donkey vs Equus asinus

donkey and Equus asinus both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
donkey	Yes	No	No	No
Equus asinus	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, donkey and Equus asinus are synonyms defined as:

donkey and Equus asinus: domestic beast of burden descended from the African wild ass; patient but stubborn

Other synonyms of donkey include domestic ass.

donkey (noun)	Equus asinus (noun)
domestic beast of burden descended from the African wild ass; patient but stubborn	domestic beast of burden descended from the African wild ass; patient but stubborn
the symbol of the Democratic Party; introduced in cartoons by Thomas Nast in 1874