Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,824 · Stories: 19,540

• American Black Oystercatcher Haematopus bachmani

  

  The American Black Oystercatcher has a black body, long red bill, and yellow eyes, and searches for shellfish in the intertidal zone.

• Indian mongoose Urva auropunctata

  A slender mongoose with short, rounded ears. It is active by day, usually alone, and eats insects, small animals, fruit, and other foods.

• European Roller Coracias garrulus

  A bird that breeds in parts of central Europe and migrates to central and southern Africa. It has a blue head and chest and a chestnut back.

• Central American Least Shrew Cryptotis orophilus

  This small shrew occurs in Central America. Its original description notes different coat colors on the back and underside.

• Baer's Pochard Aythya baeri

  This duck breeds at lakes with rich vegetation and uses freshwater lakes and reservoirs in winter. Breeding males have a green gloss on the head.

• Cheesman's gerbil Gerbillus (Gerbillus) cheesmani

  This gerbil blends into dry country with its sandy coat. It digs burrows in sand or rocky ground and stores food in them.

• Long-billed Crombec Sylvietta rufescens

  This small, round-bodied bird has a very short tail and a slightly curved, relatively long bill. Its back is grey-brown, while the belly and flanks are cinnamon-buff.

• Naked-rumped Tomb Bat Taphozous (Liponycteris) nudiventris

  This insect-eating bat also lives in dry regions. It has a hairless area on the rear underside and catches insects while flying at night.

• Spectacled Parrotbill Suthora conspicillata

  A small bird of the mountains of central China, it has white rings around the eyes that look like spectacles. Small groups search among shrubs and forest edges.

• Japanese badger Meles anakuma

  A badger native to Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and nearby parts of Japan. Thick, long foreclaws help it dig dens in the ground.

• Angola Batis Batis minulla

  This small batis occurs mainly in western Central Africa. Males have a black facial mask and breast band, while females have a rufous breast band; the species uses forest and woodland.

• Hill's Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus hilli

  This horseshoe bat is known from a very small area in Nyungwe National Park, southwestern Rwanda. The species treatment lists two localities.

• Hartlaub's Bustard Lissotis hartlaubii

  Hartlaub's Bustard is a ground-dwelling bird active by day in open eastern African grassland. It eats both plant and animal foods.

• Rondon's Marmoset Mico rondoni

  Rondon’s marmoset occurs only in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. It eats fruits and insects in forest and also uses plant exudates as food.

• Rufous Vanga Schetba rufa

  The Rufous Vanga is endemic to Madagascar and occurs mainly in rainforest below 800 metres.

• Big Crested Mastiff Bat Promops centralis

  This mastiff bat of the Americas flies fast on long wings. It uses habitats from forests to open country and roosts in tree hollows or buildings.

• Sabota Lark Calendulauda sabota

  This lark has a noticeable white eyebrow. It searches the ground for insects and seeds in savanna and open woodland. Plumage and bill thickness vary by region.

• Burmese Goral Naemorhedus evansi

  This goral has long ears and coarse gray to gray-brown fur. Both males and females have horns. In northern Thailand it occurs on steep rocky slopes, in cliff grassland, and in mountain forest.

• Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl Ketupa nipalensis

  This large eagle-owl has a spotted belly. It is nocturnal and hunts in humid riverside and mountain forests.

• Thick-thumbed Myotis Myotis (Myotis) rosseti

  This small bat is known from Cambodia, southern Thailand, and Vietnam. At one Vietnamese site, it was observed flying low over thickets and maize fields while foraging.

• African Grass Owl Tyto capensis

  The African Grass Owl is a nocturnal owl of wetlands and grasslands that roosts near the ground. It has a white heart-shaped facial disc and a brown back with white spots.

• Channel Islands Gray Fox Urocyon littoralis

  This small fox lives only on six of the Channel Islands off California. Each island has its own distinct subspecies.

• Mangrove Cuckoo Coccyzus minor

  The Mangrove Cuckoo is a secretive bird of coastal forests in the Caribbean and Central America. It searches among leaves for insects and small lizards.

• Hector's dolphin Cephalorhynchus hectori

  A small coastal dolphin found around New Zealand, with a rounded dorsal fin.