Dorling Kindersley. RSPB Wildlife of Britain

514 Pages·2008·165.2 MB·English

WILDLIFE
BRITAIN

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T H E D E F I N I T I V E V I S U A L G U I D E

WILDLIFE BRITAIN
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T H E D E F I N I T I V E V I S U A L G U I D E

WILDLIFE
BRITAIN
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T H E D E F I N I T I V E V I S U A L G U I D E
LONDON • NEW YORK • MELBOURNE
MUNICH • DELHI
DK LONDON DK DELHI
Senior Art Editor Ina Stradins Cartographer David Roberts Designers Ivy Roy, Neerja Rawat,
Senior Editor Angeles Gavira Picture Researchers Emily Hedges, Neha Ahuja, Govind Mittal
Art Editor Mark Lloyd David Penrose, Richard Philpott DTP Pushpak Tyagi, Harish Aggarwal,
Project Editor Ruth O'Rourke Illustrators Jane Durston, Sandra Pond Jagtar Singh, Dheeraj Arora
Editors Gill Pitts, Claire Tennant-Scull, DTP Co-ordinator Balwant Singh
Miezan van Zyl, Rebecca Warren Senior Managing Art Editor Phil Ormerod Editors Saloni Talwar, Kingshuk Ghoshal
Production Editor Tony Phipps Managing Editor Sarah Larter Editorial Manager Dipali Singh
Designers Sonia Barbate, Duncan Turner Art Director Bryn Walls Design Manager Arunesh Talapatra
Editorial Assistant Tamlyn Calitz Reference Publisher Jonathan Metcalf Art Director Shefali Upadhyay
CONTRIBUTORS First published in Great Britain in 2008 by
Dorling Kindersley Limited, 80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL
Habitats Ben Hoare, Ben Morgan, Trees Allen Coombes
Penguin Group (UK)
Steve Parker Wild Flowers Neil Fletcher
This edition published in 2011
Mammals Chris Gibson Other Plants David Burnie,
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Birds Jonathan Elphick, Helen Pellant, Joyce Pitt
001 – CD238 – Apr/2011
Rob Hume, John Woodward Fungi Shelley Evans, Geoffrey Kibby
Copyright © 2008, 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Fish Kim Dennis-Bryan Conservation Richard Beatty, All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
Butterflies & Moths Andrew Mackay, Neil Fletcher, Tim Halliday, Rob
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owners.
Chris Pellant, Paul Sterry Houston, Rob Hume, Michelle Payne,
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Invertebrates George McGavin Chris Pellant, Graham Scholey ISBN 978 1 4053 6709 7
Reproduced by Colourscan, Singapore
Printed and bound by Hung Hing, China
Keep safe, and remember to follow the Countryside Code, available at
www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk. Culinary, herbal, or medicinal uses of wild plants
mentioned in the book are purely anecdotal. They are not recommendations
of the author or the publisher and should not be undertaken. Many fungi are
poisonous, with effects ranging from stomach upset to organ failure and
death. Collection for consumption is entirely at the reader's own risk.
Discover more at
www.dk.com
TOUR OF BRITAIN 8
HABITATS 22
Geology of the British Isles 24
Coastal 26
Freshwater 36
Mountain and Upland 46
Woodland 54
Farmland 62
SPECIE S 72
MAMMALS 74 PLANTS 312
Trees 312
BIRDS 100 Wild Flowers 340
Other Plants 438
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS 164
FUNGI 458
FISH 172
INVERTEBRATES 184
Butterflies & Moths 184
Glossary 496
Insects & Spiders 230 Index 500
Other Invertebrates 300 Acknowledgments 512
(cid:53) Greylag Geese
Britain is a focal point for
millions of migrating birds,
including wild geese, from
Arctic Canada, Europe, Asia,
and Africa.
ur rather small, intricate islands have exceptional wildlife riches. downlands add specialist wild flowers and butterflies that are not found in
O
The variety of geology and geography, the strong seasonal changes other habitats. Britain’s wetlands, including reedbeds, swamps, lakes and
and mild winters, and the human activity that influences Britain’s rivers, and more recently-flooded gravel pits, provide marvellous wildlife-
landscape, provide great scope for the inquisitive naturalist to discover an watching opportunities. Coastal marshes and estuaries are fantastic wildlife
amazing diversity of wildlife within a small area. This book explores the hotspots on lower-lying coasts, and cliffs and islands come into their own
varied habitats of the British Isles and the flora and fauna that inhabits in summer, when millions of seabirds breed.
them, giving you all you need to enjoy and understand their marvels, from Britain is a gardening nation, too, and wildlife likes comfortable places
soaring eagles to minute spiders, bumbling badgers to darting dragonflies, close to home – much of it coming in from nearby woods. In short, there
and insectivorous bog plants to ancient forests. is wildlife to be discovered anywhere and everywhere in Britain, from the
While we do not have high mountains like other parts of Europe, our town centre to the most remote offshore rock. All you need to do is to get
moderate peaks offer spectacular cliffs and tundra-like plateaux. Lower out, if you can, to discover it for yourself. It is a fantastically rewarding
down, extensive acidic moors and some of the finest watery peatlands in occupation.
the world can be found, as well as forests with endangered Wildcats and
rare Pine Martens, and dry heaths with warmth-loving reptiles. Chalk Rob Hume.
THREE CLIFFS West of Swansea in South
Wales, the picturesque Gower Peninsula
extends into the ever-widening Bristol
Channel. At the centre of the peninsula’s
south coast is more than a kilometre of
rippled sands, Oxwich Bay to the west
and Three Cliffs to the east. They meet
at the estuary of a small river, the
Pennard Pill, which has trickled past
limestone features, the ruins of Pennard
Castle, the sand dunes and salt marshes
of Pennard Burrows, and a crossing of
stepping stones on its way out into the
bay. The Three Cliffs themselves are a
row of pointed granite mounds jutting
out to the south-west. They are
favourites with rock climbers, while
at low tide walkers can stroll through
the natural arches in the peak bases,
as riders gallop their horses along the
wide sweeping sands. The bay is also
popular with surfers, the waves being
best between mid- and high tide, but
beware of the strong rip-tides.