white feathers. The current name Ciconia episcopus refers to the Asian species, distinct from the African C. microscelis.

• Greater Red Musk Shrew Crocidura flavescens

  The greater red musk shrew is a large shrew of southern Africa, where it uses moist grassland and woodland. It has also been recorded in gardens and near settlements.

• Australian Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae

  The Australian Masked Owl lives in forests and woodland edges and hunts small mammals at night. Its plumage occurs in pale, intermediate, and dark forms.

• Eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus

  A rabbit with brown upperparts and a fluffy white tail. Some individuals have a white spot on the forehead. It also lives near people in places such as yards.

• Chatham Oystercatcher Haematopus chathamensis

  The Chatham Island Oystercatcher is a black-and-white shorebird found only on the Chatham Islands. Pairs defend coastal territories throughout the year.

• Emilia's Gracile Opossum Gracilinanus emiliae

  Emilia's Gracile Opossum is a small marsupial with reddish-brown fur above and white fur below. It is arboreal and may also forage on the ground.

• Wilson's Storm Petrel Oceanites oceanicus

  Wilson's Storm Petrel is a small seabird with long legs and a white rump patch. It breeds around Antarctica and travels widely over the oceans.

• Fulvus Leaf-nosed Bat Hipposideros fulvus

  The fulvous leaf-nosed bat is a small bat found across much of southern Asia. It rests in caves, burrows, or other roosts by day and searches for insects at night.