Guide · updated
How to identify an animal you saw
A practical way to get from “something brown, about the size of a fox” to a short list of candidates, using the tools on this site.
Note three things: where you were, what kind of animal it was and roughly how big. Those three narrow millions of species to a short list, which you then check against photos, sizes and sounds. Treat the result as a set of candidates, not a verdict.
Photo: Sumeet Moghe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
What should I note down first?
Three things narrow the field more than anything else: where you were, what kind of animal it was, and roughly how big. None needs to be exact. “A bird, smaller than a pigeon, in Kenya” already rules out almost everything.
If you can, also note the date, what it was doing and any sound it made. A photo, even a poor one, lets you check candidates against their pictures afterwards.
- Where: the country is enough.
- What kind: bird, mammal, reptile, insect, or a narrower group such as owls or snakes.
- How big: compare it with an animal you know, such as a sparrow, a cat or a deer.
- When: the date, and the time of day.
- What it did: flying, swimming, climbing, calling.
- Any marks: colours, stripes, the shape of the tail or bill.
How do I turn that into a shortlist?
Open “What did I see?” and answer what you can. Each question can be left as “not sure”. The result is a list of animals that fit all your answers, best known first, because a well-known animal is the likelier sighting.
The tool narrows possibilities. It does not identify an animal, and the list is only as complete as the country data behind it.
How big is “small”?
Size on this site means adult body weight, in five classes. Judging weight by eye is hard, so if you are between two classes, try both.
- Tiny
- under 10 g
- Small
- 10 g to 1 kg
- Medium
- 1 kg to 25 kg
- Large
- 25 kg to 250 kg
- Giant
- over 250 kg
How do I check a candidate?
Open the candidate’s page and compare three things: the photo, the size figures and the countries on record. If two candidates look alike, put them side by side with the compare tool, which writes out the recorded differences.
If you heard it, the sound library lists every recording on file by group.
- Photo: does the shape and pattern match, allowing for age and sex?
- Size: is the recorded weight or length close to what you saw?
- Place: is your country on its list? Absence is weak evidence; presence is stronger.
- Look-alikes: open its relatives at the foot of the page and rule them out.
Sumeet Moghe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Thiagomarcelcampi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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James Temple · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
What can go wrong?
The country filter is the weakest link. An animal missing from a country’s list may still occur there, and an animal on the list may be rare. If a shortlist looks wrong, remove the country and try again.
Do not use this site to decide whether an animal is dangerous, venomous or safe to handle.
On this site today: Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
Which tools help with this?
What did I see?
Answer up to three questions (where you were, what kind of animal, roughly how big) and get a shortlist of animals that fit, best known first.
Compare two animals
Shows two animals side by side: size, lifespan, classification, conservation status and countries on record, with the differences written out.
Sound library
Listen to the recordings on file, filtered by group, and open the animal each one belongs to.
Country checklists
A tick-off list of the best-known animals on record for a country. Ticks are saved to your life list, and the page prints cleanly.
What do the terms mean?
- Size class
- This site’s five bands of adult body weight, used for filtering: tiny, small, medium, large and giant.
- Group
- On this site, a familiar everyday grouping such as “big cats” or “birds of prey”, defined by the branches of the classification it contains.
- Common name
- The everyday name for an animal in a given language.
Is there a video on this?
Chosen for who made them. Each opens on YouTube.
- Inside Birding: Size and ShapeVideo · Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- How to judge a bird by size and shape, the first step this guide recommends.
- Inside Birding: Color PatternVideo · Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Reading overall colour pattern instead of small details.
- Inside Birding: BehaviorVideo · Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Using what an animal is doing as a clue to what it is.
- How to Make an Observation on iNaturalist using our Mobile AppVideo · iNaturalist
- Recording a sighting with a photo so others can confirm the identification.
Where can I check this?
The outside sources this guide rests on.
- iNaturalist
- A community where naturalists identify photographed sightings; useful for a second opinion.
- eBird
- Bird records by place and date, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
- Catalogue of Life
- The classification and names this site follows.
More guides
How to read a species pageWhat conservation status meansHow animals are classifiedWhy a country list is not a range mapKeeping a life listCiting and reusing what you find