http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildlife/by/latest Explore a wealth of video, sounds, stories and breaking news to find out more about your favourite animals, how they live and where they live. This feed gives you access to the latest animals and plants, their habitats and adaptations. en-gb http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/apscss/life/aps/images/wildlife.jpg http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildlife/by/latest Grey wagtails are energetic little birds and always on the move; frantically bobbing, ducking and dashing about. Despite their rather dull name grey wagtails are actually quite colourful with a vivid lemon underneath that contrasts against the slate grey feathers above. They are common birds of fast-flowing mountain rivers and streams right across the UK and throughout much of Europe, Asia and north Africa.

To avoid the winter cold, to which they are very susceptible, grey wagtails will move into more lowland areas such as farmland and even towns and cities. They are a very versatile predator, catching small dragonflies on the wing, a variety of insects off the ground, and even fishing tadpoles out of shallow water. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Grey_Wagtail http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Grey_Wagtail Fri, 25 May 2012 14:19:56 GMT There is something very hypnotic about watching one of the 11 species of wagtail. These slender, energetic, and often colourful birds are constantly wagging their long tail; the trait from which they get their common name. The reason for this behaviour is not clearly understood, but could be for communicating with each other or to warn off potential predators.

Species familiar to us in the UK, such as the yellow, grey and pied wagtails, are also widespread throughout much of Europe, Asia and north Africa. Other species can have a more restricted range, for example, the endemic Madagascan wagtail, as its name suggests, can only be found on the African island of Madagascar. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Motacilla http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Motacilla Fri, 25 May 2012 12:43:51 GMT Blue tits are bright, inquisitive little birds that have been shown to use aromatic leaves from lavender, mint and curry plants to disinfect their nests. They are also infamous for following milkmen to take sneaky sips from milk bottles by tearing through the foil tops.

Cosmopolitan foragers, blue tits are found throughout Britain and as far east as Iran. Their colourful plumage makes them a cheerful sight on garden feeders, although during spring and summer they mostly feed on invertebrates. The yellowness of a male blue tit's breast is an indication of the number of yellowy-green caterpillars he has eaten, and a brighter breast is more attractive to females. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Blue_Tit http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Blue_Tit Fri, 25 May 2012 09:13:26 GMT Whinchats are summer visitors to Europe and Asia after arriving from their wintering grounds in Africa and the Middle East. In Britain they breed in the north and west upland areas and like open country to live in, such as moorland, heathland and grassland. They nest on the ground, concealed in clumps of grass.

Whinchats mostly eat insects, catching them on the ground or in flight after short sallies from a low perch. Spiders, worms and snails are also eaten as are berries in the autumn. The males are more brightly coloured than the females and can resemble the related stonechat, the biggest difference being the prominent white stripe above the eye. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Whinchat http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Whinchat Thu, 24 May 2012 11:53:51 GMT Chats are a small group of slender perching birds once thought to belong to the thrush family. However, they were found to be more closely related to the Old World flycatchers and have now been placed into that family. The 15 species are mostly insectivores and favour open grassland with scattered shrubs and bushes for cover. The whinchat and stonechat will be the most familiar species in the UK and a wider Europe. Island chat species, such as those found on Reunion and Madagascar, have smaller ranges. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Saxicola http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Saxicola Thu, 24 May 2012 11:41:35 GMT Buzzards are smaller than golden eagles but just as formidable as predators. These imposing hunters drop down on rabbits and small mammals from slow or hovering flight or from a perch. Having snatched their prey in powerful talons, they nearly always make their kill on the ground. In recent years, the population of British buzzards has exploded, and now thrives in areas where there were once only a few, such as Cheshire, Northamptonshire and the Lothians. They inhabit forests and areas of scattered woodland. During the breeding season, buzzards perform spectacular aerial displays, circling high in the sky before tumbling down towards the ground. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Common_Buzzard http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Common_Buzzard Thu, 24 May 2012 08:30:04 GMT Puffins are colourful and full of character. Playfully known as 'clowns of the sea' and 'sea parrots', these shy and inquisitive seabirds arrive in Britain at the start of the breeding season. They then undergo their annual moult which renders them flightless for a short while, though they remain nimble and elegant underwater. A single puffin chick is raised in an underground burrow and parent birds are often seen with their parrot-like bills packed full of sand eels, intended for their fast-growing offspring. During winter, puffins disperse as far south as the Azores.

Did you know?
Young puffins are called pufflings.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Atlantic_Puffin http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Atlantic_Puffin Wed, 23 May 2012 08:38:21 GMT Great spotted woodpeckers are the most widespread and numerous woodpecker in the UK. They have a large range covering almost the entire Palearctic from Britain in the west to Japan in the east and reaching North Africa and the Canary Islands in the south-west. They are not found in Ireland or the far north of Scotland. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Great_Spotted_Woodpecker http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Great_Spotted_Woodpecker Tue, 22 May 2012 08:31:34 GMT Natterjack toads are claimed to be Europe's noisiest amphibian, with the male call audible over several kilometres. Natterjacks are found in southwest and central Europe, but are rare in Britain. They can be found in southwest Ireland, pockets of Norfolk and Lincolnshire, along the coast between Lancashire and Dumfries and areas of Hampshire and Surrey where they've been introduced. Being poor swimmers, they drown in deep water if they can't get ashore. Short limbs mean they can't leap very far, and usually only do so as a startle response before going into their normal running gait. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Natterjack_Toad http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Natterjack_Toad Mon, 21 May 2012 16:05:52 GMT Armadillos as a group include not just the modern armadillos, but their extinct relatives, the Pampatheres and giant Glyptodonts. They evolved in South America, but several species spread into North America when the Isthmus of Panama was formed. Their main protection from predators is a casing of armour, constructed of bone and horn. In the Glyptodonts this defence was sometimes supplemented by a heavy club-like tail, which could be wielded as a weapon. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Armadillo http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Armadillo Mon, 21 May 2012 08:40:14 GMT Magpies are jacks of all trades: scavengers, predators and cheeky thieves. They famously cannot resist a bit of bling, and regularly take brightly coloured objects from the garden, which makes them unpopular. Occurring throughout Europe and as far south as the Mediterranean, they are sociable birds that roost together and, in spring, gather in ‘magpie parliaments’ where unpaired birds look for mates. There are many folk stories involving magpies, and they were once thought to be in league with the devil. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/European_Magpie http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/European_Magpie Fri, 18 May 2012 08:57:02 GMT Remarkable adaptations allow polar bears to live in the frozen Arctic, but global warming is destroying their habitat and leaving them seriously endangered. Despite being born deaf and blind beneath the snow, cubs eventually grow into the most powerful of all four-legged animals.

Using their incredible sense of smell to track their prey, adult polar bears spend most of their lives alone, wandering over the vast tracts of frozen ice in search of blubber-rich prey such as seals, walruses and even whales. They are also remarkably good swimmers and have been spotted over 60 miles from shore.

Did you know?
Polar bears are the largest living land carnivore.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Polar_bear http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Polar_bear Fri, 18 May 2012 07:46:57 GMT Pied kingfishers hover far more than any other kingfisher species. They hold their trunk nearly vertical and beat their wings rapidly with their head and bill angled sharply down. The pied plumage is easy to distinguish - it is the only entirely black and white kingfisher. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Pied_Kingfisher http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Pied_Kingfisher Thu, 17 May 2012 08:05:37 GMT Three-spined sticklebacks are the classic “tiddler” of British waters and many other areas in the northern hemisphere. There are populations in marine and freshwater with some migrating between the two. They can actually sport two to four spines on their backs, with three being the average. These sharp spines and large bony side plates provide essential armour against an array of fish and bird predators.

The stickleback male is a fantastic father. After attracting an egg-laying female to a nest with a zig-zag courtship dance and bright red colourings, he fans the fertilised eggs with his fins to provide oxygen. Once the eggs have hatched he protects the small fry and teaches them self-defence from predators by chasing them. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Three-spined_stickleback http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Three-spined_stickleback Wed, 16 May 2012 10:39:12 GMT Green woodpeckers are the largest and most colourful woodpeckers native to Britain. They are easily recognised by their laughing ‘yaffle’ call, which they use to demarcate their territory. They also drum on trees, though the sound is not as resonant as that made by the other two British species (the greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers). Green woodpeckers survive on a diet of insects and have a particular fondness for ants. They return day after day to their favourite ant hill to feed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Green_Woodpecker http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Green_Woodpecker Tue, 15 May 2012 16:22:27 GMT Forest elephants were thought to be a subspecies of the African elephant, but recent research has discovered that they are a separate species. Forest elephants have straighter tusks and more rounded ears than African savannah elephants. They also have five toes on the forefeet and four toes on the hindfeet, as Asian elephants do.

Forest elephants are to be found in the equatorial forests of central and west Africa where they are important dispersers of fruit seeds during the wet season. There are some forest fruit trees that are dependent on forest elephants as the seeds germinate after they have been digested and passed through. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/African_Forest_Elephant http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/African_Forest_Elephant Tue, 15 May 2012 16:19:42 GMT Elephants are represented by three living species: Asian, African forest and African bush. As the largest living mammals in the world, healthy adults have no natural predators, though the calves have plenty to fear from lions and tigers.

The elephant's distinctive trunk is very versatile and can perform the functions of hand, foot and nose. Their large ears also play an important role in regulating body temperature. Elephants are very intelligent animals and highly social, living in groups led by the oldest female, or matriarch. Adult males are relatively solitary only coming together in loose bachelor herds.

Did you know?
An elephant’s skin is so sensitive that it can feel a fly landing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Elephantidae http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Elephantidae Tue, 15 May 2012 14:39:17 GMT African elephants are bigger than their Asian counterparts and therefore the largest living land animals. Until recently there was only a single species of elephant in Africa. The former subspecies, known as forest elephants, have now been recognised as a full species and the original species renamed bush, or savannah, elephants.

The smaller forest elephants have straighter trunks and rounded ears compared to the bush elephant. They are also separated by location and habitats, with forest elephants found in the equatorial forests of central and west Africa, particularly in the Congo basin. Bush elephants are more widespread, mostly south of the Sahara in a range of different habitats including savannah, swamps and deserts. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/African_elephant http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/African_elephant Tue, 15 May 2012 14:02:27 GMT Bears are one of the most recognisable and iconic families of animals. The eight living species include the spectacled, sun and sloth bears alongside the more familiar polar bear and giant panda. Young bears are born in protective dens as they are very small, blind and deaf. But they are not helpless for long, developing and gaining weight rapidly.

Most bears are very general in their habitats; they can be found roaming Arctic tundra, tropical forests and even deserts. Six species also have an opportunistic and varied diet relying on the habitat and season for their selection of animals and plants. The two dietary specialists are the mostly carnivorous polar bear and the bamboo-eating giant panda. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Bear http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Bear Mon, 14 May 2012 15:55:30 GMT In spite of their reputation as cowardly scavengers, spotted hyenas are actually highly interesting and intelligent animals. They are efficient hunters that can bring down such large animals as buffalos and zebras. Powerful teeth and jaws enable them to crush and consume bones to get to the nutritious marrow, before the stomach's highly concentrated hydrochloric acid helps digest the bone. Spotted hyenas are often seen in female-dominated territorial groups called clans, in which all males are subordinate to all females. Males leave the clan when they reach adulthood, but females tend to stay and inherit their mother's rank. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Spotted_Hyena http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Spotted_Hyena Mon, 14 May 2012 14:41:15 GMT Ospreys are some of the most widespread birds of prey, located on every continent except Antarctica. Found typically near both salt and freshwater, they inhabit a variety of landscapes. Ospreys are supreme fishers. Plunging feet first they pluck live fish from the water's surface, often submerging themselves completely in the process. This skillful manoeuvre is aided by a few key adaptations including oily plumage, big feet and a reversible toe which allows them to carry sizeable fish whilst in flight. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Osprey http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Osprey Mon, 14 May 2012 09:44:19 GMT With its blood-curdling nocturnal howl, the coyote is emblematic of North American wildlife. Extraordinary adaptability has led to an expansion of their range from Panama to all but the northernmost portions of Canada. Primarily carnivorous, coyotes can sprint at speeds of 65kph - making them one of North America's fastest mammals - though such speed is of little use in their hunt for fruit, insects and human refuse. One of the coyote's most interesting traits is the formation of hunting partnerships with American badgers: the coyotes sniff out rodents, the badgers dig them out, and both share the proceeds.

Did you know?
Reaching speeds of 65kph, coyotes are one of the fastest terrestrial mammals in North America.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Coyote http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Coyote Fri, 11 May 2012 09:53:42 GMT Giant river otters are endemic to South America and live in the river systems of the Orinoco, Amazon and La Plata. They operate in family groups of up to nine individuals comprised of a breeding pair and their offspring. Known locally as ‘river wolves’, these otters are highly skilled predators, catching a diet primarily of fish and rarely small caiman and snakes are taken.

They have a staggering nine different vocalizations, the purpose of which are yet to be fully realised, though it’s likely they serve as predator warning signals and contact calls. As one of South America’s top carnivores giant otters have few natural predators, except occasionally for jaguars, pumas and caiman. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Giant_Otter http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Giant_Otter Thu, 10 May 2012 15:52:05 GMT Humpback whales migrate seasonally from the tropics to their northern feeding grounds, and during the summer months they must feed intensely in preparation for this migration. They hunt cooperatively using the ‘bubble net’ strategy where several whales circle underwater emitting a stream of bubbles, which trap fish within an air ring, the whales can then gorge on the contents of their ‘net’. These magnificent whales are renowned for their acrobatic aerial breaching, and their beautiful yet complex songs, performed by males during courtship.

Did you know?
Humpback whales have five metre long flippers that are almost one third of their body length.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Humpback_whale http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Humpback_whale Wed, 09 May 2012 10:27:21 GMT Killer whales are actually the largest species of dolphin. Their dorsal fin can be used to recognise individuals, and in males can measure an incredible 1.8 metres in height. Killer whales are found in every ocean on the planet, and as well as being the most widely distributed, they are also one of the fastest sea mammals, reaching speeds of up to 55kph. As distinguished marine predators, these strikingly marked killers employ a number of clever techniques to catch their prey. These include herding, coordinated attacks and wave washing seals off ice floes.

Did you know?
Killer whales have been known to hunt down grey and blue whales.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Killer_whale http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Killer_whale Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:34 GMT