Animals That Start With C

88 animals Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 88 animals that start with C, each with a one-line description so you can tell what it is. The best-known ones come first, then the full list in A to Z order.

Eighty-eight animals begin with C, and the list blends farm, pet and wild creatures. Cat, cow and chicken are the classic starters for young children, while camel, cheetah and crocodile bring in the wild side.

Some surprises reward a closer look. The capybara is a large South American rodent, the cuttlefish is a relative of squid, and the chameleon is famous for changing colour. Watch the C and K sounds too: cobra and crab sound hard, while centipede has a soft S sound at the start.

Animals starting with C: 88
Best known: cat, chicken
Longest name: cabbage butterfly
Most are: mammals

Best-known animals that start with C

The ones most people will recognise, good for school lists, quizzes and games.

cat
chicken
cricket
cow
crane
cardinal
crow
crab
camel
cobra
crocodile
canary
caterpillar
cougar
coyote
catfish
clam
cheetah
cockroach
chameleon
chimpanzee
centipede
chipmunk
cuttlefish
capybara
clownfish
cockatiel

All animals that start with C

#	Name	What it is	Type
1	cabbage butterfly	white butterfly whose larvae (cabbageworms) feed on cabbage	insect
2	cactus wren	large harsh-voiced American wren of arid regions of the United States southwest and Mexico	bird
3	caiman	a semiaquatic reptile of Central and South America that resembles an alligator but has a more heavily armored belly	reptile
4	camel	cud-chewing mammal used as a draft or saddle animal in desert regions	mammal
5	canary	any of several small Old World finches	bird
6	capuchin	monkey of Central America and South America having thick hair on the head that resembles a monk's cowl	mammal
7	capybara	pig-sized tailless South American amphibious rodent with partly webbed feet; largest living rodent	mammal
8	carabao	water buffalo of the Philippines	mammal
9	cardinal	crested thick-billed North American finch having bright red plumage in the male	bird
10	caribou	Arctic deer with large antlers in both sexes; called `reindeer' in Eurasia and `caribou' in North America	mammal
11	carp	any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae	fish
12	carpenter ant	ant that nests in decaying wood in which it bores tunnels for depositing eggs	insect
13	carpenter bee	large solitary bee that lays eggs in tunnels bored into wood or plant stems	insect
14	carpet beetle	small beetle whose larvae are household pests feeding on woolen fabrics	insect
15	carpet shark	shark of the western Pacific with flattened body and mottled skin	fish
16	carrier pigeon	a homing pigeon used to carry messages	bird
17	cassowary	large black flightless bird of Australia and New Guinea having a horny head crest	bird
18	cat	feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats	mammal
19	cat flea	flea that breeds chiefly on cats and dogs and rats	insect
20	cat shark	small bottom-dwelling sharks with cat-like eyes; found along continental slopes	fish
21	caterpillar	a wormlike and often brightly colored and hairy or spiny larva of a butterfly or moth	other
22	catfish	any of numerous mostly freshwater bottom-living fishes of Eurasia and North America with barbels like whiskers around...	fish
23	cattle	domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age; ; ; - Bible	mammal
24	centipede	chiefly nocturnal predacious arthropod having a flattened body of 15 to 173 segments each with a pair of legs, the...	other
25	chameleon	lizard of Africa and Madagascar able to change skin color and having a projectile tongue	reptile
26	chamois	hoofed mammal of mountains of Eurasia having upright horns with backward-hooked tips	mammal
27	channel catfish	freshwater food fish common throughout central United States	fish
28	char	any of several small trout-like fish of the genus Salvelinus	fish
29	cheetah	long-legged spotted cat of Africa and southwestern Asia having nonretractile claws	mammal
30	chickadee	any of various small grey-and-black songbirds of North America	bird
31	chicken	a domestic fowl bred for flesh or eggs; believed to have been developed from the red jungle fowl	bird
32	chimney swift	American swift that nests in e.g. unused chimneys	bird
33	chimpanzee	intelligent somewhat arboreal ape of equatorial African forests	mammal
34	chinchilla	small rodent with soft pearly grey fur; native to the Andes but bred in captivity for fur	mammal
35	chipmunk	a burrowing ground squirrel of western America and Asia	mammal
36	chipping sparrow	small North American finch common in urban areas	bird
37	chorus frog	any of several small North American frogs having a loud call	amphibian
38	cicada	stout-bodied insect with large membranous wings; male has drum-like organs for producing a high-pitched drone	insect
39	cichlid	freshwater fishes of tropical America and Africa and Asia similar to American sunfishes	fish
40	cisco	important food fish of cold deep lakes of North America	fish
41	civet	cat-like mammal typically secreting musk used in perfumes	mammal
42	clam	burrowing marine mollusk living on sand or mud; the shell closes with viselike firmness	mollusc
43	click beetle	able to right itself when on its back by flipping into the air with a clicking sound	insect
44	cliff swallow	North American swallow that lives in colonies and builds bottle-shaped mud nests on cliffs and walls	bird
45	climbing perch	a small perch of India whose gills are modified to allow it to breathe air	fish
46	clothes moth	any of several small yellowish or buff-colored moths whose larvae eat organic matter e.g. woolens	insect
47	clownfish	small orange and white fish living among sea anemones	other
48	cobra	venomous Asiatic and African elapid snakes that can expand the skin of the neck into a hood	reptile
49	cockatiel	small crested Australian parrot popular as a pet	bird
50	cockatoo	white or light-colored crested parrot of the Australian region; often kept as cage birds	bird
51	cockle	common edible, burrowing European bivalve mollusk that has a strong, rounded shell with radiating ribs	mollusc
52	cockroach	any of numerous chiefly nocturnal insects; some are domestic pests	insect
53	cod	major food fish of Arctic and cold-temperate waters	fish
54	coho	small salmon of northern Pacific coasts and the Great Lakes	fish
55	collie	a silky-coated sheepdog with a long ruff and long narrow head developed in Scotland	mammal
56	comb jelly	biradially symmetrical hermaphroditic solitary marine animals resembling jellyfishes having for locomotion eight rows...	other
57	comma butterfly	anglewing butterfly with a comma-shaped mark on the underside of each hind wing	insect
58	conch	any of various edible tropical marine gastropods of the genus Strombus having a brightly-colored spiral shell with...	mollusc
59	condor	the largest flying birds in the western hemisphere	bird
60	conger	large dark-colored scaleless marine eel found in temperate and tropical coastal waters; some used for food	fish
61	coot	slate-black slow-flying birds somewhat resembling ducks	bird
62	copperhead	common coppery brown pit viper of upland eastern United States	reptile
63	coral	marine colonial polyp characterized by a calcareous skeleton; masses in a variety of shapes often forming reefs	other
64	coral snake	any of several venomous New World snakes brilliantly banded in red and black and either yellow or white	reptile
65	corgi	either of two Welsh breeds of long-bodied short-legged dogs with erect ears and a fox-like head	mammal
66	cormorant	large voracious dark-colored long-necked seabird with a distensible pouch for holding fish; used in Asia to catch fish	bird
67	corn snake	large harmless snake of southeastern United States; often on farms	reptile
68	cotton rat	destructive long-haired burrowing rat of southern North America and Central America	mammal
69	cottonmouth	venomous semiaquatic snake of swamps in southern United States	reptile
70	cottontail	common small rabbit of North America having greyish or brownish fur and a tail with a white underside	mammal
71	cougar	large American feline resembling a lion	mammal
72	cow	female of domestic cattle:	mammal
73	cow shark	large primitive shark widely distributed in warm seas	fish
74	coyote	small wolf native to western North America	mammal
75	crab	decapod having eyes on short stalks and a broad flattened carapace with a small abdomen folded under the thorax and...	crustacean
76	crane	large long-necked wading bird of marshes and plains in many parts of the world	bird
77	crane fly	long-legged slender flies that resemble large mosquitoes but do not bite	insect
78	crappie	small sunfishes of central United States rivers	fish
79	crayfish	large edible marine crustacean having a spiny carapace but lacking the large pincers of true lobsters	crustacean
80	cricket	leaping insect; male makes chirping noises by rubbing the forewings together	insect
81	cricket frog	either of two frogs with a clicking call	amphibian
82	croaker	any of several fishes that make a croaking noise	fish
83	crocodile	large voracious aquatic reptile having a long snout with massive jaws and sharp teeth and a body covered with bony...	reptile
84	crow	black birds having a raucous call	bird
85	crustacean	any mainly aquatic arthropod usually having a segmented body and chitinous exoskeleton	crustacean
86	cuckoo	any of numerous European and North American birds having pointed wings and a long tail	bird
87	curlew	large migratory shorebirds of the sandpiper family; closely related to woodcocks but having a down-curved bill	bird
88	cuttlefish	ten-armed oval-bodied cephalopod with narrow fins as long as the body and a large calcareous internal shell	mollusc

Mammals that start with C

cat
cow
camel
cougar
coyote
cheetah
chimpanzee
chipmunk
capybara
cattle
collie
caribou
corgi
cotton rat
chinchilla
chamois
capuchin
cottontail
civet
carabao

Birds that start with C

chicken
crane
cardinal
crow
canary
cockatiel
cuckoo
condor
cockatoo
coot
cliff swallow
cormorant
curlew
chickadee
carrier pigeon
chimney swift
cassowary
chipping sparrow
cactus wren

Fish that start with C

catfish
cod
cisco
char
carp
carpet shark
cat shark
cow shark
conger
coho
crappie
croaker
cichlid
channel catfish
climbing perch

Reptiles that start with C

cobra
crocodile
chameleon
corn snake
coral snake
copperhead
caiman
cottonmouth

Amphibians that start with C

chorus frog
cricket frog

Insects that start with C

cricket
cockroach
cicada
crane fly
carpenter ant
carpenter bee
cabbage butterfly
carpet beetle
click beetle
clothes moth
cat flea
comma butterfly

Crustaceans that start with C

crab
crayfish
crustacean

Molluscs that start with C

clam
cuttlefish
conch
cockle

Other animals that start with C

caterpillar
centipede
clownfish
coral
comb jelly

Filter all 88 animals that start with C

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Questions people ask

How many animals start with C?

This list has 88 animals starting with C, from well-known ones like cat, chicken, cricket to rarer kinds.

What animals start with C?

Well-known examples are cat, chicken, cricket, cow, crane, cardinal, crow, crab.

What mammals start with C?

cat, cow, camel, cougar, coyote.

What birds start with C?

chicken, crane, cardinal, crow, canary.

What fish start with C?

catfish, cod, cisco, char, carp.

Source: Princeton WordNet, a public dictionary database, reviewed by our editors to keep only clear, real members of the list. Meanings are short dictionary glosses.

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