Nocturnal Animal Worksheets Kindergarten

All 24 words

Nocturnal 12

aardvark An aardvark sleeps in its burrow by day and digs up ants and termites at night.
badger The badger of Europe sleeps through the day underground, in a den known as a sett.
bat Most bats hunt at night, and many spend the day in a cave or other shelter.
bush baby A bush baby is a small African primate that sleeps by day and leaps through the trees at night.
flying squirrel Flying squirrels glide from tree to tree at night, so few people ever see one.
hedgehog Hedgehogs are out mostly after dark.
kiwi bird The kiwi, a flightless bird found only in New Zealand, feeds mostly at night.
moth Most kinds of moth fly at night.
opossum The opossum of North America is about as big as a house cat and goes about alone at night.
owl Most owls hunt at night, and they fly almost without a sound.
raccoon A raccoon looks for its food at night and is seldom out in the daytime.
tarsier A tarsier is a small primate with very large eyes that catches insects at night.

Show all 24 words (12 more)

Diurnal 12

butterfly Nearly all butterflies are active in the daytime, which is one way to tell them from moths.
cheetah The cheetah hunts mainly by day and finds its prey by sight.
chipmunk A chipmunk spends most of the day looking for food.
emu No native bird of Australia stands taller than the emu, which runs but cannot fly. It spends the day finding food.
goldfinch The American goldfinch feeds in the daytime.
hawk Hawks are birds of prey that hunt in daylight.
hummingbird The ruby-throated hummingbird feeds again and again through the day.
meerkat Meerkats go outside only in the daytime and are back in the burrow after dark.
prairie dog Black-tailed prairie dogs are active by day, all year round.
robin The American robin is busy by day and gathers in a flock at night to roost.
squirrel monkey Squirrel monkeys live in the treetops and are active by day.
woodpecker Woodpeckers are out by day and roost at night inside holes.

How this list was compiled: Word list chosen for this site on 2026-10-12. Nocturnal means active mainly at night and diurnal means active mainly by day (the English Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/, whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: Nocturnal animal and Diurnality; Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/: nocturnal, diurnal and crepuscular). Each animal stands under one heading only and was checked that day at two pages. First, its Wikipedia article: Owl, Bat, Raccoon, Hedgehog, Moth, Virginia opossum, Aardvark, European badger, Galago, Flying squirrel, Kiwi (bird), Tarsier, Butterfly, Bird of prey, American robin, Woodpecker, Chipmunk and Eastern chipmunk, Meerkat, Cheetah, Black-tailed prairie dog, Ruby-throated hummingbird, Emu, Squirrel monkey and American goldfinch. Second, a species account of the Animal Diversity Web of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (https://animaldiversity.org/), for every animal but the butterfly, which rests on its Wiktionary entry. Also read: National Geographic Kids (https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/) on the raccoon, aardvark, owls, meerkat, cheetah and robin; the National Wildlife Federation wildlife guide (https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/) on flying squirrels, raccoons, bats and owls; BBC Bitesize, What's the opposite of nocturnal? (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zckyxg8). For the answers and the animals left out: the Wikipedia articles Bird, Squirrel, Lizard, Gecko, Firefly, Cat, Lion and Human. Left out: animals of dawn and dusk (cats, deer), animals on which the pages read differ (skunk, rabbit, hamster, mouse), and words that cover a day kind and a night kind (squirrel, lizard, firefly). Licence: own work

How it works

These nocturnal animal worksheets for kindergarten print eight animals, such as owl, bat, hawk and butterfly, above two headings, Nocturnal and Diurnal. A key is the last page.

Read the full guide

Science for kindergarten: a worksheet on nocturnal animals

The sheet sorts written words, so read each animal aloud before the class begins. Four of the eight are awake at night and four by day, drawn from the 24 under the tool, where each has a line on when it is out. For scissors and glue, set Answer by to Cut and paste.

Why squirrel, lizard and firefly are missing

Each of those words covers a day kind and a night kind. Tree squirrels keep to the day or to dawn and dusk and flying squirrels to the night, most lizards are diurnal but most geckos are nocturnal, and some fireflies fly by day. The list has flying squirrel and chipmunk instead.

To sort your own animals, type one heading per line in the box: Nocturnal: owl, bat.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between nocturnal and diurnal animals?

Nocturnal animals are active at night and sleep during the day. Diurnal animals are active in the daytime and rest at night. An owl is nocturnal and a hawk is diurnal, though both are birds of prey.

What are animals that are active at dawn and dusk called?

Crepuscular. Deer graze at dawn and dusk, and pet cats are liveliest then too. Animals such as lions, which are active by day and by night, are called cathemeral. Neither kind is on the sheet.

Why are some animals nocturnal?

Coming out after dark lets an animal stay out of the daytime heat, hide from the animals that hunt it, or hunt unseen. Many nocturnal animals have eyes that take in more light, and sharp hearing or a keen sense of smell.

Are humans nocturnal or diurnal?

Diurnal. People are usually awake in daylight and asleep at night, like most other primates. Most birds are diurnal as well, which is why six of the twelve day animals in the list are birds.