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 raccoon (Procyon lotor), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family. Three of the raccoon's most distinctive features are its extremely...
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (Alces alces) is a member of the New World deer subfamily. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Hunting and other human activities have caused a reduction in the size of...
The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It is featured in some stories of the indigenous peoples of North and Central America and in the folklore of European-descended inhabitants of the Americas.
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 Water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus) is a species of venomous pit viper. It is one of the world's few semiaquatic vipers (along with the Florida cottonmouth) and is native to the southeastern United States. As an adult, it is large and...
The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on...
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 Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is a species of large freshwater turtle. It is noted for its combative disposition when out of the water with its powerful beak-like jaws, and highly mobile head and neck (hence the specific epithet...
The Alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is a large species of turtle in the family Chelydridae. The species is one of the heaviest freshwater turtles in the world. It is also the largest freshwater species of turtle in North America....
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 copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) is a venomous pit viper endemic to eastern North America; it is a member of the subfamily Crotalinae in the family Viperidae. As a common species within its range, it may be encountered by humans. Unlike other...
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 American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the genus Alligator, and is probably the largest species within its family...
The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America. It lives in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitats. It has important effects on the ecology of wetlands and is a resource of food and fur for...
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 American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas. It is also one of the largest crocodile species. Males can reach lengths of 6.1 m (20 ft 0 in), weighing up to 907 kg...
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 Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans ) is a subspecies of the Pond slider, a semiaquatic turtle. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States, is also popular as a pet across the rest of the world, and is the most invasive...
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 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 Florida panther is known under a number of common names including Costa Rican puma, Florida cougar, and Florida puma. It is the only confirmed cougar population in the eastern United States, and currently occupies 5% of its historic range. In...
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 common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis ) is a species of natricine snake, which is indigenous to North America and found widely across the continent. Most common garter snakes have a pattern of yellow stripes on a black, brown or green...
The Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is the most widespread native turtle of North America. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. In the traditional tales of Algonquian tribes, the colorful turtle played the part of a...
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 Barred owl (Strix varia) is a North American large species of owl. These are large nocturnal birds probably best known for their unique vocalizations that carry well over 0.8 km (0.50 mi). They have typical nesting habits for a true owl and...
The red wolf (Canis rufus ) is a canine native to the southeastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the coyote (Canis latrans ) and gray wolf (Canis lupus ).The red wolf's taxonomic classification as being a separate species, a...
The Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a large species of wren that is found in North America. There are seven recognized subspecies across the range of these wrens and they differ slightly in song and appearance.
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 North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) is a semiaquatic mammal that lives along its waterways and coasts. It is the only river otter that is found north of Mexico. These animals live in burrows and like most predators, prey upon the most...
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 Common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) is a large New World blackbird found in large numbers through much of North America. It was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. Thee birds have a unique adaptation in the keel within their bill and along...
The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only marsupial found in North America north of Mexico. In the United States, it is typically referred to simply as a possum. Virginia opossums are familiar to many North Americans as they are often...
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 American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus ), often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is a large true frog native to eastern North America. It typically inhabits large permanent water bodies such as swamps, ponds, and...
The Western rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus) is a non-venomous species of Colubridae found in central North America. Along with other snakes of the eastern United States, like the Eastern indigo snake or the Eastern racer, it is called 'black...
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 Ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) is a very rare member of the woodpecker family and is one of the largest woodpeckers in the world. The last universally accepted sighting of an American ivory-billed woodpecker occurred in...
Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was described first by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. Typically, it is the heaviest eagle in the world.
The American anole (Anolis carolinensis) is an arboreal anole lizard native to the southeastern United States and introduced elsewhere. It is also sometimes referred to as the American chameleon due to its ability to change color from several brown...
