Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,768 · Stories: 19,540

• Scaly-breasted Illadopsis Illadopsis albipectus

  

  This babbler searches for food in forest undergrowth and near the ground. Its whitish breast has a scaly pattern, but the pattern varies and is not always a clear identification mark.

• Chinese Pipistrelle Hypsugo pulveratus

  The Chinese pipistrelle is a small bat recorded in China. A university species page describes its coat and forest records, along with examples of roosting in buildings.

• Northern Black Bustard Afrotis afraoides

  The Northern Black Bustard, also called the Northern Black Korhaan, is a ground-dwelling bird of open, dry country in southern Africa, with very different male and female plumage.

• Northern Pig-tailed Macaque Macaca leonina

  The northern pig-tailed macaque is now treated as a species distinct from the southern pig-tailed macaque. A Thai comparison found differences between the northern and southern forms in crown hair, facial markings, coat, and tail.

• Olive Ibis Bostrychia olivacea

  An African ibis of forest and river landscapes. In southeastern Nigeria, pairs and small groups move along streams and rivers in lowland forest and mangroves.

• Dark Fruit-eating Bat Artibeus (Artibeus) obscurus

  This fruit-eating bat has been recorded in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. Its dorsal and ventral fur is subtly two-toned, and the forearm is densely furred.

• Pallid Cuckoo Heteroscenes pallidus

  The Pallid Cuckoo occurs across Australia and is a brood parasite. Its plumage varies among individuals and between sexes, and it leaves its eggs in host nests.

• Short-tailed Bandicoot Rat Nesokia indica

  The short-tailed bandicoot rat prefers moist soil and areas near water, where it digs extensive burrows. The account reports one rat per burrow.

• White cockatoo Cacatua alba

  A cockatoo of Indonesia’s northern Moluccan islands, with white plumage and a broad crest that opens like a fan.

• Niobe Ground Squirrel Lariscus niobe

  The Niobe Ground Squirrel is a day-active squirrel of the mountains of western Sumatra and eastern Java. It uses forests and scrub, and its body length is reported at about 19 cm.

• Chinese Grey Shrike Lanius sphenocercus

  The Chinese Grey Shrike is widespread in Northeast Asia and moves to southern China for the winter. Its large white wing slash differs from the wing pattern of the separate Giant Shrike.

• Mexican Deer Mouse Peromyscus mexicanus

  The Mexican deer mouse lives in forests of Central America. Its tail has very little hair, and coat color varies by region and season.

• Chestnut Wattle-eye Platysteira castanea

  Males are black and white while females are brownish; the species lives in wet habitats and lowland forest in central and eastern Africa and eats insects.

• Mountain Reedbuck Redunca fulvorufula

  This antelope lives in dry mountain grasslands. Only males have horns, and grass is its main food.

• Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus

  In breeding plumage it has a rusty-red neck and yellow-orange tufts behind the eyes; in winter it becomes gray and white.

• Cape Serotine Laephotis capensis

  The Cape serotine sometimes roosts in the roofs of houses and buildings. Records span arid semi-desert, montane grassland, forest and savanna; it forages at medium height along cluttered edges.

• Plain Laughingthrush Pterorhinus davidi

  This laughingthrush inhabits shrubs and low scrub in the mountains and nearby foothill plains of northern and central China. The nominate form is grey-brown and has a bright yellow down-curved bill. Birds answer one another’s calls.

• Moor Macaque Macaca maura

  The Moor macaque occurs in southwestern Sulawesi. It is mainly fruit-eating and also eats leaves and arthropods.

• Crozet Shag Leucocarbo melanogenis

  The Crozet Shag occurs on the Crozet Islands, the Prince Edward Islands, and Marion Island. It forms small breeding colonies on coastal cliffs and pursues fish underwater.

• Little Yellow-eared Bat Vampyressa pusilla

  The little yellow-eared bat is small, with yellow-edged ears and no tail. It roosts in leaf tents and mainly eats small fruits.

• Chestnut-capped Piha Lipaugus weberi

  This cotinga is known from a restricted area of Colombia's Central Cordillera. Its chestnut crown and gray body are distinctive.

• Blanford's Madromys Madromys blanfordi

  Surveys in Gujarat, western India, recorded Blanford's Madromys at multiple sites in 2015–2016. White hairs at the tail tip help distinguish its appearance.

• Lyre-tailed Nightjar Uropsalis lyra

  The Lyre-tailed Nightjar lives along humid forest edges and woodland near water in the Andes. It is about 25–28 cm long and catches insects and other invertebrates in flight at night.

• 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.