Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,676 · Stories: 19,540

• Sooty Oystercatcher Haematopus fuliginosus

  

  The Sooty Oystercatcher has a black body and a red-orange bill. Along Australian coasts it searches for shellfish and other small animals, and it may form flocks outside the breeding season.

• Hausa Genet Genetta thierryi

  The Hausa genet is a small viverrid found in West African savannas and moist woodlands. A reddish line along its back and alternating light and dark rings on its tail help identify its coat pattern.

• Frilled Monarch Arses telescopthalmus

  A monarch of lowland and foothill forest interiors in New Guinea. The sexes differ strongly: males have a white collar, while females have a rufous back.

• Little Yellow-shouldered Bat Sturnira lilium

  A fruit-eating bat studied in Brazil’s montane Atlantic Forest. Its back fur ranges from dark gray to reddish brown, with a paler underside; a study in Brazil's montane Atlantic Forest found a fruit-only diet, mostly Solanaceae.

• Jerdon's Leafbird Chloropsis jerdoni

  A green leafbird with a dark blue-black throat in males. It may join mixed-species flocks at trees bearing flowers or fruit.

• American Water Shrew Sorex palustris

  The American water shrew ranges from Alaska and Canada to northern mountain regions of the United States. Near streams and lakes, it dives to search for aquatic insects.

• Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus

  The Australian Pelican has a long bill with a large pouch beneath it. Fish are its main food, and groups sometimes herd fish into shallow water.

• Korean Hare Lepus coreanus

  The Korean hare has brown or grey-brown fur on its back and paler fur underneath. It uses vegetated areas from plains to mountains and is reported to feed in open places in the late afternoon or evening.

• Rwenzori Batis Batis diops

  This small bird inhabits montane forest in the Albertine Rift. It has contrasting black-blue and white plumage and searches the lower forest for insects.

• Japanese raccoon dog Nyctereutes viverrinus

  A member of the dog family living in and around Japanese forests.

• Cape Eagle Owl Bubo capensis

  This large owl has heavy barring on its tawny chest, dark blotches on the flanks, orange eyes and powerful feet. It hunts mainly mammals at night and occurs in scattered rocky areas.

• Himalayan Goral Naemorhedus goral

  A member of the bovid family native to the Himalayas. It uses forested and scrub-covered slopes and has gray-to-brown fur with short horns that curve backward.

• Red-capped Plover Charadrius ruficapillus

  This small plover lives around Australian coasts and wetlands. An adult male has a reddish-brown head and neck, and the species searches for small shellfish and crustaceans on mudflats and beaches.

• Spix's White-fronted Capuchin Cebus unicolor

  This capuchin occurs in the upper Brazilian Amazon. Its specialist handbook account lists lowland and seasonally flooded forest and describes a diet of fruits and invertebrates.

• Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta

  The Shy Albatross is a large seabird that glides over the ocean on long wings and breeds on islands off Tasmania.

• Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus

  A small whale with a bulging forehead and relatively short flippers, found in warm seas.

• Guianan Red Cotinga Phoenicircus carnifex

  The Guianan Red Cotinga lives in northern South American rainforest. Males are conspicuously red, while females and immatures have more olive coloring. A study in Suriname observed male display sites.

• Northern Hopping Mouse Notomys aquilo

  A small hopping mouse with large eyes and ears, a long tail, and strong hind feet. The Australian Government reports it only from Groote Eylandt.

• Gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua

  A penguin recognized by a red-orange bill and conspicuous white patches above its eyes.

• Black-faced Lion Tamarin Leontopithecus caissara

  Black, mane-like fur frames its face, and much of its body is golden. This small monkey lives in coastal forests of southeastern Brazil.

• Bare-throated Whistler Pachycephala nudigula

  The Bare-throated Whistler lives in forests and mountains on Sumbawa and Flores in Indonesia. Males have a bare red patch low on the throat.

• Aldabra Flying Fox Pteropus aldabrensis

  The Aldabra flying fox is a large fruit bat found only on Aldabra Atoll in Seychelles. It eats fruit and flowers and helps move seeds among the island's plants.

• Grenada Flycatcher Myiarchus nugator

  This flycatcher occurs on Grenada. It feeds on insects in forest, secondary growth, open woodland, and scrub; a song record is listed from Mt Hartmann Estate.

• Armored Rat Hoplomys gymnurus

  This rodent has spines on its back. In wet streamside forest, it hides in a burrow by day and searches for food at night.