Meet the world’s animals.

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• Black-faced Sandgrouse Pterocles decoratus

  

  This sandgrouse lives in dry grassland and scrub in East Africa. Males have black markings across the face and throat, while females are plainer. It feeds on plant seeds on the ground.

• Romanian Hamster Mesocricetus newtoni

  

  The Romanian hamster occurs along the Danube in northern Romania and Bulgaria. In examined animals, researchers recorded a grayish back, a dark line from the ears to the shoulders, and black stripes on the cheek pouches. It is active around dusk and at night, storing seeds and fruit in its burrow.

• Sooty Grouse Dendragapus fuliginosus

  

  Males have a yellow comb against a slate-blue head, while females are browner. In Southeast Alaska’s wet evergreen forests, their foods change with the seasons.

• False Water Rat Xeromys myoides

  

  A small rodent recorded along northern and eastern Australia and in western New Guinea. It uses coastal saltmarsh and mangroves, as well as nearby freshwater wetlands.

• Rusty-naped Pitta Hydrornis oatesi

  

  In Yunnan, this elusive pitta lives near the forest floor in moist forests, often beside streams.

• Black-winged Little Yellow Bat Rhogeessa tumida

  

  The black-winged little yellow bat ranges from southern Mexico into northern Central America. The edges of its range remain uncertain.

• Rosy-throated Longclaw Macronyx ameliae

  The Rosy-throated Longclaw is a shy bird of wet grassland with striking pink underparts.

• Agile Mangabey Cercocebus agilis

  The agile mangabey lives in forests of central Africa, mostly north of the Congo River. Its back is darker gray-brown and its underside is lighter. It favors the forest understory and often uses the ground while feeding or travelling.

• Ringed Teal Callonetta leucophrys

  The Ringed Teal is a small duck of South American wetlands and ponds, with different facial patterns in males and females.

• 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.

• Black Skimmer Rynchops niger

  The Black Skimmer is a waterbird of American coasts, estuaries, and lagoons. It catches small fish by flying just above the water with its longer lower bill cutting the surface.

• Sable antelope Hippotragus niger

  An antelope with backward-curving horns and a mane along the neck.

• Strong-billed Woodcreeper Xiphocolaptes promeropirhynchus

  A large woodcreeper of Andean forests, it searches along trunks and branches with a notably stout bill.

• Indian Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista philippensis

  The Indian giant flying squirrel lives in tree cavities and canopies, gliding between trees on a membrane that stretches from its forelegs to its hind legs.

• Karoo Thrush Turdus smithi

  The Karoo Thrush is a thrush of dry southern African country. A research paper describes it as darker than forest-dwelling relatives, with a dusky-brown rather than white throat. It uses arid shrubland and riverine Acacia and feeds on the ground.

• White-tipped Thomasomys Thomasomys caudivarius

  Thomasomys caudivarius is a mouse of the western Andes from Ecuador to northern Peru. It has soft brown back fur and a long tail with a white tip. It is described as nocturnal and terrestrial, feeding on seeds and insects.

• Blue Mountain Vireo Vireo osburni

  This vireo lives in humid montane forests of north-western Jamaica and feeds within dense leaf cover.

• Oriental House Rat Rattus tanezumi

  The Oriental House Rat is widely recorded in rural and residential parts of Taiwan. Its back is gray-brown, its underside gray-white, and it eats grain grown or stored by people.

• Black-thighed Falconet Microhierax fringillarius

  A small falcon of tropical Asian forest and forest edges. It hunts small birds and insects from perches and is marked by a pale eyebrow, rufous underparts, and black thighs.

• Riparian Myotis Myotis (Pizonyx) riparius

  The Riparian Myotis is a medium-sized bat with woolly fur. Its dorsal color varies geographically from reddish to blackish, and it ranges widely through the Neotropics.

• White-crowned Hornbill Berenicornis comatus

  The White-crowned Hornbill has a conspicuous white crest and long tail. Adult males have white necks and underparts, while females are black; both forage in tropical forest canopies.

• Likweli Colobus congoensis

  This black colobus is recorded in forests of east-central Democratic Republic of the Congo. Pale orange-cream skin around the mouth and a white perianal patch stand out.

• Yellow-faced Siskin Spinus yarrellii

  The Yellow-faced Siskin is a small finch about 10 cm long. Adult males have a black crown and bright yellow face and underparts, while females are more yellowish olive.

• Gianna's Yellow-shouldered Bat Sturnira giannae

  This bat was described from Peru and has also been recorded in Colombia. Its dorsal fur ranges from brown to reddish brown, with hairs that have differently colored bases and tips. One Colombian survey captured it in both lower and middle forest strata.