Farmland animals
Two kinds of animal share this list: the farm animals people keep (cows, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, horses) and the wild ones that thrive around fields and hedges, like hares, foxes, crows, kestrels, moles and badgers.
Domesticated animals are marked as such on their own pages.
66 animals, A to Z.
- AgoutiRodents related to guinea pigs but larger and longer-legged, living in forests and wooded areas of Central and South America.
- AlpacaA domesticated South American camelid bred for its highly valued fibre, descended from the wild vicuña at least 5,000–6,000 years ago.
- BadgerStocky, short-legged omnivores of the weasel and skunk families.
- BeeFlying insects that feed on nectar and pollen, with over 20,000 species.
- BeetleInsects whose front wings are hardened into wing-cases.
- BuzzardThe common buzzard is a medium-sized bird of prey found across most of Europe and east into Asia, and probably the most common daytime raptor in Europe.
- ChickenThe domesticated form of the red junglefowl of Southeast Asia, first tamed around 8,000 years ago.
- CowLarge domesticated grazers, first tamed from the wild aurochs about 10,500 years ago.
- CraneFifteen species of tall birds with long legs and necks.
- CrowBlack birds of the genus Corvus, which includes the ravens.
- DogThe first animal people domesticated, bred from wolves by hunter-gatherers more than 14,000 years ago, before farming began.
- Domestic catThe only domesticated member of the cat family.
- DonkeyA domesticated member of the horse family, bred from the African wild ass some 5,000–7,000 years ago and used mainly as a working animal ever since.
- DuckWaterbirds of the same family as geese and swans, but generally smaller and shorter-necked.
- FerretA small domesticated member of the weasel family, most likely bred from the European polecat about 2,500 years ago.
- FlyInsects with a single pair of wings; the hind pair became small balancing organs.
- GoatOne of the first animals ever domesticated, from the wild goat in Iran about 10,000 years ago.
- GooseLarge waterfowl, between ducks and swans in size.
- GopherAbout 41 species of pocket gophers, burrowing rodents of North and Central America named for their fur-lined cheek pouches.
- Grass snakeA non-venomous, semi-aquatic Eurasian snake, usually dark green or brown with a yellow or white collar behind the head.
- GrasshopperPlant-eating insects with powerful hind legs for leaping, one of the oldest groups of chewing plant-eaters.
- GroundhogA large ground squirrel, also called the woodchuck, and the only lowland marmot.
- Guinea pigA domesticated rodent first bred for meat in the Andes as early as 5000 BC, and now a popular pet.
- HamsterStout-bodied rodents with cheek pouches that stretch to their shoulders, used to carry food home.
- HareLong-legged relatives of rabbits that live above ground and rely on speed, not burrows, to escape.
- HawkBirds of prey of the eagle family, found on every continent except Antarctica.
- HedgehogSmall, spiny insect-eaters of Europe, Asia and Africa that roll into a tight ball when threatened.
- HorseA one-toed, hoofed grazer, domesticated on the steppes of western Eurasia.
- HumanThe most abundant and widespread primate: an upright-walking ape with little body hair and a large, complex brain that allows technology, culture and language.
- JackalWild dogs of Africa and Eurasia: the black-backed and side-striped jackals of Africa and the golden jackal of south-central Europe and Asia.
- JackdawThe western jackdaw, a small, gregarious member of the crow family, black with a grey nape and striking pale eyes.
- KestrelThe common kestrel is a small falcon of open country across Europe, Asia and Africa, famous for hovering in one spot while it scans the ground.
- LadybirdOver 6,000 species of small, domed beetles, often red with black spots that warn predators they taste bad.
- LlamaA domesticated South American camelid, used by Andean cultures for meat and as a pack animal since before Columbus.
- LocustShort-horned grasshoppers that can switch into a swarming phase.
- MagpieThe Eurasian magpie is a black-and-white member of the crow family found across northern Europe and Asia, and one of the most intelligent birds.
- MoleSmall burrowing mammals with velvety fur, tiny eyes and ears, and big, powerful front paws for digging.
- MouseSmall rodents best known through the house mouse, which lives alongside people almost everywhere.
- OpossumThe largest group of marsupials in the Americas, 126 species.
- OwlMore than 200 species of mostly solitary, nocturnal birds of prey, with an upright stance, a broad head, forward-facing eyes and feathers adapted for near-silent flight.
- PartridgeMedium-sized, ground-dwelling game birds, between quail and pheasants in size, mostly grey and brown.
- PeacockPeafowl are three species of pheasant: the Indian and green peafowl of Asia and the Congo peafowl of Central Africa.
- PheasantThe common pheasant is a game bird native to Asia and the far south-east of Europe, introduced widely elsewhere for shooting.
- PigA domesticated omnivore farmed mainly for pork.
- PigeonThe familiar city pigeon is the domestic form of the wild rock dove, native to southern Europe, North Africa and western Asia.
- Praying mantisOver 2,400 species of predatory insects with big, grasping front legs held folded as if praying.
- RabbitEvery pet and farmed rabbit belongs to one species, the European rabbit.
- RatMedium-sized rodents, the best known being the brown and black rats that live alongside people.
- Red foxThe familiar orange fox of the northern hemisphere and the most widespread wild carnivore on Earth.
- RobinThe European robin is a small insect-eating songbird with an orange-red breast and face, found across Europe to Western Siberia and North Africa.
- SeagullSeabirds, usually grey and white, with strong bills and webbed feet.
- SheepDomesticated ruminants kept for wool, meat and milk, most likely descended from the wild mouflon.
- SkunkBlack-and-white New World mammals famous for spraying a foul-smelling liquid from glands under the tail.
- SlugLand gastropods with no shell, or only a tiny internal one.
- SnailA gastropod with a coiled shell big enough to pull itself into.
- SparrowThe house sparrow is a small, stocky bird that lives alongside people in towns and farms.
- StarlingA family of 128 species of glossy, often iridescent birds, famous for mimicry and for murmurations: huge flocks that twist and turn together.
- StorkTwenty species of large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with stout bills.
- Tasmanian devilA dog-sized carnivorous marsupial, now found only on Tasmania, and the largest carnivorous marsupial since the thylacine died out in 1936.
- TurkeyA large North American game bird, the heaviest of the chicken-like birds.
- Vervet monkeyAn African monkey with a black face and grey body hair, living in groups of 10 to 70.
- WaspNarrow-waisted insects that are neither bees nor ants, with tens of thousands of species.
- WeaselSmall, fast predators with long, slender bodies and short legs, in the same genus as stoats, polecats and ferrets.
- Wild boarThe wild pig of Eurasia and North Africa, now one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world after introductions to the Americas and Oceania.
- WormEarthworms are soil-dwelling annelids, among nature’s most important recyclers of dead plant matter.
- ZebuHumped domestic cattle that originated in South Asia, with a fatty hump over the shoulders, a large dewlap and often drooping ears.
How each answer is decided: How we answer. Every animal, in one list: All animals.