Considered to be an early sign of spring, the song of the cuckoo sounds the same as its name: ‘cuck-oo’. It can be heard in woodlands and grasslands. Cuckoos famously lay their eggs in the nests…

A member of the buttercup family, Common water-crowfoot displays white, buttercup-like flowers with yellow centres. It can form mats in ponds, ditches and streams during spring and summer.

The hooded crow was thought to be the same species as the carrion crow, but they have now been separated. Less widespread than its cousin, look for it in North Scotland, Northern Ireland and the…

The common pond skater can be seen 'skating' over the surface of ponds, lakes, ditches and slow-moving rivers. It is predatory, feeding on small insects by detecting vibrations in the…

The fly-shaped flowers of this fascinating plant are attractive to insects - but not the ones you might expect!

This beautiful beetle only arrived in the UK in 1960s but is now a common sight on garden herbs.

The keeled skimmer is a dragonfly of heaths and commons with shallow pools. It has a skittish and weak flight, and is on the wing in summer and early autumn.

Look out for the black guillemot all year-round at scattered coastal sites in Scotland, England, Wales and the Isle of Man. It tends not to travel far between seasons, breeding and wintering in…

In summer, the sedge warbler can be spotted singing from a reed or willow perch in wetlands across the UK. Males never sing the same song twice, adding new phrases to impress the females.

Similar to the common backswimmer, the lesser water boatman has oar-like legs to help it swim, but it does not swim upside-down. It is herbivorous and can be found at the surface of ponds, lakes…

Mae'r gweirlöyn brych yn ffafrio golau haul brith rhodfeydd ac ymylon y coetir, gwrychoedd a hyd yn oed gerddi. Er gwaethaf ei ddirywiad, mae ei amrediad wedi lledaenu yn ystod y blynyddoedd…