The starling is a familiar garden visitor that has a beautiful purple-and-green sheen to its black feathers. It is famous for its wintry aerial displays - massive flocks can be seen wheeling over…

This large shieldbug lives up to its name, bristling with long pale hairs. It's a common sight in parks, hedgerows and woodland edges in much of the UK.

A low-growing herb of chalk and limestone grassland, Salad burnet lives up to its name - it is a popular addition to salads and smells of cucumber when crushed!

Common bird's-foot-trefoil has a vareity of names that conjure up some interesting images: 'Eggs and Bacon', for instance! Its small, yellow, slipper-like flowers can be seen in all…

The St Mark's fly is small, black and shiny. It is so-called because it emerges around St Mark's Day, April 25th. Large numbers of adults can be found in woodland edges, hedgerows,…

The common banded hoverfly has a fitting name: it is not only one of our most common species, its black body is also covered in yellow bands! It can be seen in many habitats from gardens to…

A familiar garden bird, the great tit can be seen around bird tables and feeders, as well as in woodlands and parks. Listen out for its shrill song that sounds just like a bicycle pump being used…

The wall brown or 'wall' gets its name from the fact it rests on any bare surface or wall! It can be found in open, sunny places like sand dunes, old quarries, grasslands and railway…

It is so easy to miss this clever little moth. It is a master of disguise, blending in perfectly as it looks just like the twig of a birch tree! Flying only at night, the buff-tip moth can be seen…

Crosswort gets its name from the position of its leaves - they surround the stem in groups of four, making a cross shape. The tiny, yellow flowers sit atop these crosses and bloom from April to…

The hart's-tongue fern is a hardy fern of damp, shady places in woodlands. It also makes a good garden fern. It has simple, tongue-shaped, glossy, green leaves that have orange spores on…

Herb-Paris has four oval leaves set in a cross, with an understated crown of yellow-green flowers rising from the middle. This makes it quite a distinctive plant of ancient and damp woodlands on…