A well-travelled migrant, the painted lady arrives here every summer from Europe and Africa. This beautiful orange-and-black butterfly regularly visits gardens.

This huge gull can be seen around most of the UK's coasts in summer, with some venturing inland in winter.

This dashing diving duck is a winter visitor to the UK's seas, coastal lakes and occasionally inland water bodies.

The common sexton beetle is one of several burying beetle species in the UK. An undertaker of the animal world, it buries dead animals like mice and birds, and feeds and breeds on the corpses.

The exotic and beautiful swallowtail is the UK's largest butterfly. A strong flier, residents can be spotted over wetlands in Norfolk during summer. Migrants occasionally appear in southern…

Unsurprisingly, the nocturnal long-eared owl sports large 'ear tufts' on its head, while the short-eared owl has much smaller ear tufts. A shy bird, it is best spotted around the coast…

From grunts and groans, to 'purring' and 'piglet squealing', the water rail is more often heard than it is seen! This shy bird lives in reedbeds and wetlands, hiding among the…

The greenshank breeds on the boggy moors and ancient peatlands of Scotland. But it can be spotted elsewhere in the UK as it passes through on migration - look around lakes, marshes and the coast…

The grey plover is similar to the golden plover, but as its name suggests, has a silver- and black-speckled back, rather than a gold one. It is only found at the coast and is mostly a winter…

The red grouse is an umistakeable bird - plump and round, with a gingery-red body as its name suggests. Found on upland heathlands, it is under threat from the nationwide, dramatic loss of these…