Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,636 · Stories: 19,540

• South African Ground Squirrel Xerus (Geosciurus) inauris

  

  This squirrel lives in the dry grasslands and savannas of southern Africa. It uses underground burrows and searches for food by day.

• Long-tailed Starling Aplonis magna

  This starling is active by day and eats fruit in forests and open areas on Biak and Numfor.

• Harpy Fruit Bat Harpyionycteris whiteheadi

  The harpy fruit bat lives in forests on islands including the Philippines. The account describes dark brown upper fur and group roosts in fruiting plants.

• Emin's Shrike Lanius gubernator

  A small African shrike of savanna and shrubland that catches ground-dwelling invertebrates by day.

• Kelaart's Pipistrelle Pipistrellus ceylonicus

  This small bat is recorded across the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. Its mean forearm length is 37.2 mm, and dorsal fur varies from gray-brown to chestnut, reddish, or golden brown. In 2021, one male was rescued in a village in Rajasthan, India.

• Western Grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis

  On lakes and coasts of western North America, it dives for fish; during courtship, pairs run together across the water.

• Apennine Chamois Rupicapra ornata

  The Apennine chamois lives in central Italy. It uses high grasslands and steep rocky slopes, descending into valley woodland in winters with heavy snow.

• Trilling Shrike-Babbler Pteruthius aenobarbus

  This small bird lives on Java. The male has chestnut on the forehead and throat, yellow-green upperparts and bold black-and-white wing bars; the female is more rufous and has paler wing bars.

• White-lined Broad-nosed Bat Platyrrhinus lineatus

  The white-lined broad-nosed bat is a South American bat marked by a white stripe on its back. It is nocturnal and mainly eats fruit.

• Asian Desert Warbler Curruca nana

  The Asian Desert Warbler is a small, sandy-brown warbler. In the UAE it is seen mainly in winter or while passing through, in dry places with sparse plants.

• Indian Bush Rat Golunda ellioti

  The Indian bush rat is a medium-sized rodent with a stocky body and short, thick tail. It lives in varied habitats from forests to grasslands and eats grass stems and roots, seeds, and fruit.

• Bar-bellied Pitta Hydrornis elliotii

  The Bar-bellied Pitta lives in lowland forest in Indochina and searches for food on the ground. It turns leaf litter while feeding on insects and earthworms.

• Sumichrast's Vesper Rat Nyctomys sumichrasti

  This arboreal rodent lives in forests from southern Mexico to Panama. Its orange-tinged back and brush-like tail tuft stand out.

• Spot-crowned Barbet Capito maculicoronatus

  A barbet of forests from Panama to northwestern Colombia. A Panama breeding study followed an adult pair as they excavated a cavity in a dead tree and raised nestlings.

• Crested Mona Monkey Cercopithecus pogonias

  The crowned guenon is notable for its crest of hair and lives mainly in the trees of western Central African forests.

• Marbled Murrelet Brachyramphus marmoratus

  The Marbled Murrelet is a small seabird that catches small fish at sea and nests in mature forests. In California, Oregon, and Washington, it forages near shore and breeds in coastal forests.

• Calabrian Black Squirrel Sciurus meridionalis

  A squirrel restricted to Calabria in southern Italy. A 2017 study presented morphological and genetic differences supporting its treatment as a species distinct from the Eurasian red squirrel.

• Brown-necked Parrot Poicephalus fuscicollis

  This African parrot is described with two subspecies. Their head and rump colors, ranges and woodland habitats differ.

• Ratanaworabhan's Fruit Bat Megaerops niphanae

  A survey conducted in August 2024 recorded this small fruit bat in Xuan Nha Nature Reserve in northwestern Vietnam. All four captured individuals were female, and two were lactating.

• Great-billed Hermit Phaethornis malaris

  The Great-billed Hermit lives in lowland forest across much of northern South America. Its long, curved bill and elongated central tail feathers are distinctive.

• Izecksohn's Myotis Myotis (Pizonyx) izecksohni

  Specimen records of this bat extend from southeastern Brazil to northeastern Argentina. Its long, silky dorsal fur has dark bases and brown tips. In Argentina's Misiones Province, two females were collected in a region of grass savanna, scrub, and forest.

• Lita Woodpecker Piculus litae

  This woodpecker inhabits humid forest from western Colombia to northwestern Ecuador. It searches beneath tree bark while foraging alone or in pairs.

• Red Serow Capricornis rubidus

  The red serow is recorded mainly in northern Myanmar, with reports from nearby regions.

• Black Grasswren Amytornis housei

  This ground-dwelling bird lives in the Kimberley of northwestern Western Australia. Its black underparts, white streaks, and long tail are distinctive.