Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,673 · Stories: 19,540

• Russet Ground Squirrel Spermophilus major

  

  The russet ground squirrel digs burrows in grassland and river valleys. It forages by day and hibernates in winter.

• White-necked Heron Ardea pacifica

  The White-necked Heron is a large heron with a white head and long neck marked by black spots. It walks in shallow water to find fish and other prey.

• Sonoma Tree Vole Arborimus pomo

  The Sonoma tree vole is arboreal and associated with mature forests. It has a reddish-brown back, gray and rusty tones underneath, and a thick, furred tail.

• African Golden Oriole Oriolus auratus

  The African Golden Oriole breeds in tree-rich savannas south of the Sahara and moves seasonally between regions.

• Mound-building Mouse Mus (Mus) spicilegus

  The mound-building mouse is a brown wild mouse that resembles the house mouse. In autumn, young mice build mounds of soil and vegetation and spend winter underground.

• Yellow-billed Turaco Tauraco macrorhynchus

  The Yellow-billed Turaco lives in forests of western and central Africa. Its green and blue-violet plumage is striking; it moves along branches and feeds mainly on fruit.

• Spotted Ground Squirrel Xerospermophilus spilosoma

  The spotted ground squirrel is a ground-dwelling squirrel of dry and open habitats in Texas. It stays near its burrow and is active in early morning and late afternoon.

• Greyish Eagle-Owl Bubo cinerascens

  A small eagle-owl with dark brown eyes, it lives in dry open country and semi-desert with scattered trees and shrubs. It feeds on insects and small animals from dusk into the night.

• Cloud Forest Rice Rat Oryzomys saturatior

  Its back is cinnamon brown heavily mixed with black, and its underside is ochre buff. It lives in cloud forest from southern Mexico through northern Central America, at 750–2,500 m.

• Chestnut-headed Bee-eater Merops leschenaulti

  The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater has a green body, chestnut head, yellow face and throat, and blue on the rump and lower belly. It catches flying insects in the air.

• Chestnut Pogonomys Pogonomys macrourus

  The chestnut pogonomys is a small rodent of New Guinea. Recorded specimens with observation data were seen moving through low vegetation at night.

• Curve-billed Tinamou Nothoprocta curvirostris

  This ground-dwelling tinamou lives in high Andean grasslands. Its curved bill and rufous underparts are distinctive.

• Himalayan Striped Squirrel Tamiops mcclellandii

  The Himalayan striped squirrel has distinctive back stripes that connect with a pale stripe on the face. A field study in northeastern India recorded it feeding on tree trunks and bark.

• Short-billed Gull Larus brachyrhynchus

  A small gull with a thin bill, it breeds in Alaska and northern Canada. Outside the breeding season it uses Pacific coastal waters and fields, feeding on fish, insects, grain, and other available food.

• Olive Grass Mouse Abrothrix olivaceus

  This small rodent varies in color across its range, from dark or olive brown to gray or pale ochre. It is partly active by day, builds grass nests, and climbs well.

• Neergaard's sunbird Cinnyris neergaardi

  This sunbird occurs in southeastern Africa. Males have green upperparts with blue-violet and red bands, while females are gray-brown; it feeds on nectar and small invertebrates.

• Xeric Four-striped Grass Rat Rhabdomys pumilio

  The Xeric Four-striped Grass Rat has stripes along its back. In South Africa's Succulent Karoo, it was studied foraging alone while living in groups that share a nest.

• Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus

  The rusty blackbird shows rusty feather edges and pale eyes in winter. It breeds in northern forests and winters in the eastern United States.

• Northern Gray-bellied Squirrel Callosciurus caniceps

  Its coat changes with region and season, and the tail tip is black. From southern Myanmar through Thailand, it uses forests as well as bamboo-rich places and gardens.

• Tanager Finch Oreothraupis arremonops

  This sparrow-like bird occurs in the western Andes of Colombia and north-western Ecuador. In wet cloud-forest undergrowth, pairs or family groups search slowly among leaf litter and mossy logs.

• Eastern Woodrat Neotoma (Neotoma) floridana

  This rodent has a long tail with contrasting colors above and below. It builds a nest from sticks and other materials and stores food there.

• Grey-bellied Wren-Babbler Spelaeornis reptatus

  Males have a white throat that extends to the center of the belly, while females are more rufous. The species inhabits montane forest from northeastern India through Myanmar and western Thailand to Yunnan, China, where it searches for insects in dense undergrowth.

• Single-Striped Lemniscomys Lemniscomys rosalia

  The single-striped lemniscomys is a grassland mouse with one dark line along its back. A southern African assessment reports that it uses places with tall grass cover.

• Western Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio

  In European wetlands, this large waterbird stands out for its purplish-blue body and red frontal shield. It handles reeds with its bill and feet.