Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,824 · Stories: 19,540

• Indian peafowl Pavo cristatus

  

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

• Shaw's Jird Meriones (Pallasiomys) shawi

  This jird is found in North Africa. Coat and skull features vary by region, and its boundary with a close relative is still debated.

• Hooded Pitohui Pitohui dichrous

  The Hooded Pitohui lives in forests on New Guinea and Yapen Island. Its black head, wings, and tail contrast with its rufous-brown body.

• Cape Bushbuck Tragelaphus sylvaticus

  A bushbuck studied in KwaZulu-Natal, eastern South Africa. The sexes differ in coat colour, and only males have horns.

• Short-tailed Starling Aplonis minor

  A starling with a disjunct range across islands of Indonesia and the Philippines. Adults have glossy green plumage and red eyes.

• Northern Hairy-legged Myotis Myotis (Pizonyx) pilosatibialis

  A 2014 study supported treating this former subspecies of Myotis keaysi as a distinct species. Its coat is buffy-brown, with hair on the hind feet and uropatagium.

• Gray-collared Becard Pachyramphus major

  The Gray-collared Becard is described from semi-open forests in Mexico and Guatemala. Males have a black cap and back with a pale grey nape and underside; females have a brown crown and back.

• Black Giant Squirrel Ratufa bicolor

  The black giant squirrel is a large, tree-dwelling squirrel of forests in South and Southeast Asia. Its dark coat, pale chest marking and long tail are distinctive.

• Stone Partridge Ptilopachus petrosus

  A small partridge that often holds its tail upright. Red legs and skin around the eye stand out; it uses grassy savanna and rocky ground.

• Gleaning Deermouse Peromyscus spicilegus

  The gleaning deermouse has a relatively robust build and a back ranging from bright tawny to reddish ochre. Jalisco records span varied environments from sea level to 2,200 m.

• Southern Scrub Robin Drymodes brunneopygia

  This ground-dwelling bird lives in scrub in southern Australia. It searches among leaf litter for small prey.

• Montane Javan Niviventer Niviventer lepturus

  The montane Javan niviventer is a rodent of Java's highlands. Its back is described as soft gray-brown, with a white to cream underside.

• Eared Pitta Hydrornis phayrei

  The Eared Pitta lives close to the forest floor, where it searches among leaf litter for small prey.

• Western Yellow-backed Duiker Cephalophus silvicultor

  The western yellow-backed duiker is an antelope of African lowland forests, recognized by the triangular yellow patch on its back.

• Ethiopian Swallow Hirundo aethiopica

  A small swallow with a reddish forehead, dark-blue upperparts and a deeply forked tail. It catches flying insects; its two subspecies occupy separate parts of Africa.

• Nepalese Whiskered Myotis Myotis (Myotis) muricola

  This small bat is known from several parts of South and Southeast Asia. Genetic and morphological studies report substantial differences among regional populations and raise the possibility of a species complex.

• Purple-throated Cotinga Porphyrolaema porphyrolaema

  This cotinga has a purple throat. Adult males are black and white, while females are brown and barred, so the sexes look very different.

• Central American Dwarf Squirrel Microsciurus alfari

  Alfaro's pygmy squirrel ranges from Central America into Colombia. It lives hidden in forest undergrowth, and little direct information is available about its diet.

• Blue Seedeater Amaurospiza concolor

  At El Imposible in El Salvador, this species was reported as almost always associated with vegetative bamboo in the understory. A 2023 study supports treating the South American Andean aequatorialis as a separate species.

• Mongolian Mountain Vole Alticola (Alticola) semicanus

  The Mongolian mountain vole lives in mountain areas from Mongolia into northern China. Its gray-brown back contrasts with a pale underside.

• Two-barred Crossbill Loxia leucoptera

  The Two-barred Crossbill uses its crossed bill to open conifer cones and take their seeds.

• Müller's Rat Sundamys muelleri

  Müller's rat has long, rough brown fur and a dark tail longer than its body. It is mainly nocturnal and ground-dwelling, but also climbs into low vegetation.

• Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle

  A seabird of northern rocky coasts that catches fish and other prey; its plumage changes with the season.

• Black-fronted Duiker Cephalophus nigrifrons

  This small antelope is recorded in lowland forest of the Congo Basin. It is reddish-brown to brown, with a black mark down the face.