The animal kingdom consists of fascinating creatures ranging from color-changing chameleons to hummingbirds that can fly backward. Animals are divided into five distinct groups: mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, but how many of these can you name?
If you’re wondering how many animals start with the letter F, here is all you need to know about these 12 fantastic creatures whose names start with “F”.
1. Fox
Foxes are omnivorous mammals resembling small to medium-sized bushy-tailed dogs with long fur, pointed ears, and a narrow snout. They are social animals that live in loose family groups. While the red fox is the most commonly found, there are over 30 species of fox living in various environments and climates. Many fox species are endangered or threatened, unable to adapt to human encroachment, while the red fox enjoys healthy populations worldwide.
Fun fact: Foxes are the only type of dog capable of retracting their claws like cats.
2. Frog
Frogs are small, tailless amphibians that have a range of sizes typically from two to six inches. They are amphibians, meaning they can live on land and on water. Amphibian means two lives. Frogs begin their lives in the water as eggs and then tadpoles. When they are fully developed, they live on land.
They can inhabit various environments, including wetlands, forests, grasslands, and even deserts. They eat insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates. Frogs are found on all continents except Antarctica and are eaten by many predators.
Fun fact: Frogs drink water through their skin.
3. Fish
Fish are aquatic, gill-bearing, cold-blooded animals found in fresh and saltwater around the world. There are approximately 34000 species of fish. Fish have streamlined bodies covered in scales and reproduce by laying eggs. They come in all shapes and sizes and can be found in different habitats. Fish live down deep and up high—from the deepest depths of the oceans to mountain pools high in the Andes. They can live in both warm and cold water.
Fun fact: Fish communicate with each other through sound, colors, and even motions.
4. Flamingo
The Flamingo is a beautiful pink bird found in parts of North America, South America, and Africa. Flamingos have slender legs, long, graceful necks, large wings, and short tails. They range from about 3 to 5 feet tall. They are social birds that live in groups of varying sizes, from a few pairs to sometimes thousands or tens of thousands. There are six known species of flamingos. They are omnivores that typically feed on small fish, crustaceans, and insects.
Fun fact: Flamingos can sleep standing on one leg.
5. Ferret
Ferrets are members of the weasel family that have been domesticated for over 2000 years. They are extremely intelligent and social. Their curious and friendly nature makes them suitable pets for many. Ferrets are carnivores that belong to the weasel family (Mustelidae), which includes polecats, stoats, and ermines. They usually hunt rabbits and rats. The natural range of the wild ferret in Western Europe is as far east as the Ural Mountains in west-central Russia.
Fun fact: A female ferret can have over 160 babies over her lifetime.
6. Flea
Flea includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. They are small, wingless insects with cuticles bearing many bristles and frequently combs of broad, flattened spines. Fleas are common external parasites of both dogs and cats found worldwide. The adults are blood-feeders, consuming up to 15 times their body weight in blood per day. Due to the high body temperature of fleas, they cannot stay long on humans and thus cannot breed on humans too.
Fun fact: Fleas can jump around 30 thousand times in a row.
7. Fly
Flies are insects of the order Diptera. There are more than 120,000 species of flies worldwide. Most flies live an average of 21 days and take on various shapes throughout their short lives. Baby flies are called larvae and are also known as maggots. Flies play pivotal roles in nature, including pollinating plants, breaking down organic material, and serving as food for other bugs and animals. They are the second most common pollinators, behind only bees.
Fun fact: A female housefly can lay up to 600 eggs in her short lifetime.
8. Fisher
The fisher is a small carnivorous mammal native to North America, a forest-dwelling creature whose range covers much of the boreal forest in Canada to the northern United States. It is sometimes misleadingly referred to as a fisher cat, even though it is not a cat. Fisher cats, also called fishers, are about 32-40 inches long. Their tails add another 12-16 inches. Although it is an omnivore, it is primarily considered a carnivore and a very effective hunter targeting smaller mammals, such as rabbits, squirrels, and birds.
Fun fact: Fisher can live about ten years in the wild.
9. Falcon
Falcons are birds of prey in the genus Falco, which includes about 60 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica. Adult falcons have thin, tapered wings, which enable them to fly at high speed and change direction rapidly. The smallest falcon species is the Pygmy falcon which measures just 20 cm. Scientists estimate that falcon vision is eight times better than humans. This allows the birds to spot small prey from nearly two miles away.
Fun fact: Peregrine falcons can reach a speed of 242 miles per hour while diving for prey, making them the fastest recorded animal ever.
10. Fossa
The fossa is a slender, long-tailed, cat-like mammal. It is the largest carnivore and top predator native to Madagascar and is known to feed on lemurs and most other creatures it can get its claws on, from wild pigs to mice. Its coat is reddish brown and its muzzle resembles that of a dog. It can wield its tail like a tightrope walker’s pole and moves so swiftly through the trees that scientists have had trouble observing and researching it. They typically hunt and live alone.
Fun fact: A Fossa can travel at a speed of up to 35 miles per hour.
11. Flying Lemur
Flying lemurs or Colugos are arboreal gliding mammals native to Southeast Asia. These small, furry tree-dwellers can’t technically fly and they’re not technically lemurs. They resemble flying squirrels, as they are arboreal climbers and gliders that have webbed feet with claws. Their long limbs and tail are connected by broad folds of skin, like in bats. There are just two living species of colugos: the Sunda flying lemur and the Philippine flying lemur.
Fun fact: Flying lemurs have a wingspan” is 30-40cm. This is one of the biggest among gliding mammals.
12. Fairy Tern
The fairy tern is New Zealand’s most endangered bird, with only around thirty birds in existence. Originally native to the southwestern Pacific, it is now listed as “Vulnerable” by the IUCN, and the New Zealand subspecies is “Critically Endangered”. Their endangered population is gravely threatened by predators or encroachment by humans.
They have pale grey upper parts and white underparts, with a white rump and forked tail. The wings have a dark grey outer web on the outer primary. Fairy terns mainly feed on fish and forage by hovering 5-15 m above the water surface, before diving for prey, but not immersing their body.
Fun fact: Fairy terns have a high degree of fidelity to mates, nest sites, and foraging areas.
List of All Animals that start with F:
- Fainting Goat
- Fairy-Wren
- Falcon
- Fallow deer
- False Cobra
- False coral snake
- False Killer Whale
- False Water Cobra
- False Widow Spider
- Fancy Mouse
- Fangtooth
- Feather Star
- Feist
- Fennec Fox
- Fer-de-lance Snake
- Ferret
- Ferruginous Hawk
- Fiddler Crab
- Field Cuckoo Bumblebee
- Field Spaniel
- Fierce Snake
- Figeater Beetle
- Fila Brasileiro
- Fin Whale
- Finch
- Finnish Lapphund
- Finnish Spitz
- Fire Ball Python
- Fire Eel
- Fire Salamander
- Fire-Bellied Toad
- Firefly
- Firefly Ball Python
- Fish
- Fisher Cat
- Fishing Cat
- Fishing Spiders
- Flamingo
- Flat-Coated Retriever
- Flathead Catfish
- Flea
- Flea Beetle
- Fleckvieh Cattle
- Florida Gar
- Florida Mouse
- Florida Panther
- Florida Woods Cockroach
- Flounder
- Flounder Fish
- Flour Beetle
- Flowerhorn Fish
- Fluke Fish (summer flounder)
- Fly
- Flycatcher
- Flying Fish
- Flying Lemur
- Flying Snake
- Flying Squirrel
- Football Fish
- Forest Cobra
- Forest Cuckoo Bumblebee
- Formosan Mountain Dog
- Fossa
- Fox
- Fox Snakes
- Fox Squirrel
- Fox Terrier
- Freeway Ball Python
- French Bulldog
- French Bulldog Mix
- French Lop
- Frenchton
- Frengle
- Freshwater Crocodile
- Freshwater Drum
- Freshwater Eel
- Freshwater Jellyfish
- Freshwater Sunfish
- Frigatebird
- Frilled Lizard
- Frilled Shark
- Fritillary Butterfly
- Frog
- Frogfish
- Frug
- Fruit Bat
- Fruit Fly
- Fulvous Whistling Duck
- Fur Seal
- Furrow Bee
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