Black And White Animals

The Giant panda is one of the most famous animals which has a bold black-and-white coat. Its distinctive coat serves as camouflage in both winter and summer environments. The white areas may serve as camouflage in snow, while the black shoulders and legs provide crypsis in shade. The black ears of the Ginat panda may signal aggressive intent, while the eye patches might help them to identify one another. The thick, woolly coat keeps these ...
adorable creatures warm in the cool forests of China. Less

Red-crowned cranes are snow white in color with black on the wing secondaries, which can appear almost like a black tail when the birds are standing, but the real tail feathers are actually white. Males are black on the cheeks, throat, and neck, while females are pearly gray in these spots. Cranes are very large birds, often considered the world's tallest flying birds. Outside of the breeding season, Red-crowned cranes spend time in family ...
groups, pairs, or singly; they even roost in large groups with unrelated cranes. However, by the early spring, pairs begin to spend more time together. Even while not nesting, Red-crowned cranes tend to be aggressive towards conspecifics. They maintain a minimum distance of 2 to 3 m (6.6 to 9.8 ft) to keep out of the pecking range of other cranes while roosting at night during winter and if a crane violates these boundaries, it may be violently attacked. Less

The Striped skunk is one of the most recognizable of North America's animals. This animal is also a popular figure in cartoons and children's books. Striped skunks have two scent glands, under their tails, containing about 15 milliliters of musk each; these scent glands provide a chemical defense against predation. The musk is oily and yellow-colored and consists of a mixture of powerfully odorous thiols, which can be sprayed at a distance of ...
several meters. Less

There are three living zebra species the Plains zebra, the Mountain zebra, and the Grévy's zebra. They live in Africa and have distinctive black-and-white striped coats. The whole body of zebras is striped except for the belly, and no two individuals look exactly alike. Zebras need to drink every day and may travel to better-watered areas. Plains zebras travel 500 km (310 mi). They are more water-dependent and live in more moist environments ...
than other species. They seldom wander 10-12 km (6.2-7.5 mi) from a water source. Grévy's zebras can survive almost a week without water but will drink daily when it is plentiful and conserve water well. When no surface water is available due to drought, Mountain zebras will usually dig for groundwater in dry river beds. Less

Killer whales are always easily recognizable by their black-and-white patterned bodies. With their distinctive pigmentation, adult Killer whales are seldom confused with any other species. These massive oceanic predators have good eyesight above and below the water, excellent hearing, and a good sense of touch. They have exceptionally sophisticated echolocation abilities and can detect the location and characteristics of prey and other objects ...
in the water by emitting clicks and listening for echoes. By the way, when feeding, Killer whales spend most of their time at shallow depths, but will occasionally dive several hundred meters depending on their prey. Less

Black-and-white ruffed lemurs can be found only on the island of Madagascar. They are the largest extant lemurs and are endangered. Black-and-white ruffed lemurs spend most of their lives in trees and have a complex social structure. They are also known for their loud roar/shriek choruses which have several purposes including group movement, spacing among different groups, and alarming other members of the group of predators. Most members of a ...
group participate in any one chorus and they usually do this throughout the course of a day. Less

Magpies are always easily recognized due to their distinctive predominantly black and white markings and long tails. For example, the Black-billed magpie which is native to North America is one of only four North American songbirds whose tail makes up half or more of the total body length. These birds historically have been associated with bison herds; now as they frequently inhabit farmlands Black-billed magpies also land on the backs of cattle ...
to clean ticks and insects from them. They usually forage on the ground searching for anything they could eat and like to follow large predators such as wolves and scavenge or steal from their kills. Less

All penguins are countershaded for camouflage having black backs and wings with white fronts. A predator looking up from below (such as a Killer whale or a Leopard seal) has difficulty distinguishing between a white penguin belly and the reflective water surface. The dark plumage on their backs camouflages them from above. Penguins are superbly adapted to aquatic life. Although their wings have evolved to become flippers and are useless for ...
flight in the air, in the water, however, penguins are astonishingly agile. Their swimming looks very similar to birds' flight in the air. On land, penguins may look a bit awkward when they try to maintain balance for their upright stance but despite that, they still look adorable. Less

The Honey badger has a fairly long body but is distinctly thick-set and broad across the back. Its skin is remarkably loose and allows the animal to turn and twist freely within it. The skin around its neck is 6 mm (0.24 in) thick which is an adaptation to fighting conspecifics. The Honey badger is notorious for its strength, ferocity, and toughness. It savagely and fearlessly attacks almost any other species when escape is impossible. Bee ...
stings, porcupine quills, and animal bites rarely penetrate their skin. If horses, cattle, or Cape buffalos intrude upon a Honey badger's burrow, it will readily attack them. Less

Mantled guerezas have a distinctive appearance, which is alluded to in their name; the long white fringes of hair that run along each side of their black trunk are known as a mantle. Infants of this species are born with pink skin and white hair. Their hair and skin darken as they age and by three to four months they attain adult coloration. Males usually gain their coloration before females. Mantled guerezas are active during the day and live ...
in trees close to rivers or lakes. They live in groups of up to 15 individuals with one dominant male and are well known for their dawn chorus; this males' "roar" is a method of long-distance communication that reinforces territorial boundaries. Mantled guerezas also make other vocalizations and use body various postures, movements, and facial expressions to communicate, and females within a group frequently groom each other. Less

All puffin species are predominantly black or black and white in color with large beaks that get brightly colored during the breeding season. They shed the colorful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique underwater. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ...
ocean's surface. Iceland is the home to most of the Atlantic puffins with about 10 million individuals. The largest single puffin colony in the world is in the Westmann Isles of Iceland. In 2009, scientists estimated the number of nests to be 1.1 million, and the number of individuals there is estimated to be up to 4 million! Less

Although similar in appearance to dolphins Dall’s porpoises are more closely related to narwhals and belugas than to the true dolphins. They can be easily distinguished from other porpoises and cetacean species within their range. Dall’s porpoises are mostly black in color, have white to grey patches on the flank and belly, and frosting on the dorsal fin and trailing edge of the fluke. They are the largest porpoise species and may reach up to ...
7.5 ft (2.3 m) in length. Dall’s porpoises prefer to live in cold waters less than 64 °F (18 °C). They are very active creatures and their rapid swimming at the surface creates a characteristic spray called a "rooster tail". They frequently approach boats to bowride, and they also like to ride on the waves formed at the heads of larger swimming whales. Less

These small black and white birds can be found in the Americas. Both males and females of these species look alike and thus almost impossible to differ. However, during the breeding season the males can be identified by a black-and-white streaked throat and black cheek, while the females have a grey cheek and a white-cream colored throat and sides. During the summer males are so boldly streaked in black and white, that these lovely birds have ...
even been described as flying humbugs. Less

Malayan tapirs are covered in black hair, except for the tips of their ears, which are rimmed with white. This pattern acts as a camouflage and makes these Malayan tapirs more difficult to recognize; other animals may mistake them for a large rock, rather than prey, when they are lying down to sleep. Malayan tapirs have very poor eyesight, but excellent hearing and sense of smell. They prefer to live near water and often bathe and swim, and they ...
are also able to climb steep slopes. On land, they typically move slowly but when threatened or frightened, Malayan tapirs can run surprisingly quickly, and can also defend themselves with their strong jaws and sharp teeth. Less

The American oystercatcher is a wading bird with distinctive black and white plumage and a long, bright orange beak. It was originally called the "sea pie". Oystercatchers live along coasts and nest on beaches and feed on marine invertebrates. The large, heavy beak is used to pry open bivalve mollusks. When feeding they walk across a shellfish bed and look for a mollusk with a partially opened shell. When they find one, they jab their bill into ...
the shell and sever the muscle that causes the shell to clamp shut. This can be dangerous, however, as oystercatchers are sometimes drowned when they don't completely sever this muscle and the shell clamps down on their bill. A strong, tightly rooted mollusk can hold the bird in place until the tide comes in. Oystercatchers also feed by carrying loose shellfish out of the water and then hammering them at the shell. Less

Adult Ribbon seals have striking coloration and can’t be mistaken with any other pinniped species. Baby Ribbon seals are born with a white lanugo (fur coat) that is shed about a month after birth. The pups do not enter the water until their lanugo is completely gone because their layer of blubber, and protection from cold ocean temperatures, remains undeveloped until shedding. Later their color changes to blue-grey on their backs and silvery ...
beneath. Over the course of three years, portions of the fur become darker and others brighter after every molt, and only at the age of four years does the striped pattern emerge. Less

These boldly pied in black and white birds are native to Australia, Timor, and southern New Guinea. The males and the females are similar from a distance but easy to tell apart: the female has a white throat, while the male has a black throat, and a white "eyebrow". Magpie-larks are aggressively territorial and fearlessly defend their territory against larger birds such as magpies, ravens, kookaburras, and even the Wedge-tailed eagle. They may ...
also attack people to defend their nests and frequently attack mirrors, windows, and other reflective surfaces in which they mistake their reflection for an intruder into their territory. Less

Swallow-tailed kites are pernine raptors. These are medium-sized broad-winged birds of warmer climates. Their body is a contrasting deep black and white in color and their wingspan is approximately 1.12-1.36 m (3.7-4.5 ft). Swallow-tailed kites are considered one of the most graceful fliers seen in America and often spend the majority of their lives scouring high tree tops for lizards, small mammals, and insects. The structure of their wing and ...
elongated, forked tail allows these birds to glide effortlessly for long distances. They usually do not even break flight during feeding. Less

Dorsally, Malayan kraits have a pattern of 27-34 dark-brown, black, or bluish-black crossbands on the body and tail. Ventrally, they are uniformly white. Kraits are among the most venomous land snakes in the world. They are more docile during the daylight; at night, they become very active. They are not very aggressive even when provoked and will often hide their heads within their coiled bodies for protection. When in this posture, they may ...
sometimes whip their tails around as a type of distraction. Less

Pied crows have glossy black heads and necks interrupted by a large area of white feathering from the shoulders down to the lower breast. The white plumage of immature birds is often mixed with black. Pied crows are widely distributed in Africa and the Maasai people call them ‘Ol-korrok’ from the sound of their call. They are considered annoying but not birds of ill-omen. Pied crows usually spend time in pairs or small groups. They are quite ...
bold and sometimes may mob passing ospreys and Snake eagles; however, they prefer to avoid Black kites. Less