42 Gray Animals Found in Nature

Gray might be the color of stormy skies and rainy days, but it’s also the color of many different animals. You can find these gray creatures on land and in the water in every part of the world!

List of Gray Animals

Here are some of the most beautiful gray animals found in nature:

1. African Grey Parrot

African Grey Parrot perched on branch.
  • Latin name: Psittacus erithacus
  • Habitat: Can be found in forested parts of equatorial Africa
  • Size: About 13″ long
  • Diet: Mostly fruit, nuts, and seeds
  • Colorful feature: This parrot is almost entirely slate gray, though the belly is a little lighter. Its short tail is bright crimson.

The African gray is one of the most intelligent bird species, and research has indicated that it reaches the same cognitive level of a four- to six-year-old child. One of the most famously researched African grays is a parrot named Alex. American researcher Irene Pepperberg worked extensively with him and published several papers illustrating his cognitive abilities.

2. Koala

Two koalas sitting together in a tree with one in the background.
  • Latin name: Phascolarctos cinereus
  • Habitat: Forested parts of eastern and southeastern Australia
  • Size: About 24″-33″ long
  • Diet: Mostly eucalyptus leaves, though they also will eat leaves of other trees
  • Colorful feature: The very distinctive koala’s coat is usually a light to medium grizzled gray. It has a ruff of white fur around the neck and tufts of fur on the ears.

Though some people call this animal a koala bear, it’s not closely related to bears at all. It’s a marsupial that only eats plants and spends much of its life in trees. Since it’s native to Australia and has such a unique appearance, it’s considered to be a symbol of Australia.

3. Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose dolphin leaping out of water.
  • Latin name: Tursiops sp.
  • Habitat: Can be found in most of the world’s oceans, except for those very far north or south
  • Size: Up to about 13′ long
  • Diet: Fish, shrimp, mollusks, squid, and cuttlefish
  • Colorful feature: The coloring of the bottlenose dolphin is somewhat variable. Most are a soft to medium gray, with the back being darker than the sides. Some are more bluish-gray, and others are so dark they are almost black.

Bottlenose dolphins are highly intelligent creatures who are sometimes able to help humans. In some cases, military forces have trained them to locate explosives planted in the ocean. Dolphins also are able to work with fishing boats. They will sometimes chase fish into nets and then eat the ones that escape.

4. Black Roughneck Monitor

Black Roughneck Monitor on trunk.
  • Latin name: Varanus rudicollis
  • Habitat: Rainforests and mangrove swamps in Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, and parts of Indonesia
  • Size: About 3′-4′ long
  • Diet: Insects, fish, small mammals, frogs, and reptiles
  • Colorful feature: The black roughneck monitor’s color changes with age. Younger lizards have various markings that make them appear gray. The markings fade and the lizards become darker with age, and they sometimes fade to complete black.

The black roughneck monitor is sometimes kept as a pet. But while monitors in general have a reputation for being aggressive, the black roughneck monitor is typically shy.

5. Gray Kingbird

Close-up of Gray Kingbird.
  • Latin name: Tyrannus dominicensis
  • Habitat: Areas with trees and shrubs in parts of the southernmost United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America
  • Size: About 9.1″ long
  • Diet: Mostly insects, though they eat fruit and occasionally eat spiders and small lizards
  • Colorful feature: The gray kingbird’s upperparts are a pale to medium gray or blue-gray. Both the wings and the face have black markings, and the belly is so pale that it’s nearly white.

This graceful bird is part of a family of birds called the tyrant flycatchers. The “tyrant” part of the name is a nod to the birds’ aggression; they will rush and attack even very large birds that start to encroach on their territory.

6. Gray Pansy Butterfly

Grey pansy butterfly perched on a flower while spreading its wings.
  • Latin name: Junonia atlites
  • Habitat: Can be found across much of southern Asia
  • Size: Wingspan about 2.2″-2.6″
  • Diet: Various types of nectar
  • Colorful feature: This beautiful butterfly’s base color is a lovely gray that’s tinged with both brown and lavender. The outer edges of the wings are dotted with eyespots, some of which have touches of orange.

If you’re in the southern part of Asia and want to see one of these butterflies, the good news is that they’re pretty easy to spot! The gray pansy can often be found in residential areas and at the edges of forests. It’s also fond of areas with plenty of water. 

7. Lagoon Triggerfish

Close-up of Lagoon triggerfish swimming at reef in Red Sea.
  • Latin name: Rhinecanthus aculeatus
  • Habitat: Can be found in coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region
  • Size: Up to about 12″ long
  • Diet: Mostly reef algae and invertebrates, though they will often eat almost anything they are able to
  • Colorful feature: The lagoon triggerfish is also called the Picasso triggerfish, and it’s easy to see why! Its base color is a shade of cool gray, and its sides are marked with a number of white, yellow, and blue streaks and lines.

This colorful fish also has the ability to see the world in color. The lagoon triggerfish has trichromatic vision, meaning it has three channels for communicating color information. This is the same type of vision that humans have!

8. African Elephant

African pygmy elephant with beautiful sunset in background.
  • Latin name: Loxodonta sp.
  • Habitat: Can be found in woodlands, scrublands, rainforests, and arid regions in sub-Saharan Africa
  • Size: Females up to 8.5′ tall at the shoulder; males up to 13′ tall
  • Diet: Just about any kind of vegetation
  • Colorful feature: The African elephant has distinctive, leathery gray skin. Its long, curved white tusks form a striking contrast.

Elephants are highly social animals, and they’re quite communicative. They often communicate with low-frequency calls that humans can’t hear. They’re also able to identify individual elephants by their calls.

9. Dutch Rabbit

A female gray and white Dutch rabbit isolated on white.
  • Latin name: Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus
  • Habitat: Domestic
  • Size: About 3.5-5.5 lbs.
  • Diet: Domestic rabbit food, grass, and other plant matter
  • Colorful feature: Dutch rabbits have characteristic markings like those shown in the picture. Some rabbits are patterned with gray and white. While all Dutch varieties include white, the darker markings may be black, blue, chinchilla, chocolate, gray, steel, tortoise, or gold.

Before the advent of the dwarf rabbit, the Dutch was the most popular rabbit breed. It remains among the top 10 rabbit breeds, and it’s popular among pet owners and exhibitors alike.

10. Sea Mullet

A flathead grey mullet in an aquarium.
  • Latin name: Mugil cephalus
  • Habitat: Coastal waters in subtropical, tropical, and temperate areas across the world
  • Size: About 12″-30″ long
  • Diet: Mostly zooplankton and algae
  • Colorful feature: The sea mullet’s sides are silvery gray and fade to white near the belly. Its back is deep gray-green to olive green.

The sea mullet is used for food around the world, and it’s both caught in the wild and farmed. Sea mullet egg masses are also made into specialty food. The masses of eggs are salted, dried out, and pressed. 

11. Gray Seal

Grey seal sitting on rocks.
  • Latin name: Halichoerus grypus
  • Habitat: Can be found along both shores of the northern Atlantic Ocean
  • Size: Males 6’5″-7’7″ long; females 5’3″-6’5″ long
  • Diet: Various types of fish
  • Colorful feature: Gray seals are typically silvery gray with paler, dark-splotched bellies. Some individuals are closer to brown than they are to gray, and males are usually darker than females. But when pups are born, they are usually white or silvery white.

The gray seal’s scientific name translates to “hook-nosed sea pig.” Given its size and large volume of blubber, the name is accurate! Seal pups usually don’t have too much trouble gaining blubber rapidly. The milk of mother seals is up to 60% fat! In the United States, gray seals were once almost completely eliminated due to hunting for meat, oil, and skins. However, populations seem to have returned to healthy levels.

12. Gray Wolf

Gray Wolf in a snowy forest.
  • Latin name: Canis lupus
  • Habitat: Can be found in many areas across North America and Eurasia
  • Size: About 31″-33″ tall at the shoulder
  • Diet: Mostly wild hoofed mammals like deer and moose
  • Colorful feature: There are many subspecies of the gray wolf, but most of them have gray, grizzled coats like the animal in the picture.

This species has become highly successful across much of the Northern Hemisphere. It’s uniquely adapted for pack hunting, and a pack of wolves can take down even very large animals like moose. They can kill and eat smaller animals. When killing mice, voles, or similar animals, wolves will jump up and slam their front paws down on the prey to stop it from moving.

13. Gray Heron

Great blue heron bird in the woods.
  • Latin name: Ardea cinerea
  • Habitat: Wetlands in temperate parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa
  • Size: Up to 3’3″ tall
  • Diet: Mostly various small aquatic animals
  • Colorful feature: The gray heron is made up of several separate gray shades. The wings and back are steely blue-gray, the flight feathers are almost black, and the neck is very soft gray.

The majestic gray heron is quite a sight whether you spot it on land or in flight. Its regal appearance has led to its inclusion in myth: the ancient Egyptian deity Bennu was often portrayed in art as a heron.

14. Gray Jay

Gray Jay perched in a snowy tree.
  • Latin name: Perisoreus canadensis
  • Habitat: Can be found in coniferous forests, mainly in northern North America
  • Size: About 9.8″-13″ long
  • Diet: Includes insects, fruit, fungi, carrion, nestling birds, and other small animals
  • Colorful feature: The pretty gray jay has a body that appears to be gradient shaded; the white face fades into the soft gray belly, while the upperparts and the back of the head are darker gray.

This pretty bird also goes by a few other names. You may hear it called the Canada jay, camp robber, or whisky jack. The name “whisky jack” comes from the bird’s historical association with Wisakedjak, a character in First Nations mythology. The name Wisakedjak was eventually anglicized to Whiskyjack.

15. Mertens’ Water Monitor

A Mertens' water monitor perched on a tree trunk.
  • Latin name: Varanus mertensi
  • Habitat: Can be found across much of northern Australia
  • Size: Up to about 3’3″ long
  • Diet: Mostly fish, frogs, and carrion, though they may also eat insects and smaller land vertebrates
  • Colorful feature: When you look up close, this monitor’s scales appear to be almost beaded. Its body is mostly deep gray to gray-brown, and the belly is nearly white.

This unusual lizard is classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an endangered species. One of the major threats to its population is the rapidly-spreading cane toad, as the lizards can die from poisoning after eating the toads.

16. Lizard Buzzard

Lizard Buzzard perched on tree trunk.
  • Latin name: Kaupifalco monogrammicus
  • Habitat: Mostly savanna woodlands in sub-Saharan Africa
  • Size: About 13.8″-14.6″ long
  • Diet: Mostly smaller reptiles, mammals, and invertebrates
  • Colorful feature: This striking, large-eyed bird has a body that is almost entirely slate gray. The tips of its tail and flight feathers are jet black set off by white.

Despite its name, the lizard buzzard is most likely more closely related to hawks than it is to buzzards. It also eats more than just lizards! Rather than flying in search of prey, it prefers to sit on a perch and wait for a potential meal. It then will swoop from the perch to make the catch.

17. Gray Angelfish

Gray Angelfish swimming in aquarium.
  • Latin name: Pomacanthus arcuatus
  • Habitat: Can be found in coral reefs in the western Atlantic Ocean
  • Size: Up to 24″ long
  • Diet: Mostly sponges, though they also eat algae and very small marine organisms like tunicates
  • Colorful feature: This fish’s flattened body is a rich medium gray that is marked with gem-like black spots. The fins are also tinged in black, though there is also a bright yellow fin on either side of the face.

In Jamaica, this fish is called the “pot cover.” It’s easy to see why: its flat body and its steel gray color do make it look a bit like a pot lid.

18. Irish Wolfhound

Irish Wolfhound in the snow.
  • Latin name: Canis lupus familiaris
  • Habitat: Domestic
  • Size: About 32″-34″ tall at shoulder
  • Diet: Domestic dog food
  • Colorful feature: Most people think of Irish wolfhounds as being gray. Many are indeed a smoky gray color, but these dogs can also be fawn, white, black, brindle, or red.

This breed was originally developed as a hunting dog. As the name suggests, it is especially skilled at hunting wolves, though it makes a great guard dog as well. The original breed is thought to have died out almost completely, and the modern Irish wolfhound is the result of an effort to approximate the appearance and hunting prowess of the original.

19. Gray Hawk

Grey Hawk Perched on Branch.
  • Latin name: Buteo plagiatus
  • Habitat: Can be found in forests, along river edges, savanna, and agricultural areas from Costa Rica to the southwestern United States
  • Size: About 18″-24″ long
  • Diet: Mostly snakes, lizards, mammals, frogs, and birds
  • Colorful feature: This pretty hawk is gray, but it also has some interesting patterns. The upperparts are solid gray, while the belly is pale and banded. Its tail is black with white bands.

This bird is also known as the Mexican goshawk. Interestingly enough, it sometimes migrates. Birds in the northern part of the species range will migrate south for the winter, but those in the southern part of the range stay in the same place all year.

20. Copperbelly Water Snake

Copperbelly water snake resting on a rock.
  • Latin name: Nerodia erythrogaster neglecta
  • Habitat: Lowland swamps and similar areas in the central United States
  • Size: About 3′-5′ long
  • Diet: Frogs, tadpoles, small fish, salamanders, and sometimes crawfish
  • Colorful feature: This unique water snake’s back is black to dark blue-gray. Its belly is very bright reddish orange.

Despite its alarming orange belly, this snake is not venomous. But even if you’re worried about being bitten, you probably don’t need to be. The copperbelly water snake is so secretive that it’s hardly ever seen! It isn’t believed to be endangered, but some states have policies to protect it by law.

21. Blue-Gray Tanager

Blue-gray tanager on a branch in the rain
  • Latin name: Thraupis episcopus
  • Habitat: Can be found in woodlands, garden, and farmland from Mexico to the Amazon Basin
  • Size: About 6.3″-7.1″ long
  • Diet: Mostly fruit, though it also eats insects and nectar
  • Colorful feature: This pretty bird looks like something out of a pastel painting! Its back is very soft gray, and the sides and belly have touches of blue. However, the color balance varies somewhat from bird to bird. Some have more blue and others have more gray.

The tanager family is one of the most colorful in the bird world. This bird has softer colors, but it’s still beautiful! The name for it in Trinidad and Tobago, appropriately, is “blue jean.”

22. Sailfin Catfish

Sailfin Catfish in aquarium.
  • Latin name: Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps
  • Habitat: Can be found in the Orinoco and Amazon River basins in South America
  • Size: About 19.7″ long
  • Diet: Mostly aquatic plants, though it will also eat dead animals it finds
  • Colorful feature: This unique and somewhat intimidating catfish has a body that’s uniform in color. Many individuals are black, but some are dark charcoal gray.

The sailfin catfish is one of the most popular catfish varieties in the aquarium. That’s because it eats algae and effectively cleans the tank. Typically, these fish aren’t bred in captivity for the aquarium trade. Rather, people in tropical areas farm them in large ponds or pools.

23. Armadillo

Armadillo in the brush.
  • Latin name: Cingulata order
  • Habitat: Exact habitat depends on species and location
  • Size: About 30″ long on average
  • Diet: Insects, other invertebrates, and various types of plant matter
  • Colorful feature: The armadillo is covered in “armor” made of bone covered in keratin-rich scales. Most species are some shade of gray, and the texture of the armor adds a lot of visual interest.

Many people assume that “armadillo” refers to one animal species. But as you can see, there’s an entire order of armadillos! Today, armadillos are not especially large in size. But their ancestors, called glyptodonts, could reach weights of 4,400 lb or more!

24. Blue Cochin Chicken

Free range blue Cochin chicken in a snow storm.
  • Latin name: Gallus gallus domesticus
  • Habitat: Domestic
  • Size: About 7-13 lb
  • Diet: Domestic chicken feed, insects, sometimes small vertebrates, and various types of plant matter
  • Colorful feature: The blue Cochin is a lovely shade of blue-gray. Often, the head and neck are a slightly darker shade. However, the breed also comes in several other colors. These include partridge, silver-laced, black, buff, and white.

The Cochin is quite a recognizable breed of chicken! It’s very large and fluffy with feathered legs. If you like Cochins but want to keep smaller chickens, you might be interested in the bantam variety. Bantam Cochins are essentially miniature versions of the breed, and they are about 1/3 the size of standard Cochins.

25. Florida Scrub Lizard

Florida Scrub Lizard on rock with pink budding flowers.
  • Latin name: Sceloporus woodi
  • Habitat: Can be found in scrubby areas in parts of Florida
  • Size: About 5″ long
  • Diet: Small arthropods and sometimes smaller lizards
  • Colorful feature: This small lizard’s back is an almost-uniform pale gray or sandy brown. There are also two stripes running down the length of the body. Males have beautiful, bright patches of sky blue to turquoise on the throat and belly. Females usually don’t have these patches.

This unique lizard is only found in Florida, and its various populations are isolated from one another. Unfortunately, the IUCN classifies it as being near threatened. Its population has been in decline largely due to the destruction of its habitat.

26. Ashy Mining Bee

Ashy mining bee on flowers.
  • Latin name: Andrena cineraria
  • Habitat: Can be found across much of Europe
  • Size: Up to about 0.6″ long
  • Diet: Nectar and pollen
  • Colorful feature: You might not think of bees as being gray, but the ashy mining bee has distinctive ash-gray fuzz. Females have a thorax with two noticeable bands of gray fuzz. Males look similar, but the thorax is entirely covered in gray fuzz.

This bee’s name comes from the fact that its nests are burrows. From above, each burrow looks like a simple narrow hole. However, underneath the ground, each burrow includes several “brood cells.” Each is a small tunnel where a female bee puts pollen and nectar. The female bee also lays one egg in each cell.

27. Gray Triggerfish

Gray Triggerfish swimming near rocks.
  • Latin name: Balistes capriscus
  • Habitat: Shallow areas in the eastern and western Atlantic, as well as the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of Angola
  • Size: Up to about 24″ long
  • Diet: Various ocean invertebrates that feed on the sea floor
  • Colorful feature: This fish is usually pale to medium gray with a few dark bands on the body. However, it can also be yellowish brown. As the fish age, their color fades somewhat.

This isn’t the most colorful triggerfish in the world, but it still has a remarkable appearance. The fish’s body is so compressed that it almost looks flat. The skin is also thick and leathery. The texture and color of the skin make it look a bit like the skin of an elephant!

28. Donkey

Grey donkey in field.
  • Latin name: Equus africanus asinus
  • Habitat: Domestic
  • Size: About 35″-59″ tall at withers
  • Diet: Domestic donkey feed, though they also can eat a variety of plant matter
  • Colorful feature: Many donkeys are a shade of medium gray to gray-brown. Almost all have a distinctive cross marking. There is a dark dorsal stripe as well as a dark horizontal stripe across the withers.

The donkey is often used as a pack animal in many parts of the world. In more developed countries, it’s more frequently kept as a pet. Donkeys are capable of breeding with horses. The offspring of a male donkey and a female horse is a mule, while the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey is a hinny.

29. Gray Four-Eyed Opossum

Young Four-eyed Opossum on white background.
  • Latin name: Philander opossum
  • Habitat: Forested areas from parts of Mexico to Brazil
  • Size: About 16″-27″ long
  • Diet: Insects, small land animals, snails, crustaceans, fruit, and nectar
  • Colorful feature: This pretty possum is mostly a very dark gray in color. It has a white spot above each eye as well as a soft cream-colored underside.

You might know possums as the animals that play dead when threatened, but this one doesn’t! It will open its mouth and hiss at potential predators, and it will even attack them if they aren’t scared off immediately.

30. Northern Gray Treefrog

Northern Gray Treefrog on rock.
  • Latin name: Dryophytes versicolor
  • Habitat: Can be found in areas with trees in southeastern Canada and the eastern United States
  • Size: About 1.5″-2″ long
  • Diet: Mostly various arthropods, though they sometimes eat smaller frogs as well
  • Colorful feature: This distinctive tree frog often looks a lot like a toad. Its back is covered with splashy markings of dark or light gray. However, it also has bright yellow patches on the hind legs!

As you can probably tell from the picture, this frog’s pattern has a primary purpose of allowing it to camouflage. The pattern looks a lot like dead leaves or tree bark, so the frogs can often hide from predators in plain sight!

31. Gray Crowned Crane

Grey Crowned Crane in grass.
  • Latin name: Balearica regulorum
  • Habitat: Can be found across dry savannas in sub-Saharan Africa
  • Size: About 3.3′ tall
  • Diet: Various types of plant matter as well as insects, frogs, fish, snakes, and eggs
  • Colorful feature: This magnificent animal has a dark gray body with silky, light gray feathers on the neck. Its name comes from its “crown” of gold feathers atop the head.

Thanks to its beauty, the gray-crowned crane has some cultural importance. It is Uganda’s national bird, and it can even be found on the coat of arms and the flag of the country. The crane has also been used comically in movies, as it appeared as a villain in Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and other films.

32. Egyptian Mau

Egyptian Mau isolated on black background.
  • Latin name: Felis catus
  • Habitat: Domestic
  • Size: About 11″-14″ tall
  • Diet: Domestic cat food
  • Colorful feature: The Egyptian Mau is spotted, but the spots only appear on the tips of the hairs. Some Maus are silver, smoke-colored, or pewter-colored with black spots!

Most domestic cats aren’t spotted, and the Egyptian Mau is one of the few. It’s an unusual breed in a few other ways: it can run faster than any other cat breed, and it also makes a wide variety of vocalizations.

33. Gray Go-Away Bird

Gray Go-Away Bird on branch.
  • Latin name: Corythaixoides concolor
  • Habitat: Can be found in savannas and woodlands in the southern parts of tropical Africa
  • Size: About 18.5″-20″ long
  • Diet: Mostly fruit, buds, leaves, flowers, snails, and termites
  • Colorful feature: These birds are entirely gray, though their crests are a bit lighter and often tinged in brown. They also have uniquely heavy black beaks.

This unusual bird has a call that’s similar to its name. Especially if it’s upset, it has a call that sounds like “go-waaaaay.” You might be able to spot it foraging in trees in large groups. But the go-away bird also gathers together to take dust baths on the ground, much like chickens do.

34. Gray Whale

Grey whale breaching.
  • Latin name: Eschrichtius robustus
  • Habitat: Can be found close to both shores of the northern Pacific Ocean
  • Size: Up to about 49′ long
  • Diet: Mostly small ocean crustaceans
  • Colorful feature: This large whale’s body is almost entirely slate gray. It’s also marked with white patches, most of which are from scarring from parasites.

Gray whales are not considered to be endangered or at risk of extinction, largely because they have been protected from commercial hunting since 1949. However, they can legally be hunted for subsistence in small numbers.

35. Gray Cross Spider

Gray Cross Spider on web.
  • Latin name: Larinioides sclopetarius
  • Habitat: Can be found in various habitat types across much of the Northern Hemisphere
  • Size: Males about 0.3″ long; females about 0.4″-0.6″ long
  • Diet: Various types of insects
  • Colorful feature: This interesting spider often appears somewhat mottled with various shades of gray. It often includes a few patches of ochre-like yellow.

This creature is sometimes called the bridge spider. That’s because it seems to have a preference for building its webs on bridges. During the day, it often hides from view and can be hard to spot. But at night, it likes to come out and sit in its orb-shaped web, waiting for prey to become caught in its web. If you see one of these spiders’ webs, you’ll probably see another, as they often like to spin webs beside one another.

36. Gray Plover

Black-bellied Plover walking on mud flats.
  • Latin name: Pluvialis squatarola
  • Habitat: Lives on Arctic coasts and islands in the breeding season and migrates to coasts worldwide in winter
  • Size: About 11″-12″ long
  • Diet: Mostly crustaceans, small mollusks, and insects
  • Colorful feature: In the non-breeding season, these birds have upperparts that are ash-gray to taupe. In the breeding season, their backs are mottled with black and white (or gray and white) and the underside is splashed with inky black.

If you spot this bird in breeding plumage and then in non-breeding plumage, you might think you’ve seen two different species! But unless you live in an Arctic region, you likely won’t see the bird in its striking and high-contrast breeding plumage.

37. Connemara Pony

Connemara Pony standing on dirt road.
  • Latin name: Equus ferus caballus
  • Habitat: Domestic
  • Size: About 52″-60″ tall at withers
  • Diet: Various types of plants as well as domestic horse feed
  • Colorful feature: Connemara ponies come in a number of colors. As you can see in the photo, some are an especially lovely steely gray. As is the case with other breeds, most Connemara ponies born dark gray gradually fade to white or near-white as they age.

The Connemara pony originated in Ireland’s Connemara region, but the breed was refined by the addition of Arabian, Thoroughbred, and Hackney pony blood. Thanks to their athleticism, good looks, and gentle natures, these ponies are excellent show ponies.

38. Roundtail Horned Lizard

Roundtail horned lizard on rock.
  • Latin name: Phrynosoma modestum
  • Habitat: Can be found in semiarid habitats in parts of the southwestern United States and north-central Mexico
  • Size: Up to about 4.3″ long
  • Diet: Mostly harvester ants and honeypot ants
  • Colorful feature: Most of these lizards are fairly flat gray in color. However, color varies depending on habitat. For instance, in an area with light brown soil, roundtail horned lizards are more likely to be light brown.

This lizard’s pronounced brow ridge and spiky head make it look perpetually grumpy. It’s one of many horned lizard species, although it’s one of the smallest. Though it’s actually a lizard, its almost circular body and short, small tail make it appear almost toadlike. To camouflage, it hunches over to look like a rock.

39. Gray Hairstreak Butterfly

A gray hairstreak butterfly on leaf.
  • Latin name: Strymon melinus
  • Habitat: Can be found in a huge range of habitat types across almost all of North America and Central America, as well as parts of South America
  • Size: Wingspan about 0.79″-1.26″
  • Diet: Various types of nectar
  • Colorful feature: You might think a gray butterfly would look dull, but this one is anything but. The upper surface of its wings is distinctive blue-gray, and there’s an orange spot on each hindwing. The underside of the wings is softer gray with a few orange markings as well.

Many butterfly species are quite picky when it comes to habitat types, but the gray hairstreak is very adaptable. It can be found in cities, farmland, mountains, meadows, and even tropical forests. It can survive on a wide variety of host plants, which is part of why it now has such a large range.

40. Harpy Eagle

The Harpy Eagle with green nature background.
  • Latin name: Harpia harpyja
  • Habitat: Can be found in rainforests in parts of Mexico, Central America, and South America
  • Size: About 2’10”-3’6″ long
  • Diet: Mostly mammals that live in trees, though it can consume a variety of other animals, too
  • Colorful feature: This beautiful eagle is mostly dark slate gray. Its white legs are banded with black or near-black. The harpy eagle’s head is paler gray, and it has a jet-black crest.

This eagle is one of the largest eagles in the world. Its talons are incredibly massive, and researchers have seen it carry prey up to its own body weight. Like many raptors, it’s a fairly opportunistic feeder. However, it seems to prefer to focus on eating sloths. It also preys on monkeys, especially those of medium size.

41. Northern Gray-Cheeked Salamander

Northern Gray-cheeked Salamander on moss.
  • Latin name: Plethodon montanus
  • Habitat: Can be found in the forests of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States
  • Size: Up to 6″ long
  • Diet: Mostly smaller invertebrates found on the forest floor
  • Colorful feature: This pretty, delicate salamander is a deep, glossy gray in color. As you can see in the photo, it also has large, striking black eyes.

Though many people might think of salamanders as being primitive, this species does a fairly intricate courtship dance. To start, the male nudges a female with his nose. He then does a dance and circles under the female, and the two of them walk together.

42. Nepal Gray Langur

Close-up of a Gray Langur eating.
  • Latin name: Semnopithecus schistaceus
  • Habitat: Forests across much of the Himalayan Mountains
  • Size: Up to about 46″ long
  • Diet: Mostly various types of leaves, fruit, flowers, insects, bark, gum, and even soil
  • Colorful feature: This striking monkey’s body is mostly smoky gray. It has a large white ruff of fur around its face, which is completely black.

The Nepal gray langur is a great example of how an animal species can continually adapt to environmental hazards. Its diet includes a lot of strychnine, a neurotoxin that comes from the leaves of the strychnine tree. In order to make sure they don’t suffer any ill effects from strychnine consumption, these animals eat kulu tree gum.

Gray Animals From Around the World

You probably noticed some familiar gray animals on the list, but hopefully you discovered a new one or two. Though many of us may think of gray as a dull color, these exciting creatures prove otherwise!

Explore beautiful creatures of all colors and types in this list of colorful animals.