The shiny, translucent porcelain fungus certainly lives up to its name in appearance. It can be seen growing on beech trees and dead wood in summer and autumn.

The river lamprey is a primitive, jawless fish, with a round, sucker-mouth which it uses to attach to other fish to feed from them. Adults live in the sea and return to freshwater to spawn.

The Great diving beetle is a large and voracious predator of ponds and slow-moving waterways. Blackish-green in colour, it can be spotted coming to the surface to replenish the air supply it…

With a silvery body, and purple, pink and bluish streaks down its flanks, the rainbow trout lives up to its name. Popular with anglers, it is actually an introduced species in the UK.

Wavy hair-grass lives up to its name: its fine, hair-like leaves and delicate flower heads can be seen shaking in the breeze of a windswept moorland or heathland.

Swifts spend most of their lives flying – even sleeping, eating and drinking – only ever landing to nest. They like to nest in older buildings in small holes in roof spaces.

The jay is a colourful member of the crow family, with brilliant blue wing patches. It is famous for searching out acorns in autumnal woodlands and parks, often storing them for the winter ahead…