The Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a magnificent bird of prey found in North America. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting. It builds the largest nest of any North...
The Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds. It is also one of the most popular gamebird, with more than 20 million birds (up to 70 million in some years) shot annually in the U.S.,...
The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) is a species of even-toed mammal native to North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American antelope, prong buck, pronghorn antelope, and prairie antelope, because...
The Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a passerine bird found in North America and Central America. Claims have been made that it is the most abundant living land bird in North America; bird-counting censuses of wintering Red-winged...
The Milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) is a species of kingsnake. The subspecies have strikingly different appearances, and many of them have their own common names. The Milk snake is not venomous to humans.
The American badger (Taxidea taxus) is a member of the Mustelidae, a diverse family of carnivorous mammals that also includes weasels, otters, ferrets, and the wolverine. It is similar in appearance to the European badger, although not closely...
The massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) is a venomous rattlesnake species found in midwestern North America. Like all rattlesnakes, it belongs to the pit viper family. Rattlesnakes receive their name from the rattle located at the end of their tails,...
The Snow goose (Anser caerulescens) is a North American species of goose whose name derives from the typically white plumage. These are birds of cold timberline that migrate more than 3,000 mi (4,800 km) from traditional wintering areas to the...
The Gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer) is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to North America. This snake is often mistaken for the Prairie rattlesnake but can be easily distinguished from a rattlesnake by the lack of black and white...
The Mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) is a small thrush that is found in mountainous districts of western North America. It is a relative of the Eastern and Western bluebirds.
The northern harrier (Circus hudsonius ) is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA. The northern harrier migrates to more southerly areas in winter with breeding birds in...
The Prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) is a venomous pit viper species native to North America. Currently, two subspecies are recognized, including the Prairie rattlesnake, the nominate subspecies, and the Hopi rattlesnake.
Mississippi kites (Ictinia mississippiensis) are small birds of prey graceful in flight, often appearing to float in the air.
The coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum) is a nonvenomous colubrid snake found only in the United States and Mexico. The primary myth concerning coachwhips, that they chase people, likely arises from the snake and the person both being frightened, and...
The Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) is a harmless spikey-bodied reptile called horned lizard. It is the largest and most widely distributed of the 14 species of horned lizards in the western United States and Mexico.
The Western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) is a medium-sized icterid bird. It nests on the ground in open grasslands across western and central North America. The Western meadowlark is the state bird of six states: Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, North...
The Ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) is a large bird of prey and belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks. An old colloquial name of this majestic bird is Ferrugineous rough-leg, due to its similarity to the closely related Rough-legged hawk. The...
The Black-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus) is a venomous pit viper species found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Alternate common names of this snake are Green rattler and Northern black-tailed rattlesnake.
The Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is one of the world's most widely distributed owls. Eared owls have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. The Short-eared owl will display its tufts when in a...
The Northern pintail (Anas acuta) is a duck species that has a wide geographic distribution. Unusually for a bird with such a large range, it has no geographical subspecies if the possibly conspecific duck Eaton's pintail is considered to be a...
Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni) is a large bird of prey named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the Grasshopper hawk or Locust hawk, as it is very fond of locusts and grasshoppers and will voraciously eat...
The Western hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus) is a rear-fanged nonvenomous snake native to North America. These snakes get their common name, "hognose", from the modified rostral (nose) scale that is formed in an upturned manner, providing a very...
Blue-winged teal (Spatula discors) are small members of the dabbling duck group found in North America. They are often the first ducks to migrate south in the fall and the last ones to return in the spring. During migration, some Blue-winged teal...
The Prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) is a medium-large sized falcon from North America. Having evolved in a harsh desert environment with low prey density, the Prairie falcon has developed into an aggressive and opportunistic hunter of a wide range...
The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It is...
The long-nosed snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei ) is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America. It has two recognized subspecies. The other species in the genus were previously considered...
The Western box turtle (Terrapene ornate) is a species of North American box turtle. It is one of two recognized species of box turtle in the United States, having two subspecies. The Western box turtle is also the official state reptile of Kansas...
The Greater short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi) is the most widely distributed lizard in North America. Like other horned lizards, it is often called a "horned toad" or "horny toad", but it is not a toad at all. It is a reptile, not an...
Phidippus audax, the bold jumper or bold jumping spider, is a common species of spider belonging to the genus Phidippus, a group of jumping spiders easily identified by their large eyes and their iridescent chelicerae. Like all jumping spiders, they...
Latrodectus mactans, known as southern black widow or simply black widow, and the shoe-button spider, is a venomous species of spider in the genus Latrodectus. The females are well known for their distinctive black and red coloring and for the fact...
Solenopsis invicta, the fire ant, or red imported fire ant (RIFA), is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus Solenopsis in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was described by Swiss entomologist Felix Santschi as a variant of S....
Vespula vulgaris, known as the Common wasp, is a species found in regions that include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, India, China, New Zealand and Australia. It is sometimes known in English as the European wasp, but the same name is used...
Cheiracanthium inclusum, alternately known as the black-footed yellow sac spider or the American yellow sac spider (in order to distinguish it from its European cousin C. punctorium), was formerly classified as a true sac spider (of the family...
Oncopeltus fasciatus, known as the large milkweed bug, is a medium-sized hemipteran (true bug) of the family Lygaeidae. It is distributed throughout North America, from Central America through Mexico and the Caribbean to southern areas in Canada....
Papilio polyxenes, the (eastern) black swallowtail, American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. An extremely similar-appearing species, Papilio joanae, occurs in the Ozark Mountains region, but...
Fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), also known as fathead or tuffy, is a species of temperate freshwater fish belonging to the genus Pimephales of the cyprinid family. The natural geographic range extends throughout much of North America, from...
Pieris brassicae, the large white, also called cabbage butterfly, cabbage white, cabbage moth (erroneously), or in India the large cabbage white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is a close relative of the small white, Pieris rapae.The...
Tapinoma sessile is a species of small ant that goes by the common names odorous house ant, sugar ant, stink ant, and coconut ant. Their colonies are polydomous (consist of multiple nests) and polygynous (contain multiple reproducing queens). Like...
Pogonomyrmex barbatus is a species of harvester ant from the genus Pogonomyrmex. Its common names include red ant and red harvester ant. These large (5– to 7-mm) ants prefer arid chaparral habitats and are native to the Southwestern United States....
Narceus americanus is a large millipede of eastern North America. Common names include American giant millipede, worm millipede, and iron worm. It inhabits the eastern seaboard of North America west to Georgetown, Texas, north of the Ottine...
The Florida leaf-footed bug (Acanthocephala femorata) is a species of insect. The genus name Acanthocephala means "spiny head" and comes from the pointed tylus at the tip of the head. Acanthocephala femorata is found in the continental United States...
The southern fire ant (Solenopsis xyloni), also known as the Californian fire ant or cotton ant,: 89 is a stinging fire ant native to southern parts of the United States. Its behaviour is similar to the red imported fire ant (S. invicta), although...
