Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,584 · Stories: 19,526

• Black kite Milvus migrans

  

  A familiar raptor in Japan, with long wings and a long tail that has a shallow notch at its tip.

• Grey-rumped Treeswift Hemiprocne longipennis

  

  The Grey-rumped Treeswift occurs in Southeast Asia and its islands. It uses perches and catches insects in flight.

• Desert Gundi Ctenodactylus vali

  

  The desert gundi is a small herbivorous rodent found in a few rocky areas around the Sahara.

• Snow leopard Panthera uncia

  

  A snow leopard is a cat of Central Asian mountains. Thick fur and a long tail suit its life on rocky slopes.

• Christmas Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi

  

  The Christmas Frigatebird is a large seabird that breeds on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. During the breeding season, the male inflates a red throat pouch.

• Red ruffed lemur Varecia rubra

  

  A rust-red lemur of Madagascar’s Masoala Peninsula.

• Little egret Egretta garzetta

  A white heron that catches fish in shallow watersides. A black bill and legs with yellow feet are identifying features.

• Crab-plover Dromas ardeola

  This coastal bird has black-and-white plumage and a heavy bill, and feeds on crabs. A field study in India’s Gulf of Kachchh recorded wintering birds foraging at low tide.

• Short-tailed Gymnure Hylomys suillus

  The short-tailed gymnure occurs on Java. A recent taxonomic revision treats it as a Java species and reports seasonal changes in coat color.

• Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni

  NOAA distinguishes an Eden's whale form within Balaenoptera edeni that is smaller and more coastal.

• Rusty-flanked Treecreeper Certhia nipalensis

  The Rusty-flanked Treecreeper is a small bird of high forests from the eastern Himalayas into southwestern China. It is recorded in mixed conifer and broadleaf forest with tall trees.

• Indian Crested Porcupine Hystrix (Hystrix) indica

  A porcupine from the Middle East to South and Central Asia, protected by long quills.

• Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula

  A diving duck distinguished by a tuft at the back of its head and yellow eyes.

• Jamaican Spindalis Spindalis nigricephala

  This endemic tanager inhabits lowland and mountain forests in Jamaica. Males and females differ in head and breast color.

• Feather-tailed Possum Distoechurus pennatus

  The feathertail possum lives in New Guinea's forests. It has a feather-like fringe on its tail but no membrane for gliding.

• European bison Bos bonasus

  The European bison is a large cattle relative living in wooded regions of central and eastern Europe.

• Red-billed Oxpecker Buphagus erythroryncha

  This bird occurs in sub-Saharan Africa and feeds on ticks and flies while clinging to large mammals such as giraffes and cattle. Southern African accounts also describe nesting in tree cavities and, in some cases, helpers that assist a pair with chick care.

• Wyoming Ground Squirrel Urocitellus elegans

  The Wyoming ground squirrel lives in grasslands and shrublands of the western United States. Its brown-gray fur is dappled, and it hibernates underground from late summer into spring at a Colorado study site.

• Common Redshank Tringa totanus

  A shorebird with bright red legs that searches for small animals in coastal mud in the UK.

• Hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin

  The Hoatzin has a long tail and crest; young birds have claws on their wings that help them grip branches.

• Spix's Disk-winged Bat Thyroptera tricolor

  Spix's disk-winged bat clings head-up inside leaves with tiny suction discs. Small groups roost in leaves and change resting sites each day.

• Cape Hare Lepus capensis

  The Arabian hare is recorded around AlUla in north-western Saudi Arabia. In this region, its grayish coat and black ear tips are noted.

• Golden-breasted Fruiteater Pipreola aureopectus

  This cotinga occurs in montane forest in Colombia and Venezuela. A Colombian regional account describes a green-backed male with a yellow chest and a female with yellow belly spots.

• Parma wallaby Notamacropus parma

  A wallaby that rests in thickets by day and feeds on grasses at night.