Mammals
American black bear
Ursus americanus
The American black bear is North America's most common bear, a tree-climbing omnivore of forests from Alaska to Mexico. Size, colors, diet, denning and cubs.
Diet · 56 species
Omnivores
Animals that eat both plants and animals, from bears, foxes and raccoons to pigs and crows.
Species profiles
Birds
American crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
The American crow is a glossy black, highly intelligent bird found across North America. Facts on its size, calls, diet, family life, roosts and lifespan.
Crustaceans
American lobster
Homarus americanus
The American lobster is a big-clawed crustacean of the northwest Atlantic and the heaviest on record. Its claws, size, diet, molting, colors and long life.
Birds
American robin
Turdus migratorius
The American robin is North America's most widespread thrush, known for its orange breast and blue eggs. Facts on its size, diet, nests, song and range.
Crustaceans
Atlantic blue crab
Callinectes sapidus
The Atlantic blue crab is a swimming crab of Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, with blue claws and paddle legs. Its size, diet, molting and life cycle.
Birds
Black-capped chickadee
Poecile atricapillus
The black-capped chickadee is a tiny, bold North American songbird with a black cap and bib, noted for its alarm calls, food caching and surviving hard winters.
Mammals
Bornean orangutan
Pongo pygmaeus
The Bornean orangutan is a Critically Endangered great ape found only on Borneo. Facts on its size, cheek pads, fruit diet, nightly nests, babies and threats.
Mammals
Brown bear
Ursus arctos
The brown bear is the most widespread bear, found across North America, Europe and Asia, and includes grizzly and Kodiak bears. Size, diet, dens, life, status.
Reptiles
Central bearded dragon
Pogona vitticeps
The central bearded dragon is a spiny Australian lizard of dry woodland and desert. Facts on its size, beard display, arm-waving, diet, breeding and range.
Mammals
Chimpanzee
Pan troglodytes
The chimpanzee is an endangered great ape of equatorial Africa and, with the bonobo, our closest relative. Facts on size, diet, tools, social life and range.
Arachnids
Common harvestman
Phalangium opilio
The common harvestman is a long-legged arachnid, not a spider: one-piece body, two eyes, no silk, no venom. Size, diet, range, life cycle and detachable legs.
Birds
Common raven
Corvus corax
The common raven is a huge all-black songbird of the Northern Hemisphere, famous for deep croaks, play and problem-solving. Size, diet, nests, lifespan, myths.
Reptiles
Common snapping turtle
Chelydra serpentina
The common snapping turtle is a big, rough-shelled freshwater turtle of North America. Facts on its size, powerful bite, diet, nesting, lifespan and range.
Mammals
Common warthog
Phacochoerus africanus
The common warthog is a wild African pig of savannas, with facial warts, curved tusks and a habit of grazing on its knees. Size, diet, burrows and predators.
Insects
Common wasp
Vespula vulgaris
The common wasp is Europe's black-and-yellow yellowjacket. Facts on its size, paper nests, one-year colony cycle, diet, sting and spread to New Zealand.
Reptiles
Eastern box turtle
Terrapene carolina
The eastern box turtle is a small land turtle of eastern US woods that can shut its hinged shell tight and may live 100 years. Size, diet, range and threats.
Mammals
Eastern chipmunk
Tamias striatus
The eastern chipmunk is a small striped ground squirrel of eastern North America that hoards seeds in its burrow. Size, diet, pouches, winter torpor and calls.
Mammals
Eastern gray squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
The eastern gray squirrel is the familiar park squirrel of eastern North America, invasive in Britain and Italy. Size, diet, nut caching, nests and lifespan.
Birds
Eurasian blue tit
Cyanistes caeruleus
The Eurasian blue tit is a tiny blue-and-yellow songbird of European woods and gardens, famous for acrobatic feeding and huge clutches. Size, diet, nesting.
Birds
Eurasian magpie
Pica pica
The Eurasian magpie is a long-tailed black-and-white crow of Europe and Asia. Facts on its size, diet, domed nests, intelligence, lifespan and famous myths.
Mammals
European badger
Meles meles
The European badger is a stocky, black-and-white striped mammal that lives in family clans in underground setts and eats mostly earthworms. Size, diet, range.
Birds
European starling
Sturnus vulgaris
The European starling is a glossy, speckled songbird famous for mimicry and huge murmurations. Facts on its size, diet, nests, lifespan and spread to America.
Mammals
Fennec fox
Vulpes zerda
The fennec fox is the world's smallest fox, a Sahara desert specialist with huge ears. Facts on its size, burrows, diet, water, family life and status.
Reptiles
Hawksbill sea turtle
Eretmochelys imbricata
The hawksbill is a Critically Endangered reef turtle with a hawk-like beak and a richly patterned shell. Its size, sponge diet, nesting, range and main threats.
Birds
Herring gull
Larus argentatus
The herring gull is the large gray-backed seagull of European coasts and towns. Facts on its size, plumage, diet, rooftop nests, chicks, lifespan and decline.
Insects
House cricket
Acheta domesticus
The house cricket is a small brown cricket that lives around homes worldwide. Facts on how males chirp, ears on the legs, diet, life cycle and farming as food.
Birds
House sparrow
Passer domesticus
The house sparrow is a small, chirpy seed-eater that lives alongside people on every inhabited continent. Facts on its size, plumage, diet, nesting and decline.
Birds
Indian peafowl
Pavo cristatus
The Indian peafowl is the peacock of India and Sri Lanka, famous for the male's eyespot train. Facts on its size, calls, diet, breeding, lifespan and range.
Crustaceans
Japanese spider crab
Macrocheira kaempferi
The Japanese spider crab has the longest legs of any arthropod, spanning up to 3.7 m (12 ft). Its size, deep home off Japan, diet, camouflage and life cycle.
Mollusks
Leopard slug
Limax maximus
The leopard slug is a large spotted land slug of Europe, now also in North America. Facts on its size, hidden shell, diet, mating on a slime rope and lifespan.
Birds
North Island brown kiwi
Apteryx mantelli
The North Island brown kiwi is New Zealand's most common kiwi: a flightless, nocturnal bird with nostrils at its bill tip, a giant egg and Vulnerable status.
Birds
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
The northern cardinal is a crested red songbird of eastern North America and the state bird of seven US states. Facts on its size, song, diet, nests and range.
Birds
Northern mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos
The northern mockingbird is a gray songbird famous for copying other sounds. Facts on its size, songs, night singing, nest defense, range and lifespan.
Fish
Ocellaris clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris
The ocellaris clownfish is an orange-and-white reef fish that lives inside sea anemones. Its size, range, diet, sex change, egg care and the real Nemo story.
Insects
Red wood ant
Formica rufa
The red wood ant builds large thatched mounds of pine needles in European woodlands. Its size, colonies with many queens, formic acid, diet and conservation.
Fish
Red-bellied piranha
Pygocentrus nattereri
The red-bellied piranha is a South American river fish with razor-sharp teeth, a varied diet and a fearsome but exaggerated reputation. Size, range and habits.
Mammals
Ring-tailed lemur
Lemur catta
The ring-tailed lemur is an Endangered primate from southern Madagascar with a black-and-white striped tail. Size, troops led by females, diet, stink fights.
Birds
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird that breeds in eastern North America. Facts on its size, wingbeats, diet, nest, migration and lifespan.
Birds
Sandhill crane
Antigone canadensis
The sandhill crane is the most numerous crane on Earth: a tall gray bird with a red crown and bugling call. Facts on its size, dances, diet, migration and life.
Birds
Southern cassowary
Casuarius casuarius
The southern cassowary is a huge flightless rainforest bird of New Guinea and Queensland with a blue neck, a tall casque and a dagger claw. Size, diet, habits.
Mammals
Striped skunk
Mephitis mephitis
The striped skunk is North America's familiar black-and-white skunk. Facts on its warning display, spray, size, omnivorous diet, dens, predators and lifespan.
Birds
Toco toucan
Ramphastos toco
The toco toucan is the largest toucan, a black and white South American bird with a huge orange bill. Facts on its size, beak, fruit diet, nesting and range.
Mammals
Virginia opossum
Didelphis virginiana
The Virginia opossum is North America's only marsupial north of Mexico. Size, 50 teeth, prehensile tail, playing possum, diet, babies on the back and lifespan.
Fish
White-spotted puffer
Arothron hispidus
The white-spotted puffer is a common Indo-Pacific pufferfish that inflates with water, has a beak of fused teeth and carries tetrodotoxin. Size, diet and range.
Birds
Wild turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
The wild turkey is North America's largest game bird and ancestor of the farm turkey. Facts on its size, snood and beard, gobbling, flight, diet and comeback.