Amphibians
American bullfrog
Lithobates catesbeianus
The American bullfrog is North America's largest true frog, up to 20 cm long and 500 g. Its size, deep call, diet, tadpoles, range and spread as an invasive.
Region · 105 species
Animals of Europe
Animals of Europe, from red foxes, wolves and brown bears to owls, storks and the wildlife of the Alps.
Species profiles
Mammals
Arctic fox
Vulpes lagopus
The Arctic fox is a small fox of the Arctic tundra with some of the warmest fur of any mammal. Facts on its size, color morphs, range, diet, cubs and lifespan.
Birds
Arctic tern
Sterna paradisaea
The Arctic tern is a small gray-and-white seabird that flies from the Arctic to Antarctica and back each year. Facts on its size, diet, colonies and lifespan.
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.
Fish
Atlantic bluefin tuna
Thunnus thynnus
The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a giant, warm-bodied ocean fish of up to 679 kg (1,496 lb). Its size, migrations, spawning, diet and recovery from overfishing.
Birds
Atlantic puffin
Fratercula arctica
The Atlantic puffin is a small North Atlantic seabird with a bright breeding bill. Facts on its size, burrows, fish diet, chick, lifespan and Vulnerable status.
Fish
Atlantic salmon
Salmo salar
The Atlantic salmon hatches in cold rivers, grows up at sea and leaps home to spawn. Its life cycle, size, diet, ocean journeys, threats and current status.
Birds
Barn swallow
Hirundo rustica
The barn swallow is the world's most widespread swallow: a fork-tailed insect hunter that nests in barns and migrates between continents. Size, diet, lifespan.
Mammals
Beluga whale
Delphinapterus leucas
The beluga is a white Arctic whale with a bulging melon, a bendy neck and a huge range of calls. Its size, color change, diet, range, lifespan 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.
Insects
Buff-tailed bumblebee
Bombus terrestris
The buff-tailed bumblebee is one of Europe's commonest bumblebees: an early-flying pollinator with a yearly colony, used in greenhouses and invasive abroad.
Birds
Canada goose
Branta canadensis
The Canada goose is a large black-necked goose native to North America and introduced to Europe. Facts on size, migration, diet, nesting, lifespan and status.
Mollusks
Common cuttlefish
Sepia officinalis
The common cuttlefish is a European cephalopod that changes color, pattern and skin texture in under a second. Size, cuttlebone, hunting, range and lifespan.
Other Invertebrates
Common earthworm
Lumbricus terrestris
The common earthworm, or nightcrawler, is a large European worm that digs burrows up to 2 m deep. Facts on its body, ten hearts, diet, mating and role in soil.
Reptiles
Common European adder
Vipera berus
The European adder is Britain's only venomous snake and the world's most widespread viper. Facts on its zigzag pattern, size, habitat, venom and life cycle.
Amphibians
Common frog
Rana temporaria
The common frog is Europe's most widespread frog, from Ireland to the Urals and beyond the Arctic Circle. Its colors, spawn, tadpoles, diet and winter habits.
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 kingfisher
Alcedo atthis
The common kingfisher is a sparrow-sized blue and orange bird of rivers in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Its size, fishing dives, burrow nests and lifespan.
Birds
Common loon
Gavia immer
The common loon, or great northern diver, is a large diving bird of northern lakes famous for its haunting calls. Size, diving, nesting, range and lifespan.
Mollusks
Common octopus
Octopus vulgaris
The common octopus is a clever, eight-armed mollusk of the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic. Its size, three hearts, camouflage, diet, dens and short life.
Crustaceans
Common pill bug
Armadillidium vulgare
The common pill bug is a land crustacean, not an insect, that rolls into a ball and eats dead leaves. Facts on its looks, range, diet, breeding and lifespan.
Mammals
Common pipistrelle
Pipistrellus pipistrellus
The common pipistrelle is a tiny European bat weighing 3.5–8.5 g that eats up to thousands of midges a night. Facts on its size, calls, roosts and protection.
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.
Birds
Common swift
Apus apus
The common swift is a dark, sickle-winged bird that feeds, drinks and sleeps on the wing for most of the year. Size, diet, nesting, migration and decline.
Amphibians
Common toad
Bufo bufo
The common toad is Europe's familiar warty brown toad, up to 12 cm long. Its copper eyes, skin toxins, night hunting, spring migrations, spawn and lifespan.
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.
Mammals
Eastern cottontail
Sylvilagus floridanus
The eastern cottontail is North America's most common wild rabbit. Facts on its cotton-ball tail, size, diet, grass nests, fast breeding, lifespan and enemies.
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.
Insects
Eastern subterranean termite
Reticulitermes flavipes
The eastern subterranean termite is North America's most widespread termite. Facts on its castes, swarmers, king and queen, colonies and its gut microbes.
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 eagle-owl
Bubo bubo
The Eurasian eagle-owl is one of the largest owls on Earth, with orange eyes, ear tufts and a wingspan near 1.9 m. Size, diet, range, breeding and status.
Mammals
Eurasian lynx
Lynx lynx
The Eurasian lynx is Europe's largest wild cat, a spotted forest hunter with black ear tufts that preys on roe deer. Size, diet, range and its return to Europe.
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
Eurasian otter
Lutra lutra
The Eurasian otter is a sleek, fish-eating member of the weasel family found on rivers and coasts from Ireland to Asia. Size, diet, holts, spraints, recovery.
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.
Mammals
European bison
Bison bonasus
The European bison, or wisent, is Europe's heaviest land animal. Wiped out in the wild by 1927 and saved from 12 zoo animals, it now roams forests again.
Fish
European eel
Anguilla anguilla
The European eel grows up in rivers from Iceland to North Africa but is born in the Sargasso Sea. Its life cycle, size, diet, lifespan and why it is endangered.
Arachnids
European garden spider
Araneus diadematus
The European garden spider is a harmless orb weaver with a white cross on its back. Its size, webs, silk, autumn peak, risky courtship and life cycle explained.
Mammals
European hare
Lepus europaeus
The European or brown hare is a fast, long-eared hare of open farmland. Facts on its size, speed, spring boxing, leverets, diet, lifespan and status.
Mammals
European hedgehog
Erinaceus europaeus
The European hedgehog is a small spiny insect-eater of Europe's gardens and hedgerows. Facts on its spines, diet, hibernation, hoglets, lifespan and decline.
Insects
European hornet
Vespa crabro
The European hornet is Europe's largest social wasp, up to 35 mm long. Facts on its colors, hollow-tree nests, insect hunting, night flights and sting risk.
Mammals
European rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus
The European rabbit is the wild ancestor of every domestic rabbit breed. Facts on its size, warrens, diet, breeding, lifespan and Endangered status in Iberia.
Birds
European robin
Erithacus rubecula
The European robin is a small orange-breasted songbird of Europe's gardens and woods. Facts on its size, song, fierce territories, nests, lifespan and range.
Insects
European stag beetle
Lucanus cervus
The European stag beetle is Europe's largest land beetle. Facts on the males' antler-like jaws, years of larval life in dead wood, brief adult life and decline.
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.
Amphibians
Fire salamander
Salamandra salamandra
The fire salamander is Europe's black-and-yellow salamander of damp forests: toxic skin, live-born larvae and a long life, now Vulnerable due to Bsal fungus.
Mollusks
Garden snail
Cornu aspersum
The garden snail is a brown land snail from the Mediterranean and western Europe, now found worldwide. Facts on its shell, diet, slime, mating and lifespan.
Arachnids
Giant house spider
Eratigena atrica
The giant house spider is a big, fast but harmless funnel weaver of European homes, also found in Canada and the US Northwest. Size, webs, speed and lifespan.
Birds
Golden eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
The golden eagle is the most widespread eagle in the world, a dark brown hunter of hares and ground squirrels with 2 m wings. Size, range, diet and threats.
Reptiles
Grass snake
Natrix natrix
The grass snake is Europe's harmless, water-loving snake with a yellow collar. Its size, frog diet, compost-heap eggs, playing dead and the 2017 species split.
Amphibians
Great crested newt
Triturus cristatus
The great crested newt is Britain's largest newt, with warty dark skin, an orange belly and a jagged male crest. Its size, ponds, life cycle and legal status.
Birds
Greater flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseus
The greater flamingo is the largest and most widespread flamingo, found from Spain and France to Africa and India. Its size, diet, colonies and lifespan.
Fish
Greenland shark
Somniosus microcephalus
The Greenland shark is a slow, cold-water giant of the Arctic and North Atlantic that may live for centuries. Its size, diet, eye parasites, range and threats.
Mammals
Harbor porpoise
Phocoena phocoena
The harbor porpoise is a small, shy toothed whale of cool coastal seas. Its size, clicks, diet, North Sea and Baltic range, short lifespan and bycatch threats.
Mammals
Harbor seal
Phoca vitulina
The harbor seal is a spotted true seal of northern coasts in Europe, North America and Asia. Its size, fish diet, pups, diving, threats and conservation status.
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.
Other Invertebrates
House centipede
Scutigera coleoptrata
The house centipede has 15 pairs of long legs, runs about 0.4 m (1.3 ft) per second and hunts insects in homes. Its size, eyes, venom, range and lifespan.
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.
Mammals
Least weasel
Mustela nivalis
The least weasel is the world's smallest carnivoran, weighing as little as 25 g. Its size, vole hunting, white winter coat, breeding, range and status.
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.
Insects
Monarch butterfly
Danaus plexippus
The monarch is an orange-and-black milkweed butterfly famous for flying up to 4,800 km to winter in Mexico. Its looks, size, life cycle, toxins and status.
Other Invertebrates
Moon jellyfish
Aurelia aurita
The moon jellyfish is a clear, saucer-shaped jelly with four ring-shaped gonads and a very mild sting. Its size, diet, life cycle, blooms and where it lives.
Mammals
North American beaver
Castor canadensis
The North American beaver is the largest rodent in North America, a dam-building wetland engineer. Its size, teeth, lodges, bark diet, family life and comeback.
Amphibians
Olm
Proteus anguinus
The olm is a blind, pale salamander of flooded caves in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia. Facts on its gills, senses, diet, century-long lifespan and conservation.
Insects
Painted lady
Vanessa cardui
The painted lady is the most widespread butterfly on Earth, found on every continent except Antarctica. Its looks, host plants, life cycle and migration.
Birds
Peregrine falcon
Falco peregrinus
The peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on Earth, diving at over 300 km/h. Facts on its size, bird diet, worldwide range, city nests and recovery from DDT.
Mammals
Polar bear
Ursus maritimus
The polar bear is the largest land carnivore, a marine mammal that hunts seals from Arctic sea ice. Size, fur and black skin, dens, range, threats and status.
Insects
Praying mantis
Mantis religiosa
The praying mantis is a green or brown ambush hunter 5–8 cm long with spiny grasping forelegs. How it hunts, sees in 3D, mates and survives winter as an egg.
Mammals
Red squirrel
Sciurus vulgaris
The red squirrel is Eurasia's native tree squirrel, with ear tufts and a red to near-black coat. Size, diet, nests, lifespan and why it declined in Britain.
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.
Birds
Rock pigeon
Columba livia
The rock pigeon is the wild cliff bird behind every city pigeon and homing pigeon. Facts on its size, range, nests, crop milk, intelligence and history.
Insects
Sacred scarab
Scarabaeus sacer
The sacred scarab is a black ball-rolling dung beetle of the Mediterranean and North Africa, revered in ancient Egypt. Size, dung balls, larvae and range.
Insects
Seven-spot ladybug
Coccinella septempunctata
The seven-spot ladybug is a red beetle 5–8 mm long with seven black spots that hunts aphids. Its life cycle, defenses, winter clusters and spread to America.
Insects
Western honey bee
Apis mellifera
The western honey bee is a social bee that lives in colonies of up to 80,000. Facts on its queen, workers and drones, comb, waggle dance, honey and spread.
Birds
White stork
Ciconia ciconia
The white stork is a tall black-and-white bird that nests on rooftops and migrates from Europe to Africa. Facts on its size, diet, bill-clattering and comeback.
Mammals
White-tailed deer
Odocoileus virginianus
The white-tailed deer is the most widespread deer in the Americas, named for the white tail it flashes when alarmed. Size, antlers, fawns, diet, rut and range.
Arachnids
Zebra jumping spider
Salticus scenicus
The zebra jumping spider is a small black-and-white hunter of sunny walls in Europe and North America, with big eyes, sharp vision and accurate leaps.
Lists, guides and comparisons
Wildlife guide
Wolves in Europe: Where They Live and How Many There Are
Wildlife guide
Wild Animals in Germany: Mammals You Can See in the Wild
Wildlife guide
Venomous Snakes in Europe: Vipers and Where They Live
Wildlife guide
Snakes in the UK: The 3 Native Species and Lookalikes
Wildlife guide
