Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,676 · Stories: 19,540

• Melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra

  

  A dark, round-headed small whale that forms large groups in tropical seas.

• Northern Royal Albatross Diomedea sanfordi

  The Northern Royal Albatross has a white body and back, dark upperwings, and feeds mainly on squid.

• Prehensile-tailed Hutia Mysateles prehensilis

  This large rodent lives in Cuba and is an accomplished climber. Its tail can curl around branches to help it grip.

• Common Buzzard Buteo buteo

  In the UK, Common Buzzards circle on broad wings and search woods and open countryside for small prey.

• Black-crowned Antpitta Pittasoma michleri

  This bird searches for food by hopping on the forest floor. The range and ecology here are limited to the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica.

• African forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis

  The African forest elephant lives in dense tropical forests of western and central Africa.

• House mouse Mus (Mus) musculus

  A small mouse living in houses, farms and cultivated fields.

• Javan Pond Heron Ardeola speciosa

  This heron changes its head and breast plumage between breeding and nonbreeding seasons. Its white wings stand out in flight, and it moves within Southeast Asia.

• Thumbless Bat Furipterus horrens

  This bat has a very small thumb enclosed by the wing membrane. It roosts in cave colonies and catches moths and other insects at night.

• Eurasian teal Anas crecca

  A small duck seen on Japanese waters in winter. Breeding males have a chestnut head with a dark green band around the eye.

• Black-eared Wood Quail Odontophorus melanotis

  The Black-eared Wood Quail is an elusive bird of humid forests from Honduras to eastern Panama.

• Brazilian Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo Dasypus septemcinctus

  The Brazilian lesser long-nosed armadillo is the smallest species in its genus. Its shell has six or seven movable bands.

• Beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas

  An Arctic whale that becomes white as it matures. It has a rounded forehead and no dorsal fin.

• South American Painted Snipe Nycticryphes semicollaris

  A painted-snipe of southern South American wetlands, with a reddish-brown head, neck and upper breast and white-marked dark wings. It feeds along muddy water margins.

• Laotian Rock Rat Laonastes aenigmamus

  The Laotian rock rat has long whiskers and a densely furred tail, and lives in limestone forests. In a study in central Vietnam, it hid in rock crevices by day and foraged on the forest floor at night.

• Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres

  Ruddy Turnstones flip stones and seaweed along shorelines to find insects and small crustaceans underneath.

• Black-casqued Hornbill Ceratogymna atrata

  A hornbill with a large black casque that moves through forest trees in search of fruit.

• Lowland paca Cuniculus paca

  A spotted forest rodent that feeds on fallen fruit.

• Stoat Mustela erminea

  A slender mustelid with a black tail tip. In summer its upperparts are brown and its underside is pale.

• Rufous-headed Parrotbill Paradoxornis bakeri

  The Rufous-headed Parrotbill forms small groups in bamboo within or beside evergreen forest. It eats insects, seeds and berries. Indian breeding records describe low nests woven from grass and spider web in bamboo or reeds.

• African crested porcupine Hystrix (Hystrix) cristata

  A rodent with defensive quills and a crest over the head and neck.

• Eurasian Bittern Botaurus stellaris

  A sturdy heron relative that moves quietly through reeds while searching for fish and other prey.

• Malaysian Rail-babbler Eupetes macrocerus

  It has long legs and a long tail and searches for food on the forest floor. It rarely flies and avoids open patches, according to the account.

• Black-footed cat Felis nigripes

  A small cat with tawny fur, dark spots and bands, and black foot pads.