I don’t have a single favorite, but every now and then a critter will become the subject of my latest ADHD hyperfixation. I remember thinking skunks were cool in 5th grade. They’re like badgers with chemical weapons. For the months leading up to getting my first guide dog I devoured stuff about dogs in general. I had always had pet dogs so it wasn’t a new subject, just a more intense interest.
For a while it was octopi, then parrots. For some time in 2015 or early 2016 it was possums, the US’s only marsupial.
Right now it’s monkeys. I used to think monkeys were gross and disturbing in an uncanny valley sort of way, so humanlike but not human at the same time. But I’ve taken a shine to orangutans. They’re quiet and introverted like me. Also new world monkeys like capuchins and woollies. Having a prehensile tail would be awesome.
There’s a magpie couple that regularly visits my backyard, I really want to befriend them but I don’t know how.
Lucky you!
There was a family of magpies in my yard at a place where I used to live. They’re so observant that they would look through my windows and watch me while I prepared food or cleaned or whatever in my kitchen. They recognize individual human faces. If you go out of your way to be nice or mean to them then they’ll remember that interaction for a long time and adjust their behavior around you accordingly.