The Wild boar (Sus scrofa) is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa. The species is now one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world, as well as the most widespread suiform. It has been assessed as the least concern on the IUCN Red...
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 mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and prefer to congregate in flocks of...
The Sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to a habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on the...
The Snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a large, white owl of the true owl family. It has a number of unique adaptations to its habitat and lifestyle, which are quite distinct from other extant owls. Most owls sleep during the day and hunt at night, but...
The Common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. It is an opportunistic predator that can take a wide variety of prey, but it feeds mostly on small mammals. The Common buzzard appears to be the most common...
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 Grass snake (Natrix natrix) is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.
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 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 European polecat (Mustela putorius) is a species of mustelid native to western Eurasia and North Africa. It originated in Western Europe during the Middle Pleistocene, with its closest living relatives being the Steppe polecat, the Black-footed...
The Gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) is a medium-sized perching bird found in the Americs. It is the only member of the "catbird" genus Dumetella. In some areas it is known as the Slate-colored mockingbird.
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 Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is a small kingfisher widely distributed across Eurasia and North Africa. It is amongst the most colorful birds but despite its extraordinary colors, sometimes the Common kingfisher is difficult to see when it...
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 Greylag goose (Anser anser) is a large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae. Its distribution is widespread, with birds from the north of its range in Europe and Asia migrating southwards to spend the winter in warmer places. It is the...
The Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Many fishermen see in the Great cormorant a competitor for fish. Because of this, it was hunted nearly to extinction in the past but luckily due to...
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. It is the most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of the weasel family (Mustelidae). It is found in the waterways and coasts of Europe, many parts...
The Long-eared owl (Asio otus) is one of the most widely distributed and most numerous owl species in the world. While all owls do not build their own nests, Long-eared owls like to use nests that are built by other animals, especially favoring...
The Double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) is a water bird widely distributed across North America. It is a relative of the frigate bird and is skilled in diving for small fish. Its feathers, like those of all cormorants, are not waterproof...
The Little egret (Egretta garzetta) is small elegant heron in the family Ardeidae. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. At one time common in Western Europe, the Little heron was hunted...
The Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) is a migratory bird found in the Americas. It was first described in 1807 by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot as Hirundo bicolor. This bird spends most of its time flying and chasing after insects in...
The Whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan. It is considered the most elegant of the swan family.
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...
The Viviparous lizardn(Zootoca vivipara) is a Eurasian lizard that lives farther north than any other species of non-marine reptile. It is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it not only lays eggs but also gives birth to live young....
The Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is an aquatic diving bird noted for its elaborate mating display. It is the largest member of the grebe family found in the Old World, with some larger species residing in the Americas. These birds are...
The American black duck (Anas rubripes) is a large dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. It was described by William Brewster in 1902. It is the heaviest species in the genus Anas, weighing 720-1,640 g (1.59-3.62 lb) on average.
The Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae) found across many parts of the Old World. These birds live around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands. The word 'moor' as a part of their...
The Northern hawk-owl (Surnia ulula) is a medium-sized true owl that lives in the northern latitudes. It is one of the few owls that is neither nocturnal nor crepuscular, being active only during the day. It is sometimes called simply the hawk owl.
European water voles > (Arvicola amphibius) are semiaquatic rodents. They are often informally called water rats, though they only superficially resemble a true rat. Their dark color allows them to blend in well in the densely vegetated areas and...
The glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus ) is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek plegados and Latin, falcis, both meaning "sickle" and referring...
The Eurasian teal (Anas crecca ), common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being the only...
The hen harrier (Circus cyaneus ) is a rare ground-nesting bird of prey that breed in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl.It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to...
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 Bearded reedling (Panurus biarmicus) is a small songbird frequently known as the Bearded tit, due to some similarities to the Long-tailed tit, or the Bearded parrotbill. Studies have shown that the Bearded reedling is most closely related to...
Common snipes (Gallinago gallinago) are small, stocky waders native to the Old World. These birds are known for their courtship display in which males produce a sound that reminds the bleating of a sheep or goat; hence in many languages the Common...
The common gull or sea mew (Larus canus ) is a medium-sized gull that breeds in the Palearctic, northern Europe. The closely related short-billed gull is sometimes included in this species, which may be known collectively as "mew gull". Many common...
The bluethroat (Luscinia svecica ) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It, and similar small European...
