Meet the world’s animals.

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• Golden-breasted Starling Lamprotornis regius

  

  This starling lives in dry savanna from Ethiopia to northeastern Tanzania. Adults have blue-green upperparts and golden underparts; females have shorter tails than males.

• Orange-bellied Himalayan Squirrel Dremomys lokriah

  The orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel lives in forests around the Himalayas and uses both trees and the ground. Its underside varies among subspecies.

• Silver Oriole Oriolus mellianus

  Silver Oriole has silvery plumage that contrasts with the black head, throat, and wings of the adult male. It breeds in southern China and winters in southern Thailand and western Cambodia.

• Marsh Rice Rat Oryzomys palustris

  This semiaquatic rat uses wetlands and watersides. The balance of plant and animal foods in its diet varies by region.

• Lesser Masked Weaver Ploceus intermedius

  A weaver whose male has a black facial mask and pale eye. It weaves a round grass nest and breeds in colonies.

• Ruwenzori Sun Squirrel Heliosciurus ruwenzorii

  The Ruwenzori sun squirrel lives in mountain forests of the Albertine Rift. It uses the lower forest vegetation and eats mainly fruit.

• Rosy Bee-eater Merops malimbicus

  This bee-eater stands out for its pink underparts and dark eye-stripe. Groups dig nest burrows in sandy riverbanks and sandbars.

• Northern Pygmy Mouse Baiomys taylori

  This small mouse lives in grassy cover from the Mexican lowlands north into southern Texas.

• Great Snipe Gallinago media

  The Great Snipe is a medium-sized wader that breeds from northern Europe east into Russia and winters in tropical Africa.

• Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel Ratufa affinis

  The cream-coloured giant squirrel is a large squirrel active by day in the upper canopy. It eats fruit and other plant matter, as well as insects.

• Yellow-shouldered Blackbird Agelaius xanthomus

  The Yellow-shouldered Blackbird occurs in Puerto Rico. Adults have glossy black plumage and a yellow shoulder patch that can be hidden when the bird is perched.

• Red Hocicudo Oxymycterus rufus

  The Red Hocicudo occurs in grasslands and steppes in Argentina. It has dark-lined brown fur with ochre sides and rump, and feeds on small animals in the soil near waterways.

• Black-backed Bittern Botaurus dubius

  A small Australian heron that hides in reedbeds and rushes, waiting for prey in the water.

• Japanese squirrel Sciurus (Sciurus) lis

  A squirrel of Japanese forests. It is active by day and continues foraging through winter without hibernating.

• Sprague's Pipit Anthus spragueii

  Sprague's Pipit has subdued buff plumage that blends into grassland. On its North American breeding grounds, a male sings from the air above its territory, fluttering and gliding.

• Caatinga Laucha Calomys expulsus

  The Caatinga Laucha is a vesper mouse from central and northeastern Brazil. It occurs in open grasslands and forest edges in the Cerrado and Caatinga, as well as cultivated fields, and lives on the ground and eats seeds.

• Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris

  A large seabird named for the dark line above its eye. It breeds on Antarctic and subantarctic islands and catches krill and fish near the sea surface.

• Caucasian Mountain Ground Squirrel Spermophilus musicus

  The Caucasian mountain ground squirrel lives in high meadows and mountain steppe of the central Caucasus and spends winter in burrows.

• White-tailed Swallow Hirundo megaensis

  A swallow restricted to southern Ethiopia's Acacia–Commiphora woodland. A study recorded many nests in homes occupied by villagers.

• El Carrizo Deer Mouse Peromyscus ochraventer

  This mouse has cinnamon-brown underparts. It burrows beneath large limestone blocks; the 1951 original description then knew it only from El Carrizo, Tamaulipas.

• Bendire's Thrasher Toxostoma bendirei

  This slender thrasher lives in dry areas of the southwestern United States and Mexico. It has sandy-brown plumage and a relatively short, curved bill, and searches for prey on the ground.

• Richardson's Ground Squirrel Urocitellus richardsonii

  Richardson's Ground Squirrel is a ground-dwelling squirrel of the northern Great Plains. It digs underground burrows and hibernates through the cold season.

• Uluguru Violet-backed Sunbird Anthreptes neglectus

  Males have an iridescent violet back, while females are brown above. This small sunbird lives in forests and woodland in eastern Africa.

• Jaliscan Cotton Rat Sigmodon (Sigmodon) mascotensis

  The Jaliscan Cotton Rat occurs in western Mexico. It has coarse brown fur above and a pale underside, and it is commonly associated with grasslands and farmland.