The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. It is the largest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world. The jaguar has featured prominently in the...
The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a giant cavy rodent native to South America. It is the largest living rodent and a member of the genus Hydrochoerus. Its close relatives include guinea pigs and Rock cavies, and it is more distantly...
The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all...
The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is a medium-sized wild cat that was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The association of the ocelot with humans dates back to the Aztec and Incan civilizations; it has occasionally been kept as a pet.
The coypu (Myocastor coypus), otherwise known as nutria or River rat, is a large, semi-aquatic rodent. In spite of being a separate species, the animal is sometimes mistaken for a beaver or otter. These rodents are 'a boon and a bane', in the sense...
The Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas. The Great horned owl is one of the earliest nesting birds...
The White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a medium-sized deer native to the Americas where it is the most widely distributed wild ungulate. Texas is home to the most White-tailed deer of any U.S. state or Canadian province, with an estimated...
The Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) is a large duck native to the Americas. Although it is a tropical bird, it adapts well to cooler climates, thriving in weather as cold as −12 °C (10 °F) and able to survive even colder conditions.
The Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a tall and statuesque bird when wading in the water seeking its prey, and it is graceful and swift when flying with its slow deep wing beats. It is one of the most majestic wild birds in North America. This...
The Green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is a boa species found in South America. It is the heaviest and one of the longest-known extant snake species. Like all boas, it is a non-venomous constrictor.
The Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it has the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometers globally. In Anglophone Europe...
The killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) is a large plover found in the Americas. It was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. The common name of this species comes from its...
The Hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) is a parrot native to South America. With a length (from the top of its head to the tip of its long pointed tail) of about one meter, it is longer than any other species of parrot. It is the largest...
The jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) is a wild cat native to the Americas. Secretive and alert, the jaguarundi hunts mainly during daytime and evening hours and feeds on various kinds of prey. It lives in a broad array of closed as well as open...
The Great egret (Ardea alba) is a large, widely distributed wading bird. Like all egrets, it is a member of the heron family, Ardeidae, and its close relatieves are pelicans. The Great egret is sometimes confused with the Great white heron of the...
The Giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators. The Giant otter has no serious natural predators other than humans,...
The Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a large long-legged wading bird of the heron native to Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It lives in wetland areas and feeds on various aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or...
The Black vulture (Coragyps atratus) is amongst the most abundant vultures of the New World, and out of all the members in the Cathartidae family, has the most varied diet. These are highly social birds that demonstrate fierce family loyalty. They...
The Purple martin (Progne subis) is the largest swallow in North America. These birds are known for their speed, agility, and their characteristic mix of rapid flapping and gliding flight pattern. When approaching their nesting site, they dive from...
The merlin (Falco columbarius) is a small but fierce falcon from the Northern Hemisphere. It is a swift flier and skilled hunter and has for centuries been well regarded as a falconry bird.
The Scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea) is a medium-sized American songbird. Its plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family, although it lacks the thick conical bill (well suited to seed and insect eating) that many...
The Blue-and-gold macaw (Ara ararauna) is a large South American parrot. It is a member of the large group of neotropical parrots known as macaws. These birds are popular in aviculture because of their striking color, ability to talk, ready...
The Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) is a cosmopolitan species of heron named for its association with cattle. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western cattle...
The hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) is a tropical bird found in the Amazon and the Orinoco basins in South America. It is notable for having chicks that have claws on two of their wing digits.
The pygmy marmoset, genus Cebuella, is a small genus of New World monkey native to rainforests of the western Amazon Basin in South America. It is notable for being the smallest monkey and one of the smallest primates in the world, at just over 100...
The Long-tailed weasel is an endearing-looking species of mustelid common throughout America and southern Canada. Looking like a cute, curious, lively kitten, it is one of nature's most ferocious and relentless predators and is known as "nature's...
The Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) is a medium-large bird of prey found in the Americas. This bird is notable for its behavior of hunting cooperatively in packs consisting of tolerant groups, while other raptors often hunt alone. Harris hawks'...
The Wood stork (Mycteria americana) is a large American wading bird that breeds in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. Originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, this stork likely evolved in tropical...
The Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. Plume hunting in the 18th and 19th centuries almost drove these...
The Green heron (Butorides virescens) is a small secretive heron that lives along shaded riverbanks or quiet streams in areas of dense vegetation. It is often somewhat secretive but is sometimes to be seen crying "kyow" while flying up a creek. When...
The Common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) is a medium-sized crepuscular or nocturnal bird of the Americas. The presence and identity of these birds are best revealed by their vocalization. Typically dark, displaying cryptic coloration and intricate...
The Brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) is the most common of the four species of three-toed sloth. It is native to rainforest canopies of Central and South America. The slowest mammal in the world, the Brown-throated three-toed sloth is an...
The Scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber) is a species of ibis found in tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but its remarkably brilliant scarlet coloration makes it...
Yellow-billed cuckoos (Coccyzus americanus) are long-tailed, slender birds that stay well hidden among deciduous woodlands. They usually sit completely still, even hunching up their shoulders to hide their crisp white underparts, while hunting for...
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...
Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris) is a species of rhinoceros family with a characteristic fleshy trunk, which is prehensile and able to grasp objects such as leaves. It is the largest surviving native terrestrial mammal in the Amazon. Brazilian...
The Collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) is a species of even-toed mammal found in North, Central, and South America. They are commonly referred to as javelina, saíno, or báquiro, although these terms are also used to describe other species in the...
The Spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) is a crocodilian with large range and population. It is native to much of Latin America and has been introduced to the United States, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Its common name comes from a bony ridge between...
The mata mata, mata-mata, or matamata (Chelus fimbriata ) is a freshwater turtle species found in South America, primarily in the Amazon and Orinoco basins. It is one of two extant species in the genus Chelus, the other being Chelus orinocensis.
The Yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia) is the most widespread species in the diverse genus Setophaga. The part of its scientific name comes from Ancient Greek and roughly means "moth eating". Yellow warblers, in particular the young, devour many...
The Yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea) is a gorgeous graceful bird. More solitary than the Black-crowned night heron and often more secretive, this species is quite common in some parts of the southeast, especially in coastal regions....
Pseudoryzomys simplex, also known as the Brazilian false rice rat or false oryzomys, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae from south-central South America. It is found in lowland palm savanna and thorn scrub habitats. It is a medium-sized...
