Animal Identifier: What Animal Is This?

What animal is this?

That is the search this page is for. You have a photo, a track in mud or snow, or a pile of droppings, and you want a name. Use the animal identifier above. Upload or take a photograph, or describe the size, the color, and the state or province.

A likely match is not a certain one. Open the guide and compare the look-alikes. A heart-shaped hoof in the East is usually a white-tailed deer. The same print in the West may be a mule deer. Range does as much work as the photo.

Animal identification from a photo

Animal identification works best when the photo shows the whole animal, or a clear track with something for scale. A coin, a finger, or a boot is enough. Blurry fur and a dark background will not name a species.

The tool covers common mammals and a long list of birds, including hawks, owls, ducks, and shorebirds. If the photo is a bird, start with the bill, the tail, and where it was sitting. A bird on a wire over a field is a different question from a bird at a marsh.

Browse the animal identification pages

What bird is this?

Bird identification is the other half of the same question. “What bird is this” and “identify this bird” are what people type when the animal has already flown. A photo of the bird still helps. So does a note on size next to a robin, a sparrow, or a crow.

Hawk identification starts with the tail and the way the bird flies. A red-tailed hawk has a brick-red tail as an adult and often sits on a pole. A Cooper’s hawk is the one that leaves a pile of feathers under a feeder. Owl identification is usually a face: ear tufts or none, yellow eyes or dark.

Duck identification is the bill and the wing patch, not the overall brown. Shorebird identification is the bill and the legs. A killdeer has two black bands. A snipe has a very long bill and flushes in a zigzag.

Animal tracks and track identification

Animal tracks are a cleaner clue than a distant photo, if you look at the toes and the trail. Track identification comes down to a few patterns:

• Deer tracks are heart-shaped. Dewclaws show in mud or snow when the animal runs.
• Coyote tracks are oval, with claw marks, in a nearly straight line. Dog tracks wander.
• Cat tracks are round and do not show claws. A bobcat print is about 2 inches. A cougar print is much larger.
• Bird tracks are three toes, or four if a rear toe prints. Turkey tracks are thick. Heron tracks are thin, with a long rear toe, and sit at the waterline.

Animal footprints in a backyard are often a raccoon, a squirrel, a cottontail, or a house cat. A five-fingered hand beside a longer hind foot is a raccoon. Two long hind feet side by side are a rabbit or a squirrel. The squirrel trail ends at a tree.

What animal made these tracks is the same question with the animal gone. Photograph the clearest print, note the state, and say whether you found claws. Then open the matching guide from the results.

Animal poop identification and scat

Animal poop identification is useful and unpleasant. Do not handle it. Several species carry parasites that stay in the soil around a latrine.

Animal scat identification by shape:

• Deer scat is a pile of oval pellets, or a soft clump on green feed.
• Coyote scat is a twisted, tapered cord with hair or seeds, often left on a trail.
• Raccoon poop is a blunt tube, often in the same spot on a roof, a log, or a rock. Leave it. Do not sweep it dry.
• Rabbit poop is a pea-sized round pellet in the lawn.
• Goose droppings are green or brown cords where the flock feeds.

“What animal poop is this” still needs a place. Pellets under a chewed tree are more likely porcupine than deer. A fishy smear on a rock at the water is an otter, not a raccoon.

Wildlife identification, without overclaiming

Wildlife identification from one photo will be wrong sometimes. The tool is a guide. It is not a wildlife officer, and it is not a reason to approach the animal for a better picture.

Mammal identification is strongest for deer, coyotes, foxes, bears, raccoons, and the common backyard animals. Rare animals stay rare. A bear track in the East is a black bear. A jaguar track is a border-mountains question, not a backyard one.

If the animal is injured, aggressive, or inside a house, call a local wildlife officer or a rehabilitator. This page will not tell you to move it.