Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,673 · Stories: 19,540

• Blackish Grass Mouse Thaptomys nigrita

  

  The blackish grass mouse is a small rodent that uses tunnels beneath leaf litter. A survey in southern Brazil recorded it in deciduous forest with pitfall traps.

• Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater Merops oreobates

  The Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater occurs in open places in East African highlands and forests. Adults are about 21 cm long and catch insects in flight.

• Lesser Long-eared Bat Nyctophilus geoffroyi

  The lesser long-eared bat is recorded in Victoria, southeastern Australia. It roosts in tree hollows and buildings and has long ears.

• White-throated Tinamou Tinamus guttatus

  The White-throated Tinamou lives in forests. Its mainly brown plumage has small white spots, and its pale throat stands out.

• Large Japanese Field Mouse Apodemus speciosus

  The large Japanese field mouse has a reddish-brown back and a white underside. It moves over the ground and fallen logs at night and sometimes stores food underground.

• Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens

  The Glaucous-winged Gull is a large gull of Pacific shorelines. Adult wingtips are pale gray like the rest of the upperwing, and the bird searches coastlines for fish and crabs.

• Zambezi Kudu Strepsiceros zambesiensis

  This is a historical form of kudu described from specimens north of the Zambezi River in 1894. The account records an adult male and female, a juvenile, and a fetus from Leschumo Forest.

• Oustalet's White-bellied Sunbird Cinnyris oustaleti

  This sunbird occurs in Angola and Namibia. It uses semi-open miombo woodland and shrubland, taking nectar and small insects. Males have brightly colored pectoral tufts.

• Fire-footed Rope Squirrel Funisciurus pyrropus

  This squirrel lives in forests of western and central Africa. It has a reddish face and limbs and a bushy tail, and feeds by day on fruits, seeds, and other foods.

• Forbes's Blackbird Anumara forbesi

  Forbes’s Blackbird is a dark bird found in two separate parts of Brazil. It has a long tail and short wings, and the red inside its mouth can show when it sings.

• Hatt's Vesper Rat Otonyctomys hatti

  Hatt’s vesper rat is a small mouse with russet fur and a pale underside. It is often found in trees and feeds on seeds and fruits.

• Abert’s Towhee Melozone aberti

  Abert’s Towhee lives year-round in brush along waterways in the Sonoran Desert. Its sandy body and rusty undertail help identify it.

• Seminole Bat Lasiurus seminolus

  This bat has rich chestnut-brown fur with pale tips. It catches insects in flight at dusk and occurs mainly in the southeastern United States.

• Grey-cheeked Tit-Babbler Mixornis flavicollis

  This small babbler occurs in Java's lowlands. It searches through foliage in small groups and eats insects, including beetle eggs.

• Ethiopian Arvicanthis Arvicanthis abyssinicus

  The Ethiopian arvicanthis lives in grasslands of the Ethiopian Highlands. It is active on the ground by day and is thought to feed mainly on plants.

• Spotted Rail Pardirallus maculatus

  The Spotted Rail occurs locally in marshes, wet savannas, and rice fields from Mexico and the Greater Antilles south to Argentina. In Jamaica, breeding evidence was reported after a long gap in records.

• Siberian ibex Capra sibirica

  A wild goat of Central Asian mountain ranges, both sexes have horns, but those of males grow especially long and large.

• Black-banded Plover Charadrius thoracicus

  This plover is restricted to Madagascar. A bold black band crosses its breast, and it searches for food on coastal mud and around saline lagoons.

• Himalayan Marmot Marmota (Marmota) himalayana

  The Himalayan marmot is a large ground squirrel with a stout body and short tail. It lives in open high-elevation habitats of the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau.

• Fiji Shrikebill Clytorhynchus vitiensis

  The Fiji Shrikebill lives in Fiji's forests. White edges on both mandibles are diagnostic, while underpart color varies among island forms from ochre to pale gray. Field notes place it in dark forest understory, gleaning insects from vines and branches.

• Korean Red-backed Vole Myodes regulus

  Craseomys regulus occurs south of the Gaema Plateau on the Korean Peninsula. A National Institute of Biological Resources account describes a reddish-brown back, brown sides, and dark-grey underside.

• Masatierra Petrel Pterodroma defilippiana

  The Masatierra Petrel is a seabird of the open Pacific off South America. It has a grey crown and back, a black eye patch, and a thick bill.

• Sardinian Long-eared Bat Plecotus sardus

  This long-eared bat occurs in forests on Sardinia. Its 2002 original description highlights brown dorsal fur and a notably long, broad tragus.

• Pearl-breasted Swallow Hirundo dimidiata

  This small swallow lives in scattered parts of southern Africa. It can be overlooked among similar swallows, yet recorded nest sites range from animal burrows to buildings and bridges.