Animals That Start With F

45 animals Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 45 animals that start with F, 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.

F gathers 45 animals, with mammals, birds and insects in roughly equal measure. Fox, frog and fish are first-word favourites, and most kids can picture the pink flamingo straight away.

A striking pattern here is the word flying. The flying fish, flying squirrel, flying fox and flying lizard all glide or fly in some way. The fennec fox is a small desert fox with very large ears, and the firefly glows at night. The fossa, a cat-like hunter from Madagascar, is a good surprise for older students.

Animals starting with F: 45
Best known: fish, fly
Longest name: flying squirrel
Most are: mammals

Best-known animals that start with F

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

fish
fly
fox
frog
falcon
finch
flea
flying fish
firefly
fruit fly
flamingo
ferret
fruit bat
flounder
flying squirrel
fennec fox
fire salamander

All animals that start with F

#	Name	What it is	Type
1	fairy shrimp	small freshwater branchiopod having a transparent body with many appendages; swims on its back	crustacean
2	falcon	diurnal birds of prey having long pointed powerful wings adapted for swift flight	bird
3	false scorpion	small nonvenomous arachnid resembling a tailless scorpion	spider or scorpion
4	feather star	free-swimming stalkless crinoid with ten feathery arms; found on muddy sea bottoms	other
5	fence lizard	spiny lizard often seen basking on fences in the United States and northern Mexico	reptile
6	fennec fox	small desert fox with very large ears	other
7	ferret	domesticated albino variety of the European polecat bred for hunting rats and rabbits	mammal
8	ferret badger	small ferret-like badger of southeast Asia	mammal
9	field cricket	common American black cricket; attacks crops and also enters dwellings	insect
10	field mouse	any nocturnal Old World mouse of the genus Apodemus inhabiting woods and fields and gardens	mammal
11	field sparrow	common North American finch of brushy pasturelands	bird
12	fin whale	large flat-headed whalebone whale having deep furrows along the throat; of Atlantic and Pacific	mammal
13	finch	any of numerous small songbirds with short stout bills adapted for crushing seeds	bird
14	fire ant	omnivorous ant of tropical and subtropical America that can inflict a painful sting	insect
15	fire salamander	black and yellow salamander of European forests	amphibian
16	firebug	a true bug: brightly colored bug that can exude a stain	insect
17	firefly	nocturnal beetle common in warm regions having luminescent abdominal organs	insect
18	fish	any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills	fish
19	fish eagle	large harmless hawk found worldwide that feeds on fish and builds a bulky nest often occupied for years	bird
20	fish hawk	large harmless hawk found worldwide that feeds on fish and builds a bulky nest often occupied for years	bird
21	fisher	large dark brown North American arboreal carnivorous mammal	mammal
22	fisher cat	large dark brown North American arboreal carnivorous mammal	mammal
23	flamingo	large pink to scarlet web-footed wading bird with down-bent bill; inhabits brackish lakes	bird
24	flashlight fish	fish having a luminous organ beneath eye; of warm waters of the western Pacific and Puerto Rico	fish
25	flea	any wingless bloodsucking parasitic insect noted for ability to leap	insect
26	flea beetle	any small leaf beetle having enlarged hind legs and capable of jumping	insect
27	flicker	North American woodpecker	bird
28	flounder	any of various European and non-European marine flatfish	fish
29	flour beetle	an insect that infests flour and stored grains	insect
30	fluke	parasitic flatworms having external suckers for attaching to a host	worm
31	fly	two-winged insects characterized by active flight	insect
32	flycatcher	large American birds that characteristically catch insects on the wing	bird
33	flying fish	tropical marine fishes having enlarged winglike fins used for brief gliding flight	fish
34	flying fox	large bat with a head that resembles the head of a fox	mammal
35	flying lizard	any of several small tropical Asian lizards capable of gliding by spreading winglike membranes on each side of the body	reptile
36	flying squirrel	nocturnal phalangers that move with gliding leaps using parachute-like folds of skin along the sides of the body	mammal
37	fossa	largest carnivore of Madagascar; intermediate in some respects between cats and civets	mammal
38	fowl	a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl	bird
39	fox	alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs	mammal
40	fox squirrel	exceptionally large arboreal squirrel of eastern United States	mammal
41	frigate bird	long-billed warm-water seabird with wide wingspan and forked tail	bird
42	frog	any of various tailless stout-bodied amphibians with long hind limbs for leaping; semiaquatic and terrestrial species	amphibian
43	fruit bat	large Old World bat of warm and tropical regions that feeds on fruit	mammal
44	fruit fly	any of numerous small insects whose larvae feed on fruits	insect
45	fur seal	an eared seal of the northern Pacific	mammal

Mammals that start with F

fox
ferret
fruit bat
flying squirrel
fisher
flying fox
field mouse
fossa
fur seal
fisher cat
fin whale
fox squirrel
ferret badger

Birds that start with F

falcon
finch
flamingo
flicker
fowl
fish eagle
flycatcher
fish hawk
field sparrow
frigate bird

Fish that start with F

fish
flying fish
flounder
flashlight fish

Reptiles that start with F

fence lizard
flying lizard

Amphibians that start with F

frog
fire salamander

Insects that start with F

fly
flea
firefly
fruit fly
field cricket
fire ant
firebug
flour beetle
flea beetle

Other animals that start with F

fennec fox
feather star

Filter all 45 animals that start with F

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Questions people ask

How many animals start with F?

This list has 45 animals starting with F, from well-known ones like fish, fly, fox to rarer kinds.

What animals start with F?

Well-known examples are fish, fly, fox, frog, falcon, finch, flea, flying fish.

What mammals start with F?

fox, ferret, fruit bat, flying squirrel, fisher.

What birds start with F?

falcon, finch, flamingo, flicker, fowl.

What fish start with F?

fish, flying fish, flounder, flashlight fish.

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.

See every letter on one page: animals A to Z