True to their name, red-bellied piranhas have red undersides. Their bodies are gray and flecked with bright, silver scales. Native to the Amazon River basin, these fish are important scavengers. They tend to travel in schools of 20 or more.
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Tree shrews look remarkably similar to squirrels. They are native to Southeast Asia and are the only members of their taxonomic order.
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This small, fairly common songbird travels between cool, boggy northern forests and warm southern regions each year. Unlike many of their warbler cousins, they are often seen foraging on the ground, not in trees, while bobbing their tail.
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Video Visitors seeking to inject a jolt of fun into their trip to the Smiths
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Always free of charge, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is one of Washington D.C.’s, and the Smithsonian’s, most popular tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors from all over the world each year. The Zoo instills a lifelong commitment to conservation through engaging experiences with animals and the people working to save them.
region, home to thousands of species found nowhere else
Get to know the Zoo’s hawk-headed parrot, Boomer, in this Q&A with animal keeper Hilary Colton.
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The red-crested cardinal is a medium-sized bird that resembles North America’s northern cardinal in shape, but is mainly gray with only a brilliant red head, crest and breast. It is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and is also a common sight in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, where it has been introduced.
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Green salamanders live predominantly in wet, damp crevices and are the only salamander of the genus Aneides found in the eastern United States.
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These small, social rodents are native to the slopes of the Andes, where they form groups of up to ten.
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This forest dove is known for its beautiful powder-blue coloring. The blue ground dove can be found throughout the humid tropical regions of the Americas, where it lives year-round.
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