Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,636 · Stories: 19,540

• Mexican Ground Squirrel Ictidomys mexicanus

  

  This ground squirrel has rows of white spots along its back. Records from Mapimí Biosphere Reserve in Mexico showed it active during the hottest part of the day.

• Costa Rican Swift Chaetura fumosa

  The Costa Rican Swift is sooty black with a pale gray rump band and lighter throat. On Costa Rica’s southern Pacific side, pairs are seen over forest and open country.

• Tree Bat Ardops nichollsi

  The lesser Antillean tree bat has brown fur and a white spot where the wing joins the body. It is thought to roost in woody vegetation on Dominica, but field observations are limited.

• Guianan Puffbird Notharchus macrorhynchos

  The Guianan Puffbird is a forest bird with a white forehead and throat and a broad black breast band. It ranges through the Guianas, eastern Venezuela, and northeastern Brazil.

• Lesser Epauletted Fruit Bat Epomophorus pusillus

  This fruit bat ranges widely across sub-Saharan Africa. Males have conspicuous white tufts of fur at the shoulders; females do not.

• Black-headed Duck Heteronetta atricapilla

  The Black-headed Duck lives in wetlands and lakes of southern South America. It has an unusual breeding strategy: it lays its eggs in the nests of other waterbirds rather than building its own nest.

• Delicate Laucha Calomys tener

  The delicate laucha ranges across several parts of South America. Specimens reported from Misiones had brown to reddish-brown backs and pale undersides.

• Indian peafowl Pavo cristatus

  A bird native to India and Sri Lanka whose males spread a long train like a fan.

• Felten's Myotis Myotis (Myotis) punicus

  Felten’s myotis occurs in northwestern Africa and several Mediterranean islands. It forages over semi-desert and sparsely vegetated areas and roosts underground.

• Red-headed Barbet Eubucco bourcierii

  The Red-headed Barbet is sometimes found in pairs or mixed-species flocks in the forest canopy. Males have bright red heads, green backs, and yellow bellies; females have blue cheeks and orange sides to the neck.

• Fat Sand Rat Psammomys obesus

  The fat sand rat is a stocky gerbil-like rodent that burrows near desert shrubs and changes its activity with the heat.

• Black-necked Aracari Pteroglossus aracari

  Adults have a black head and throat, a red rump, and a red band across the yellow underside. This aracari searches for fruit in the canopy.

• Laos Langur Trachypithecus laotum

  The Laos langur lives in limestone forest in central Laos. At the study site, young animals showed varied coat colors, and groups were observed eating young leaves.

• Merlin Falco columbarius

  A small falcon that visits Japanese coasts and farmland in winter and pursues small birds.

• Scimitar-horned Oryx Oryx dammah

  The scimitar-horned oryx is an antelope of arid lands, with a pale coat and long, backward-curving horns.

• Black-faced Ibis Theristicus melanopis

  The Black-faced Ibis walks through wetlands and grassland to forage and occurs in Argentina and Chile.

• Southern Amazon Red Squirrel Sciurus (Urosciurus) spadiceus

  The Southern Amazon red squirrel lives in lowland Amazonian forest. It eats nuts, and its coat varies among individuals.

• Brown-rumped Bunting Emberiza affinis

  The Brown-rumped Bunting has a black-and-white face pattern, a brown back, and yellow underparts. It occurs in broadleaf woodland, moist savanna, and cultivated areas.

• Commissaris's Long-tongued Bat Glossophaga commissarisi

  This bat ranges from southern Mexico to Panama. It uses flower nectar as a major food source and also eats soft fruit and insects.

• Black-headed Cuckooshrike Coracina melanoptera

  Males have a black head and wings with a grey body; females have a grey head and black-and-white underparts. In Bangladesh, it searches foliage for insects and berries in forests and secondary growth.

• Angolan Soft-furred Fruit Bat Lissonycteris angolensis

  Surveys around Mount Cameroon captured this fruit bat near fruiting trees, cultivated land and cave entrances. The current MDD species page uses the name Myonycteris angolensis.

• Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor

  The Lesser Grey Shrike hunts large beetles and other insects in open farmland and grassland. It migrates from European breeding areas to southern Africa.

• Zacatecan Harvest Mouse Reithrodontomys (Reithrodontomys) zacatecae

  The Zacatecan harvest mouse has a reddish-brown back and a relatively long tail. In Jalisco, it is recorded in high temperate areas.

• Shy Heathwren Hylacola cauta

  This small bird lives in southern Australian mallee scrub and similar habitats. Its warm brown back, chestnut rump, and white wing patch help identify it.