Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,636 · Stories: 19,540

• Blackish Oystercatcher Haematopus ater

  

  The Blackish Oystercatcher occurs along the Pacific coast of South America. It searches rocky shores and beaches for shellfish and other prey and breeds near the coast.

• Peters's Sheath-tailed Bat Paremballonura atrata

  

  This sheath-tailed bat occurs in Madagascar. It has long, shaggy, brownish-black fur and rounded ears, and a Marojejy survey also recorded it in open habitats.

• Swainson's Sparrow Passer swainsonii

  

  A small sparrow, about 16 cm long, found in highlands and near human settlements. It feeds mainly on plant seeds on the ground and is sedentary.

• Cuban Fruit-eating Bat Brachyphylla nana

  

  The Cuban fruit-eating bat roosts in caves in Cuba. This account focuses on its Cuban cave habitat and appearance.

• Whooping Motmot Momotus subrufescens

  

  This motmot ranges from eastern Panama to northwestern South America and uses lowland forest.

• Etruscan Shrew Suncus etruscus

  

  The Etruscan shrew is a very small shrew that is also found in the Mediterranean region of mainland Portugal.

• Village Indigobird Vidua chalybeata

  This small bird ranges widely across Africa. Breeding males vary in plumage and bill color among regional forms, and they mimic the songs of their firefinch hosts.

• Cape Grysbok Raphicerus melanotis

  The Cape grysbok is a small bovid from South Africa. It becomes active around dusk and eats grass and leaves from shrubs.

• Flores Monarch Symposiachrus sacerdotum

  Flores Monarch is a small bird restricted to Flores Island. It has slate-gray upperparts, clean white underparts, and a black mask across the face. It is found alone or in pairs in the understory of forested hills and often joins mixed-species flocks.

• Smoky Pocket Gopher Cratogeomys fumosus

  The smoky pocket gopher is a burrowing rodent of the southern Mexican Plateau, where volcanic soils occur. Its large foreclaws help it dig underground.

• 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.

• Broom Hare Lepus castroviejoi

  This hare lives in the Cantabrian Mountains. Its back is yellow-brown and its underside is white; it rests in scrub by day and feeds mainly on grass at night.

• Blue-and-white Kingfisher Todiramphus diops

  The Blue-and-white Kingfisher occurs in the northern Moluccas. Males have blue wings and back with a white head and underparts; the account lists habitats from forests and streams to farmland and coasts.

• Northern Birch Mouse Sicista betulina

  The northern birch mouse is a small rodent with a slender body and a long tail. It is most active around the start and end of the night and hibernates underground in winter.

• Black-eared Catbird Ailuroedus melanotis

  The Black-eared Catbird is a bowerbird with a green body, dark head markings, and cream-colored spots. It eats both animal and plant foods.

• Grizzled Tree Kangaroo Dendrolagus inustus

  The grizzled tree kangaroo is a marsupial with powerful forelimbs and curved claws suited to climbing. In the wild it eats leaves, fruit, and soft bark, and most records come from primary forest.

• Red-capped Forest-warbler Artisornis metopias

  This small bird occurs in montane areas of Tanzania and Mozambique. Its head and neck are rufous, and it feeds mostly on insects.

• Gold-and-white Marmoset Mico chrysoleucos

  The gold-and-white marmoset is a small primate named for its golden-white coat and ear tufts. Groups have been recorded in flooded forests in southern Amazonia, Brazil.

• Purple-chested Hummingbird Polyerata rosenbergi

  This hummingbird lives in humid Pacific lowland forests of northwestern Ecuador and western Colombia. Males have a blue-purple patch on the chest.

• Yellow-handed Titi Cheracebus lucifer

  This titi monkey lives in forests of the western Amazon. By day it moves through the trees in small family groups and feeds mainly on fruit. Hand color varies.

• Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma

  The Grey-headed Albatross has a bluish-gray head and neck and a white body. It breeds on subantarctic islands and forages in surrounding waters.

• Masked palm civet Paguma larvata

  A climbing civet that lives in forests and near human settlements.

• Square-tailed Bulbul Hypsipetes ganeesa

  This bulbul is recorded throughout the Western Ghats of southern India. It has a slate-grey to black body, a black crest, and a red bill and legs. A study of 81 nests in Silent Valley National Park found breeding from January to June, with a peak in April and May.

• Palmer's Chipmunk Tamias (Neotamias) palmeri

  This chipmunk is restricted to the Spring Mountains of Nevada. It is often found in high-elevation conifer forests and forages on canyon floors and rocky outcrops.