The animal kingdom is as diverse as it can be. There are many different species with unique characteristics. Some of them have pretty interesting facts about them. In this overview, we rounded up common animals that start with H.
A quick Google search will give you tons of results. However, this is a comprehensive guide of animals starting with H in one place. We have a lot of animals to cover. So, let’s get started.
List of Animals That Start with H by Classes
These are the list of animals that start with H which are categorized as Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes, and Invertebrates.
Mammals That Start with Letter H
Birds That Start with Letter H
Reptiles That Start with Letter H
Amphibians That Start with Letter H
Fish that Start with H
Hake
Halfmoon
Hitch
Hardhead
Honey Gourami
Insects and Invertebrates Beginning with H
List of Animals That Start With H: Classification, Behavior, and Facts
There are a lot of animals that start with the letter G. Let’s take a look at some of them and learn about them:
1. Hamster
Scientific name: Cricetinae
Type of animal: Rodent
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Hamsters like living in dry and warm places like dunes and deserts in the wild. But they can also live in urban areas as pets.
Average lifespan: 2 – 3 years
Diet: A hamster’s primary diet consists of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains.
Fun Fact: Hamster burrows have separated spaces for sleeping and eating.
Hamsters are super adorable and make great pets. They do not need daily grooming. However, they need plenty of exercise, though. Hamsters are a rodent and belong to the Cricetinae family.
They have small round bodies, which make them look very adorable. Additionally, female hamsters are typically larger than the male ones.
2. Hagfish
Scientific name: Myxini
Type of animal: Agnathans
Phylum: Chordate
Habitat: These are saltwater fish that live on muddy ocean floors.
Average lifespan: 17 – 40 years
Diet: Hagfish feed on fish, carcasses and small invertebrates.
Fun Fact: Hagfish have a unique way of feeding by slithering into their food and eating it from the inside out.
Next up on our list of animals that start with the letter H is the hagfish. Hagfish are not the cutest. They are often considered the most repulsive creatures on earth. But they are still important to our ecosystem. That is why the third Wednesday of every October is Hagfish Day.
These fish have long, slender and slimy bodies like an eel. They feed on carcasses but also sometimes hunt for food. Hagfishes use sensory tentacles to find food. They can also absorb nutrients through their skin.
3. Hammerhead Shark
Scientific name: Sphyrnidae
Type of animal: Fish
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Hammerheads live in continental shelves and coastal places.
Average lifespan: 20 – 30 years
Diet: Primary diet of hammerhead sharks consists of fish, stingrays, crustaceans and cephalopods.
Fun Fact: They have 360-degree vision, which helps them find prey easily.
One of the most recognizable sharks, hammerheads, has a unique hammer-like face. They use their weirdly shaped head to pin down stingrays at the bottom of the ocean.
Hammerhead eyes can see wide and are located at the ends of their head. This helps them scan the ocean efficiently. Female hammerheads give birth to live babies. Baby hammerhead shark heads are rounder. As they grow older, it becomes flatter.
4. Hare
Scientific name: Lepus
Type of animal: Mammal
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Hares live in grasslands, open farmlands and even woodlands.
Average lifespan: 2 – 12 years
Diet: Hares are herbivores. They eat roots, twigs, berries and even fungi.
Fun Fact: Hares appear very frequently in folklore and mythologies.
Hares are very closely related to rabbits. However, they are not the same. This is a common misconception. Hares are a completely separate species.
You can differentiate between a hare and a rabbit by their long ears. Rabbits have comparably smaller ears. Hares are also some of the fastest land animals reaching speeds of up to 45 mph! They are also very skittish animals.
5. Harp Seal
Scientific name: Pagophilus groenlandicus
Type of animal: Mammal
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Harp seals can be found across the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
Average lifespan: 25 – 40 years
Diet: Harp seals eat invertebrates and fish. Their diet consists of over 130 species of different invertebrates and fish.
Fun Fact: Harp seals can dive 1,312 feet and can stay underwater for up to 16 minutes.
Harp seals are one of the cutest animals that start with H. You will find these guys in the Atlantic and North Atlantic regions. They have slender bodies, which makes them very efficient swimmers.
A harp seal baby grows pretty fast too. When they are young, they practically have no blubber. But since they live in extremely cold climates, baby harp seals gain weight and fat extremely fast, feeding on their mother’s milk.
6. Harpy Eagle
Scientific name: Harpia harpyja
Type of animal: Raptor
Phylum: Chordate
Habitat: Harpy eagles mostly live in rainforests.
Average lifespan: 25 – 35 years
Diet: Harpy eagles mainly eat mammals like monkeys, slots and opossums.
Fun Fact: A harpy eagle’s rear talons can grow between 4 – 5 inches which is about the same size as a bear claw.
Harpy Eagles are majestic creatures and the world’s most powerful eagles. They get their name from a Greek mythology creature, a half bird and half human.
This bird has massive talons and can hunt prey with deadly precision. Harpy Eagles can weigh up to 20 LBS with a wingspan of 5.9 – 7.4 feet. Additionally, they are the national bird of Panama!
7. Hartebeest
Scientific name: Alcelaphus buselaphus
Type of animal: Mammal
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Hartebeest’s natural habitat has been constantly shrinking. Now they can be mostly found in the sub-Saharan grasslands only.
Average lifespan: 11 – 20 years
Diet: Hartebeests are herbivores and eat almost only grass.
Fun Fact: Red hartebeests can live without water if they can get their required liquid intake from their food. That is why they are also called pure-grazers.
You might not be too familiar with Hartebeests. They are an African antelope and, frankly, have weird-looking faces. Their long snouts and sloping backs are their primary characteristics.
These antelopes can run at speeds of up to 70 km and have a ton of endurance. Despite being hearty and strong creatures, hartebeests have many natural predators like cheetahs, lions, leopards, hyenas, jackals and even humans.
8. Hedgehog
Scientific name: Erinaceinae
Type of animal: Mammal
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Hedgehogs live in urban areas, woodlands, and in dense vegetation
Average lifespan: 3 – 6 years
Diet: Hedgehog’s primary diet consists of beetles, caterpillars, earwigs, millipedes, and more. Pet hedgehogs can also be fed food pellets.
Fun Fact: Hedgehogs love garden hedges and make grunting noises. That is where they get their name from.
Who does not love a cute hedgehog? They make adorable pets and have lived on this planet for quite a while. Scientists say hedgehogs evolved about 15 million years ago!
The prickly spines on their backs are certainly the most distinguishing feature. These spines are distinct from porcupines, though. They are made from keratin (the same material as our fingernails) and cannot be detached.
9. Hercules Beetle
Scientific name: Dynastes Hercules
Type of animal: Insect
Phylum: Arthropoda
Habitat: These large beetles mostly live in rainforests.
Average lifespan: 2.5 years
Diet: Hercules beetles love eating rotting heartwood. They also eat the fruits and tree sap of rotting trees.
Fun Fact: Only the males have horns. In addition, when Hercules beetles are disturbed, they make a distinct huffing sound.
The first thing that will strike you when you see a Hercules beetle for the first time is its massive size. Thus the name. They can grow up to 7 inches long, including the horn. Yes, a 7-inch beetle!
This beetle is a species of the Rhinoceros beetle and is the longest beetle in the world. Hercules beetles are very strong for their body weight as well. Although they might look very dangerous; they are harmless to humans.
10. Heron
Scientific name: Ardeidae
Type of animal: Bird
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Herons live on shores, swamps, marshes and tide flats.
Average lifespan: 15 – 20 years
Diet: Herons are carnivorous and bitterns. They mostly feed on aquatic animals like fish, crustaceans, molluscs and some insects.
Fun Fact: Despite their size, large herons do not weigh as much as you would expect because their bones are hollow.
There are 64 different kinds of Herons. Herons have recognizable S-shaped backs, long-slender beaks, and skinny legs. At a glance, they look the same as cranes. However, they are completely different birds.
Herons are mostly solitary. However, some species may live in large colonies, especially during breeding season.
11. Herring Gull
Scientific name: Larus argentatus
Type of animal: Bird
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Herring gulls can be found living in large lakes and coasts,
Average lifespan: Up to 50 years
Diet: These loud birds are omnivores. They eat primarily marine worms, sea urchins, birds, insects, eggs, fish and even crustaceans.
Fun Fact: Herring gull laughs are not ‘happy herring gull noises’. They are aggressive signals.
These noisy gulls can sometimes be a nuisance. They are pretty large too. Herring gulls are a species of seagulls and are the most common. You will see these gulls scavenging for food all the time.
These birds are infamous for their loud ‘laughs’, which makes sense since sound and body language are their primary forms of communication.
12. Hoatzin
Scientific name: Ophisthocomus hoazin
Type of animal: Bird
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Hoatzins mainly live in forests, freshwater mangroves and swamps.
Average lifespan: 14 – 15 years
Diet: They mostly eat swamp plants, flowers, leaves and roots.
Fun Fact: Hoatzins are often called stinkbirds because they produce a distinct and unpleasant smell.
Hoatzins are a species of tropical bird. They are beautiful, with spiky crests on the top of their heads. Speaking of their heads, they are unfeathered and very blue.
These birds live in big families and are non-migratory. Interestingly, Hoatzins are not the most efficient fliers. They mainly soar from one tree to another tree.
13. Honey Badger
Scientific name: Mellivora capensis
Type of animal: Mammal
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Honey badgers like cool mountains and warm rainforests. They can be found in Saudi Arabia, sub-Saharan Africa, western Asia and Iran.
Average lifespan: 7 – 8 years
Diet: Honey badgers love honey and honeybee larvae. They also like eating reptiles, insects, berries, birds and fruits.
Fun Fact: Honey badgers will practically eat anything, and they are also fearless.
Perhaps nature’s most resilient animal. Honey badgers are tough and strong-willed animals. They are related to skunks, ferrets and similar animals.
They are very mean and fearless creatures and will willingly take on animals much larger than them. They have thick but loose skin, which protects them. The looseness of the skin allows them to wriggle around.
14. Honey Buzzard
Scientific name: Pernis ptilorhynchus
Type of animal: Birds
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Mountain forests, Tropical or subtropical forests.
Average lifespan: 9 years
Diet: Buzzards primarily eat insects, small mammals, reptiles, worms, berries, fruit and eggs of other birds.
Fun Fact: These are monogamous birds and develop long-term relationships with their mates.
Not to be confused with the honey badger, the honey buzzard is a bird. These raptors are trouble for bees. That is where they get their name from.
Honey buzzards raid bee nests and also eat wasps. They are not the biggest of birds compared to eagles. However, they still have a wingspan of 4.2 – 49.9 feet.
15. Horn Shark
Scientific name: Heterodontus francisci
Type of animal: Fish
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Horn sharks prefer shallow water. In addition, warm to subtropical waters is its ideal habitat
Average lifespan: 12 years
Diet: These sharks eat food they find on the seafloor, like crabs, invertebrates, and even small fish
Fun Fact: Females lay eggs that are spiral-shaped. Then they wedge the eggs into a crevice.
Horn sharks are a bit different from other sharks. They do not swim around too much and prefer to hide on the seafloor. Sometimes, they even move around by crawling along the seafloor.
This shark likes to be in relatively shallow water. Since horn sharks are not fast swimmers, they do not migrate to other places.
16. Hornbill
Scientific name: Bucerotidae
Type of animal: Birds
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: They live in the mainlands of South Asia. So you would see them in Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, Malaysia.
Average lifespan: 40 years
Diet: Hornbills are omnivores. Most of their diet consists of reptiles, insects, small mammals, and other birds. They also eat figs.
Fun Fact: They can become friends with monkeys. Hornbills recognize the calls monkeys give when humans are nearby.
Hornbills are the national bird of Malaysia. They have a very distinct and bright casque on their heads. Their beaks are also very heavy.
For this reason, they have developed stronger necks than average. These birds are close to their families. They also have a cool way of communicating. Hornbills will beat their wings against the nest to communicate with other birds.
17. Horned Frog
Scientific name: Ceratophrys ornata
Type of animal: Amphibian
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: These frogs live in tropical swamps and rainforests.
Average lifespan: 5 – 8 years
Diet: Horned frogs primarily eat insects, roaches and worms.
Fun Fact: Horned frogs are known to choke themselves by trying to eat foods much larger than their size.
The horned frog is a very distinct animal compared to other frogs. They get their name because of the horns they have above each eye. However, they are not actually horns.
It is skin that acts as a protective flap. Their heads are also pretty big, along with their mouths. Which is sadly quite ironic since they are known to choke themselves by trying to eat large animals. They are also very close to being on the endangered species list.
18. Horseshoe Crab
Scientific name: Limulidae
Type of animal: Arthropods
Phylum: Arthropoda
Habitat: Lives in shallow coastal areas and soft sandy areas
Average lifespan: 30+ years
Diet: They mostly eat soft-shell clams, molluscs and worms.
Fun Fact: Horseshoe crabs do not have any white blood cells, and their blood is blue.
This blue-blooded creature predates even the dinosaurs. Yes, you read that right. Horseshoe crabs are ancient species. Even more interestingly, they are not crabs at all.
This creature has a hard exoskeleton and has ten legs. The legs are close to their mouth. They use their legs to also crawl around the ocean floor.
19. Humboldt Squid
Scientific name: Dosidicus gigas
Type of animal: cephalopod
Phylum: Mollusca
Habitat: These squids live in the deep ocean. Humboldt squids are native to South America’s tip and Mexico.
Average lifespan: 1 year
Diet: Humboldt squids are carnivores. They eat crustaceans, small fish, sharks, and even other squids and cephalopods.
Fun Fact: They only live about one year. However, they can grow to massive lengths within this short time.
The Humboldt squid is a species of large squid. They are also called jumbo squids. These gigantic squids can grow up to over 8 feet. And their appearance can also be menacing.
They have tough tentacles with 100 – 200 hooked suckers. The Humboldt squids are fascinating creatures. And also very terrifying.
20. Hummingbird
Scientific name: Trochilidae
Type of animal: Bird
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat:
Average lifespan: 3 to 5 years
Diet:
Fun Fact:
Hummingbirds are small cute little birds with colorful feathers. Their bills are long and narrow. They also have saber-like wings.
These small birds can flap their wings and stay completely still in the air. It is quite fascinating to see. It goes to show how much control they have when flying. Their ability to hover is one of their most distinguishing features.
21. Huntsman Spider
Scientific name: Sparassidae
Type of animal: Arachnid
Phylum: Arthropod
Habitat: Huntsman spider likes to live in warm areas. They hide in crevices, on rock walls and loose tree barks.
Average lifespan: 2.5 years
Diet: These spiders mostly eat insects, small lizards and mammals and even other spiders
Fun Fact: Unlike most spiders, the huntsman does not spin webs. They are more active hunters and crawl around in search of food.
If you live in Australia, you are properly intimately familiar with the huntsman spider. They are large spiders, with long legs that are fairly hairy.
Their front legs are longer than their back legs. They can live in small spaces and crawl in different directions. Quite terrifying, if you ask us.
22. Hyena
Scientific name: Hyaenidae
Type of animal: Mammal
Phylum: Chordata
Habitat: Hyenas live in grasslands and can also be found in the plains of the savannah.
Average lifespan: 20 – 25 years
Diet: Hyenas are carnivores. They mostly hunt animals like wildebeest, monkeys and even birds.
Fun Fact: Although hyenas look similar to dogs, they are more closely related to cats.
In pop culture, the hyena is often portrayed as villains. They are the bad guys of the wild. However, there is much more to them. Contrary to popular belief, they are not scavengers. Hyenas are skilled hunters.
Additionally, hyenas care a lot for their young and are loving mothers. Hyenas are not dumb, either. Sometimes, a hyena’s intelligence can rival that of the great apes.
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Wrapping Up
You now know more animals that start with H than most people. These are some of the most popular animals whose names start with H. There are other animals, but this list should be enough for most.
