Animals That Start With A in Spanish (Plus B to Z)

Animals that start with A in Spanish include abeja (bee), araña (spider), ardilla (squirrel), águila (eagle), avestruz (ostrich), and avispa (wasp). Below, each list follows the animal's Spanish spelling. Bear belongs under O as oso, whale under B as ballena, and cat under G as gato. Use the noun's first letter when looking up an animal; articles such as el and la show its grammatical gender. Spanish has 27 letters, including Ñ between N and O. Accented vowels stay with their base letters, so águila belongs under A.

The core animal words, with audio

Vocabcord's Spanish corpus carries 43 animal-themed phrases across its A1, A2 and C2 packs, from gato (cat) at the very start to depredador (predator) at the far end. The fifteen below are the A2 core set. Tap the play button on any row to hear the word spoken, then find each one under its Spanish first letter in the sections that follow.

Animals that start with A in Spanish

• la abeja: bee.
• el águila (feminine): eagle; plural las águilas.
• el ajolote: axolotl; a Mexican salamander.
• el alacrán: scorpion; also called el escorpión.
• el albatros: albatross; plural los albatros.
• el alce: moose.
• la almeja: clam.
• la anaconda: anaconda.
• la anguila: eel.
• el antílope: antelope.
• la araña: spider.
• la ardilla: squirrel.
• el armadillo: armadillo.
• el atún: tuna; plural los atunes.
• el avestruz: ostrich; plural los avestruces.
• la avispa: wasp.

For familiar garden animals, start with abeja, araña, ardilla, and avispa. Bee and wasp are separate words: una abeja and una avispa. An araña is an arachnid; it has eight legs and falls outside the insect group.

Águila needs special care. The noun is feminine, but the definite article becomes el immediately before its stressed initial a: el águila blanca, “the white eagle.” The adjective stays feminine. In the plural, use las águilas blancas.

Avestruz is masculine: el avestruz, los avestruces. Its article follows a different rule from águila. Two broader A words are el animal (animal) and el ave (bird, feminine; plural las aves). In a word game, check whether category words count.

Animals that start with B in Spanish

• la ballena: whale.
• el bisonte: bison.
• el búho: owl.
• el buitre: vulture.
• el burro: donkey.

Ballena, búho, and burro make a useful starting set. English “bear” becomes el oso, while “bird” can be el pájaro or el ave. Keep the written accent in búho; its h is silent.

Animals that start with C in Spanish

• el caballo: horse.
• la cabra: goat.
• el cangrejo: crab.
• el canguro: kangaroo.
• el caracol: snail.
• la cebra: zebra.
• el cerdo: pig.
• el chimpancé: chimpanzee; plural los chimpancés.
• el cocodrilo: crocodile.
• el conejo: rabbit.

This letter covers farm animals, pets, and wildlife. Chimpancé belongs here because ch is a two-letter combination within C. For zebra, learn cebra: the RAE's current usage guide discourages the disused spelling zebra.

Animals that start with D in Spanish

• el delfín: dolphin; plural los delfines.
• el dromedario: dromedary, or one-humped camel.

Delfín is a handy example of a written accent disappearing in the plural. The stressed syllable remains fin in delfines, but the longer form follows the regular stress rule without an accent mark.

Animals that start with E in Spanish

• el elefante: elephant.
• el erizo: hedgehog.
• el escarabajo: beetle.
• el escorpión: scorpion; plural los escorpiones.
• la estrella de mar: starfish.

Multiword animal names follow their first word. Estrella de mar therefore belongs under E. Escorpión and alacrán are alternative names for a scorpion, so the same kind of animal appears at two letters.

Animals that start with F in Spanish

• el faisán: pheasant; plural los faisanes.
• el flamenco: flamingo.
• la foca: seal.

Context tells you whether flamenco refers to the bird or to something associated with flamenco music and dance. La foca is the useful general animal word for a seal.

Animals that start with G in Spanish

• la gallina: hen.
• el gallo: rooster.
• el ganso: goose.
• el gato: cat.
• el gorila: gorilla.
• el gorrión: sparrow; plural los gorriones.

Learn gallina and gallo together to distinguish hen and rooster. Gorila ends in -a, yet el gorila is the standard general form. Word endings offer clues to gender, with plenty of exceptions.

Animals that start with H in Spanish

• el hámster: hamster; plural los hámsteres.
• la hiena: hyena.
• el hipopótamo: hippopotamus.
• la hormiga: ant.
• el hurón: ferret; plural los hurones.

The h in hormiga, hiena, hipopótamo, and hurón is silent. Hámster is a borrowed word whose initial sound varies in usage, so avoid using it as your model for the ordinary Spanish silent-h pattern.

Animals that start with I in Spanish

• la iguana: iguana.

Iguana is a straightforward answer for a letter game. El insecto means “insect” and names a broader group that includes bees, ants, and mosquitoes. It can work when the rules allow categories.

Animals that start with J in Spanish

• el jabalí: wild boar; plural los jabalíes or los jabalís.
• el jaguar: jaguar.
• la jirafa: giraffe.

The J in jirafa has the Spanish jota sound, which ranges from a throaty sound to a softer h-like sound across accents. The familiar English spelling “giraffe” can make this word easy to overlook at J.

Animals that start with K in Spanish

• el kiwi: kiwi, the flightless bird.
• el koala: koala.

These are established loanwords. Kiwi also names the fruit, so specify el kiwi, el ave when the context needs clarification. Borrowed origin alone does not make a word unsuitable for learners.

Animals that start with L in Spanish

• la lagartija: small lizard.
• el león: lion; plural los leones.
• el leopardo: leopard.
• la liebre: hare.
• el lince: lynx.
• la llama: llama.
• el lobo: wolf.
• el loro: parrot.

La liebre and el conejo distinguish hare and rabbit. Llama sits within L in the modern alphabet. Its double L has different pronunciations across the Spanish-speaking world, including y-like and sh-like sounds.

Animals that start with M in Spanish

• la mariposa: butterfly.
• la medusa: jellyfish.
• el mono: monkey.
• la mosca: fly.
• el mosquito: mosquito.
• el murciélago: bat.

Pair mosca with mosquito to keep fly and mosquito separate. Murciélago contains all five written vowels: u, i, é, a, o. That makes it a useful spelling challenge; remember the accent on é.

Animals that start with N in Spanish

• la nutria: otter.

There is an important regional wrinkle: the RAE also records nutria for the coipo, or coypu, in Argentina. English “nutria” commonly refers to that rodent. When identifying the animal in a photograph or wildlife guide, check the regional context.

Animals that start with Ñ in Spanish

• el ñandú: rhea; plural los ñandúes or los ñandús.
• el ñu: wildebeest; plural los ñus.

The ñandú is a South American flightless bird, while the ñu is an African hoofed mammal. They are useful, genuine Ñ answers. Pronounce ñ with a single palatal nasal sound, roughly like the middle sound in “canyon.”

Animals that start with O in Spanish

• la orca: orca, or killer whale.
• el ornitorrinco: platypus.
• la oruga: caterpillar.
• el oso: bear.
• la oveja: sheep.

This is where to find bear: oso starts with O. Oruga names the caterpillar life stage of a butterfly or moth, which is perfectly useful animal vocabulary even though it is a life-stage term.

Animals that start with P in Spanish

• el pájaro: bird.
• el pato: duck.
• el pavo: turkey.
• el perro: dog.
• el pez: fish; plural los peces.
• el pingüino: penguin.
• el pulpo: octopus.

Pájaro is common in everyday speech; ave is the broader zoological term for a bird. Pez normally refers to the living animal, while pescado is used for fish caught for food. In pingüino, the two dots tell you to pronounce the u.

Animals that start with Q in Spanish

• el quebrantahuesos: bearded vulture; plural los quebrantahuesos.
• el quetzal: quetzal; plural los quetzales.

Both are real bird names. Quebrantahuesos is especially useful in wildlife contexts; its name literally combines the ideas of breaking and bones. Quetzal also names Guatemala's currency. In both words, qu before e sounds like k, with a silent u.

Animals that start with R in Spanish

• la rana: frog.
• la rata: rat.
• el ratón: mouse; plural los ratones.
• el rinoceronte: rhinoceros.

Learn rata and ratón as separate animal words. Ratón also means a computer mouse. At the beginning of a word, Spanish r takes the strong sound also written rr between vowels.

Animals that start with S in Spanish

• la salamandra: salamander.
• el saltamontes: grasshopper; plural los saltamontes.
• el sapo: toad.
• la sardina: sardine.
• la serpiente: snake.

Serpiente is feminine regardless of the individual snake's sex. Sapo and rana provide the everyday distinction between toad and frog. Saltamontes keeps the same written form in singular and plural.

Animals that start with T in Spanish

• el tiburón: shark; plural los tiburones.
• el tigre: tiger.
• el topo: mole.
• el toro: bull.
• la tortuga: turtle or tortoise.

Spanish tortuga covers both turtles and tortoises. Add marina for a sea turtle or terrestre for a tortoise when the distinction matters. Toro and vaca distinguish bull and cow.

Animals that start with U in Spanish

• el ualabí: wallaby; an adapted loanword.
• el urogallo: capercaillie; a woodland grouse.
• la urraca: magpie.

Urraca is the simplest starting point for many learners. Urogallo is useful for birdwatching. Ualabí becomes relevant when checking W lists: FundéuRAE recommends this U spelling for the animal called “wallaby” in English.

Animals that start with V in Spanish

• la vaca: cow.
• el venado: deer.
• la víbora: viper.

Venado is especially useful in American Spanish; you will also encounter el ciervo for deer. Víbora names a kind of snake. Serpiente is the broader word to learn first.

Animals that start with W in Spanish

• el walabí: wallaby; a documented adapted spelling, also written ualabí.

W needs a spelling caveat. DiccET records walabí, while FundéuRAE recommends ualabí. The English spelling wallaby also appears in texts. For a quiz, use the spelling accepted by its dictionary; W has few broadly familiar animal names in Spanish.

Animals that start with X in Spanish

• el xoloitzcuintle: xoloitzcuintle, a Mexican dog breed.

This is a genuine X answer, particularly relevant in Mexico. It is a breed name, so check whether a game accepts breeds. Although often called the Mexican hairless dog, the breed includes coated dogs too, as the Mexican kennel federation's standard explains.

Animals that start with Y in Spanish

• el yak: yak; an established loanword.
• la yegua: mare.

Yegua is the everyday word for a female horse. It makes a useful pair with caballo, the general word for horse and also a term for a male horse.

Animals that start with Z in Spanish

• la zarigüeya: opossum.
• el zorro: fox.

Zorro is a useful first answer for Z. For zebra, use cebra under C. As in pingüino, the dots in zarigüeya indicate that the u is pronounced.

Letters with few or no common animal names

W and X offer much narrower choices than A or C. A documented spelling variant or a dog breed can answer a particular question, but neither represents an extensive list of everyday vocabulary. The caveats above let you decide what counts for your purpose.

Ñ is a full Spanish letter, and ñandú and ñu belong in its own section. Accents such as the one in águila create no additional alphabet sections.

What about animals starting with CH and LL?

El chimpancé answers a CH search, and la llama answers an LL search. Older teaching materials may give these combinations separate alphabet positions. Modern Spanish treats them as digraphs, with their words sorted inside C and L.

How to learn these animal names

Keep the article attached

Learn la serpiente, el gorila, and el águila as complete units. Grammatical gender does not automatically tell you the animal's sex. Where useful, learn a natural pair: el gato / la gata, el gallo / la gallina, or el caballo / la yegua.

For feminine águila, practice el águila blanca, esa águila, and las águilas. These three forms show the article exception, the feminine demonstrative, and the plural.

Practice plurals that change the spelling

Most vowel-ending words add -s: gato / gatos, abeja / abejas. Useful patterns include pez / peces, avestruz / avestruces, and ratón / ratones. Some forms stay unchanged, as in el saltamontes / los saltamontes. Learn these with their articles so number remains visible.

Listen for the spelling patterns

Use hormiga for silent H, araña for Ñ, and perro for the strong double R. In most Latin American accents, z and c before e or i sound like s. Much of Spain distinguishes them with the sound at the start of English “think.” Both patterns are standard.

Put a few names into real sentences

Una araña hizo su telaraña en el rincón means “A spider made its web in the corner.” This example also appears in the original Vocabcord article. Try shorter sentences of your own: Veo una ardilla (“I see a squirrel”) or Hay dos peces (“There are two fish”). The second sentence makes you retrieve a useful plural.

Common questions

What are ten animals that start with A in Spanish?

Abeja, águila, alce, almeja, anaconda, anguila, araña, ardilla, avestruz, and avispa. Their English meanings are bee, eagle, moose, clam, anaconda, eel, spider, squirrel, ostrich, and wasp.

What animals start with B in Spanish?

La ballena (whale), el bisonte (bison), el búho (owl), el buitre (vulture), and el burro (donkey).

What animals start with C in Spanish?

Examples include el caballo (horse), la cabra (goat), el cerdo (pig), el conejo (rabbit), la cebra (zebra), and el cocodrilo (crocodile).

What animal starts with I in Spanish?

La iguana (iguana). El insecto (insect) is another possibility if the question allows broad animal groups.

What animal starts with W in Spanish?

El walabí is a documented spelling for wallaby. FundéuRAE recommends the alternative ualabí, which sorts under U. Check the dictionary used by your game or assignment.

What animal starts with X in Spanish?

El xoloitzcuintle, a Mexican dog breed. It works when breed names are allowed.

What animals start with Q and Ñ in Spanish?

For Q, el quetzal and el quebrantahuesos. For Ñ, el ñandú (rhea) and el ñu (wildebeest).

What is bear in Spanish?

El oso, with the plural los osos. File it under O when sorting by Spanish spelling.

What animal starts with Z in Spanish?

El zorro (fox) and la zarigüeya (opossum). The recommended Spanish spelling for zebra is cebra, under C.