This small summer migrant travels from Africa to breed in the reedbeds of the UK. Rarely seen but given away by its insect like trilling call; the movement of the head during calling makes it…

Familiar as the bristly plant that easily hooks on to our clothing as we walk through the countryside or do the gardening, cleavers uses its hooks to help it climb and to disperse its seeds.

Found in ponds and marshes, the fragile look of the common water-measurer belies its fierce nature. A predator of small insects, it uses the vibrations of the water's surface to locate its…

Greater burdock is familiar to us as the sticky plant that children delight in, frequently throwing the burs at each other. It actually uses these hooked seed heads to help disperse its seeds.

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.

Living up to its name, the shoveler has a large and distinctive shovel-like bill which it uses to feed at the surface of the water. It breeds in small numbers in the UK, but is widespread in…

The striking red crown, golden back, and bright yellow wings of the goldfinch make it one of our prettiest garden birds. It happily visits birdtables and feeders across the UK.

The greater horseshoe bat was once a cave-dweller, but now tends to roost in old buildings, such as churches and barns. It is rare in the UK and, like many other bats, declining in number.

A true wildlife 'hotel', Honeysuckle is a climbing plant that caters for all kinds of wildlife: it provides nectar for insects, prey for bats, nest sites for birds and food for small…