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Potton Wood
Potton Wood covers an area of 85ha (211 acres) and is two miles east of the small town of Potton in the county of Bedfordshire, England. It is part of Ampthill Forest and is managed by Forest Enterprise and owned by the Forestry Commission. Potton Wood has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its significance as an oak/ash/ field maple ancient woodland; its structure and flora are typical of the West Cambridgeshire Boulder Clay woodland group. Unusual plants in the wood include oxlip (a national rarity at the edge of its European range here), herb paris, bird's nest orchid and nettle-leaved bellflower. There are plants typical of ancient woodland: common bluebell, dog's mercury, yellow archangel, wood millet and wood anemone. Potton Wood has large areas of broadleaved woodland, some dating back to at least 1601, but also had commercially planted, non-native conifers which were removed in 2004 as part of a long-term project to restore the coppiced ancient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council was abolished in 2009. Bedfordshire is bordered by Cambridgeshire to the east and north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east and south. It is the fourteenth most densely populated county of England, with over half the population of the county living in the two largest built-up areas: Luton (258,018) and Bedford (106,940). The highest elevation point is on Dunstable Downs in the Chilterns. History The first recorded use of the name in 1011 was "Bedanfordscir," meaning the shire or county of Bedford, which itself means "Beda's ford" (river crossing). Bedfordshire was historically divided into nine hundreds: Barford, Biggleswade, Clifton, Flitt, Manshead, Redbornestoke, S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anemone Nemorosa
''Anemonoides nemorosa'' (syn. ''Anemone nemorosa''), the wood anemone, is an early-spring flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe. Other common names include windflower, European thimbleweed, and smell fox, an allusion to the musky smell of the leaves. It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing tall. Description ''Anemonoides nemorosa'' is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant less than in height. The compound basal leaves are palmate or ternate (divided into three lobes). They grow from underground root-like stems called rhizomes and die back down by mid summer (summer dormant). The plants start blooming in spring, March to May in the British Isles soon after the foliage emerges from the ground. The flowers are solitary, held above the foliage on short stems, with a whorl of three palmate or palmately-lobed leaflike bracts beneath. The flowers are diameter, with six or seven (and on rare occasions eight to ten) tepals (petal-like segments) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Turtle Dove
The European turtle dove (''Streptopelia turtur'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western Palearctic including north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa to winter. Taxonomy The European turtle dove was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his '' Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other pigeons in the genus '' Columba'' and coined the binomial name ''Columba turtur''. The specific epithet ''turtur'' is the Latin word for a turtle dove. Linnaeus gave the locality as "India". This was an error and the type locality has been designated as England. The species is now placed in the genus ''Streptopelia'' that was introduced in 1855 by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Four subspecies are recognised: * European turtle dove (''S. t. turtur'') (Linnaeus, 1758) – Europe, Madeira and the Canary Islands to weste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Whitethroat
The common whitethroat or greater whitethroat (''Curruca communis'') is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan. Taxonomy The English ornithologist John Latham described the common whitethroat in 1783 in his ''A General Synopsis of Birds'' but introduced the binomial name ''Sylvia communis'' in the supplement to this work which was published in 1787. The specific ''communis'' is Latin for "common". The common whitethroat is now placed in the genus ''Curruca'' that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morpho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackcap
The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''), usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song. The blackcap breeds in much of Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and its preferred habitat is mature deciduous woodland. The male holds a territory when breeding, which is defended against garden warblers as well as other blackcaps. The nest is a neat cup, built low in brambles or scrub, and the clutch is typically 4–6 mainly buff eggs, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Chiffchaff
The common chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus collybita''), or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic. It is a migratory passerine which winters in southern and western Europe, southern Asia and north Africa. Greenish-brown above and off-white below, it is named onomatopoeically for its simple ''chiff-chaff'' song. It has a number of subspecies, some of which are now treated as full species. The female builds a domed nest on or near the ground, and assumes most of the responsibility for brooding and feeding the chicks, whilst the male has little involvement in nesting, but defends his territory against rivals, and attacks potential predators. A small insectivorous bird, it is subject to predation by mammals, such as cats and mustelids, and birds, particularly hawks of the genus ''Accipiter''. Its large range and population mean that its status is secure, although one su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Nightingale
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats. Etymology "Nightingale" is derived from "night" and the Old English ''galan'', "to sing". The genus name ''Luscinia'' is Latin for "nightingale" and ''megarhynchos'' is from Ancient Greek ''megas'', "great" and ''rhunkhos'' "bill". Subspecies *western nightingale (''L. m. megarhynchos'') - Western Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor, wintering in tropical Africa *Caucasian nightingale (''L. m. africana'') - The Caucasus and eastern Turkey to southwestern Iran and Iraq, wintering in East Africa *eastern nightingale (''L. m. golzii'') - The Aral Sea to Mongolia, wintering in coastal East Africa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Mole
The European mole (''Talpa europaea'') is a mammal of the order Eulipotyphla. It is also known as the common mole and the northern mole. This mole lives in a tunnel system, which it constantly extends. It uses these tunnels to hunt its prey. Under normal conditions, the displaced earth is pushed to the surface, resulting in the characteristic molehills. It is an omnivore that feeds mainly on earthworms, but also on insects, centipedes and even mice and shrews. Its saliva contains toxins which paralyze earthworms in particular. Taxonomy The Aquitanian mole (''T. aquitania'') was formerly considered conspecific, but was described as a distinct species in 2017. Distribution The European mole has a wide range throughout Europe and westernmost Asia, being found as far north as the United Kingdom and southern Scandinavia, as far south as northern Greece, and as far east as western Siberia. It is the only mole species in most of this range. The Loire River in France was thought to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Hare
The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly on grasses and herbs, supplementing these with twigs, buds, bark and field crops, particularly in winter. Their natural predators include large birds of prey, canids and felids. They rely on high-speed endurance running to escape predation, having long, powerful limbs and large nostrils. Generally nocturnal and shy in nature, hares change their behaviour in the spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around in fields. During this spring frenzy, they sometimes strike one another with their paws ("boxing"). This is usually not competition between males, but a female hitting a male, either to show she is not yet ready to mate or to test his determination. The female nests in a depression on the surface of the grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus parts of North Africa. It is listed as least concern by the IUCN. Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been Foxes in Australia, introduced to Australia, where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Due to its presence in Australia, it is included on the list of the List of the world's 100 worst invasive species, "world's 100 worst invasive species". The red fox originated from smaller-sized ancestors from Eurasia during the Middle Villafranchian period, and colonised North America shortly after the Wisconsin glaciation. Among the true foxes, the red fox represents a more progressive form in the direction of Carnivore, carnivory. Apart from its large size, the red fox is disting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), also known, particularly outside of North America, as simply the grey squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is native to eastern North America, where it is the most prodigious and ecologically essential natural forest regenerator. Widely introduced to certain places around the world, the eastern gray squirrel in Europe, in particular, is regarded as an invasive species. In Europe, ''Sciurus carolinensis'' is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list). This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union. Distribution ''Sciurus carolinensis'' is native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the central provinces of Canada. The native range of the eastern gray squirrel overlaps with that of the fox squirre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fallow Deer
''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes, lies at the root of the modern scientific name, as well as the German ''Damhirsch'', French ''daim'', Dutch ''damhert'', and Italian ''daino''. In Croatian and Serbian, the name for the fallow deer is ''jelen lopatar'' ("shovel deer"), due to the form of its antlers. The Modern Hebrew name of the fallow deer is ''yachmur'' (יחמור). Taxonomy and evolution The genus includes two extant species: Extant species Some taxonomists include the Persian fallow deer as a subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ... (''D. d. me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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