By Staff Writer | Last Updated August 4, 2015
Animals that begin with the letter “u” include the uakari, Uganda kob, Uinta ground squirrel, Ulysses butterfly, umbrella bird, upupa, urial, uromastix, urraca and urubu. Four of these 10 animals are birds, four are mammals, one is a reptile, and one is an insect.
Uakaris are South American monkeys with bald heads and red faces. Their long, shaggy coats range from orange to brown. These monkeys live only in the Amazon River basin near rivers or lakes for a constant water supply. Uakaris have very short tails compared to other monkeys, yet they move through trees easily using their arms and legs.
Uinta ground squirrels live in mountain meadows of the western United States and burrow in soft soils. The rodents hibernate from September to April during cool months. Uinta ground squirrels are relatively large compared to other species.
The umbrella bird lives in rainforests of Central and South America. There are three species of umbrella birds, all of which have umbrella-like crests on their heads. These birds spend most of their lives hopping among tree branches and consuming fruit of tropical trees. Snakes and monkeys prey upon umbrella birds.
Both male and femail urial sheep grow horns. They live mainly in mountains of west-central Asia. Male urials have large horns that curl outwards away from the head before turning back inward. Females have shorter, more compressed horns.
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