Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,636 · Stories: 19,540

• Greater Striped Swallow Cecropis cucullata

  

  The Greater Striped Swallow stands out for its rufous forehead and rump and deeply forked tail. It breeds mainly in southern Africa, builds mud nests, and catches insects in flight.

• Buffy Broad-nosed Bat Platyrrhinus infuscus

  

  This fruit-eating bat occurs in several countries of northwestern South America. One diet study was conducted in montane forest in central Peru.

• Desert Owl Strix hadorami

  

  The Desert Owl’s facial disc is described as ranging from sandy gray to off-white among specimens. It occurs in rocky deserts and uses crevices in cliffs, caves, and wadis for roosting or nesting. An Israeli pellet study found small rodents and insectivores among its prey.

• Dama gazelle Nanger dama

  

  A gazelle that feeds on shrubs and grasses in arid country.

• Hoary-headed Grebe Poliocephalus poliocephalus

  

  The Hoary-headed Grebe is a diving bird of fresh and brackish waters in Australia. Breeding adults show fine pale streaks on the head.

• Pallid Ground Squirrel Spermophilus pallidicauda

  

  This ground squirrel occurs in Mongolia and nearby parts of China. The paper describes appearance and daytime behaviour for the genus as a whole.

• Heuglin's Courser Rhinoptilus cinctus

  Heuglin's Courser has bands of rufous, black, and white across its neck and breast. It is hard to see by day and searches for insects at dusk.

• Patagonian Chinchilla Mouse Euneomys chinchilloides

  With long, dense grey-brown fur, it lives in sandy areas with rocky shelter and patches of grass or shrubs. Records are from central and southeastern Chile and adjacent Argentina.

• Ruddy-breasted Crake Zapornia fusca

  The Ruddy-breasted Crake is a rail that lives in waterside vegetation.

• Paulina’s Limestone Rat Saxatilomys paulinae

  Paulina’s limestone rat was described from a karst region in Khammouane Province, central Laos. The original account records captures on rocky forested slopes among degraded deciduous forest, scrub and bamboo.

• Eastern Yellow-billed Barbet Trachyphonus purpuratus

  Adults have a red forehead, yellow bill, and pinkish or silvery streaks on the throat and breast. The bird uses forest undergrowth, and an adult was photographed near a nest excavated in a dead tree in Uganda.

• Cluster Bat Myotis (Pizonyx) sodalis

  The Cluster Bat is a North American bat that hibernates in caves and migrates in spring and fall. It has small hind feet and feeds on insects.

• Pollen's Vanga Xenopirostris polleni

  This vanga is endemic to humid evergreen forest in eastern Madagascar. It is recorded from sea level to 2,000 m, though its distribution is patchy.

• Little Collared Fruit Bat Myonycteris torquata

  This fruit-eating bat lives in forests and other habitats in Central and East Africa. Its back is dark rusty brown to yellowish brown; adult males seasonally develop yellow-orange staining on coarse throat and chest hairs.

• Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus

  The Little Bee-eater is a small bee-eater widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. It catches flying insects from low perches.

• Annamese Langur Trachypithecus margarita

  The Annamese langur occurs in Indochina. Its coat is generally silvery gray, with black hands and feet; the head hair forms a cap-like hood rather than a central crest. A study of one group on Takou Mountain recorded a diet dominated by young leaves, with fruit also important.

• Erect-crested Penguin Eudyptes sclateri

  Erect-crested penguins have yellow crests that rise obliquely above their eyes. They breed on islands near New Zealand and feed on small crustaceans and squid.

• Honduran White Bat Ectophylla alba

  This small bat's fur ranges from gray to white. It has a yellow leaf-shaped nose and spends the day in a shelter made from a folded leaf.

• Aripuana Antwren Herpsilochmus stotzi

  This antwren was described from the Aripuanã–Machado interfluvium in central Amazonian Brazil, where it occurs in campinarana forest on poor soils.

• Buffon's Kob Kobus kob

  The kob is an African antelope of grasslands and wetlands, feeding on grasses and reeds.

• Sulphur-breasted Warbler Phylloscopus ricketti

  A yellow brow and crown stripe stand out on this small warbler, whose underside is also yellow. The source records observation sites in Thailand.

• Anderson's Squirrel Callosciurus quinquestriatus

  Anderson's squirrel is reported from montane forests in southern Yunnan and eastern Myanmar. Its upperparts are brown to olive-yellow, with contrasting black-and-white stripes below. It eats plant matter as well as insects.

• Black-throated Bushtit Aegithalos concinnus

  The Black-throated Bushtit moves in small groups. It eats insects and small mollusks as well as seeds and berries.

• Black-wristed Deermouse Peromyscus melanocarpus

  This small mouse lives in mountain forests of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. Dark fur on its wrists and lower forelegs stands out; it forages at night for seeds and other foods on the forest floor.