DK - Wildlife of Britain and Ireland: Over 1,400 Species in Incredible Photographic Detail

THE DEF INIT IVE ILL USTRA TE D GUIDE

THE DEF INIT IVE ILL USTRA TE D GUIDE IREL AND

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First published in Great Brita in in 2008 This e dition published in 202 2 by Dorling K indersley Limited DK, O ne Emba ssy G ardens, 8 Vi aduct Gardens, London, S W1 7BW Previously publi shed a s RSP B Wil dlife o f Bri tain The a uthori sed r epresenta tive in th e EE A is Dorling Kinders ley Ve rlag GmbH. Arnul fstr . 1 24, 8063 6 Munich , Germ any Copyrig ht 20 08, 2022 D orling K indersley Limited A Pengu in Rando m House Compan y 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 001 3318 Apr/ 2022 All r ights res erv ed. N o pa rt of th is publ ication may be repr oduced, stored in or i ntroduce d in to a re trieval syst em, or tr ansmit ted, in an y form , or by an y means (e lectroni c, mechani cal, photocopy ing, rec ording, or otherw ise) , wit hout t he p rior w ritt en pe rmission of th e copy right owner . A CIP cata logue r ecord for th is bo ok is avail able f rom th e Br itish Lib rary . ISBN: -0-2 -69 59- Printed and b ound i n China Keep s afe, a nd re member to follo w th e Cou ntry side C ode, availabl e at www .co untr ys ideacces s.gov .uk . Culi nary , h erbal, or me dicinal uses of wil d plan ts mentioned in th e bo ok are purel y anec dotal. The y are not re commendati ons of th e auth or or th e pub lisher a nd sho uld not be u ndert aken. Many f ungi are poisonous, with eect s rangin g fro m stom ach u pset to organ failure and death. Collec tion for con sumptio n is e ntirely at th e re ader's own ri sk. www. dk.com CONTR IBUTO RS DK LONDON Senior Art Editor Ina Stradins Senior Editor Angeles Gavira Art E ditor Mark Lloyd Project Edit or Ruth O'Rourke Editors Gill Pitts, Clair e T ennant-Scull, Miezan Va n Zyl, Rebecca War ren Production Edit or T on y Phipps Designers Sonia Barbate, Duncan T ur ner Editorial Assistan t T amlyn Calit z Cartog rapher David Robert s Picture Researchers Emily Hedges, David Pe nrose, Richard Philpot t Illustrat ors Jane Durston, Sandra P ond Senior Managing Art Editor Phil Ormerod Managing Editor Sarah Lart er Art Di rector Br yn W alls Reference Pub lisher Jonathan Metcalf DK DELHI Designers Ivy Roy , Neerja Raw at, Neha Ahuja, Govind Mittal DTP Pushpak T ya gi, Harish Aggarw al, Jagtar Singh, Dheeraj Arora DTP Co-or dinator Balwant Singh Editors Saloni T alw ar , Kingshuk Ghoshal Editorial Manager Dipali Singh Design Manager Arunesh T al apatra Art Di rector Shefali Upadhy ay Habitats Ben Hoare, Ben Morgan, Steve Pa rker Mammals Chris Gibson Birds Jonathan Elphick, Rob Hume, John Wo odward Fish Kim Dennis-Bry an Butterf lies & Moths Andrew Macka y, Chris Pe llant, Pa ul Sterr y Invert ebrates George McGavin Tre es Allen Coombes Wild Flow ers Neil Fletch er Other Plants David Burnie, Helen Pell ant, Joyce Pitt Fungi Shelley Eva ns, Geoff rey Kibby Conserva tion Richard Beatty , Neil Fletcher , Tim Halliday , Rob Houston, Rob Hume, Michelle P ayne, Chris Pellant, Graham Scholey This book was made with Fore st Stewardship Council certied paper one small step in DKs commitment to a sustainable fu ture. For more i nformatio n go to www. dk.com/our-gre en-pledge

PLANTS 3 Tre es Wild Fl owers Other Pl ants FUNGI MAMMALS BIRDS 10 REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS 16 FISH 17 INVERTEBRA TES 18 Butter i es & Mot hs 1 Insect s & Spiders Other In vert ebrate s 300 Geology o f the Br itish Isles 24 Coasta l 26 Freshw ater 36 Mounta in and Upland 46 Woodland 54 Farmland Man-made Glossary Index Acknowledg ments T OUR OF BRIT AIN & IREL AND 8 SPECIES 72 HABITA TS

Greylag G eese Britain is a foca l point for millions of migrating birds, including wild geese, from Arctic Canada, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

ur rather small, intr icate islands hav e ex cepti onal wildlife ric hes. The varie ty of geology and ge ography , the strong seasonal c hanges and mild winters, and th e human activity t hat inuences Br itain and Ireland's landscapes, provide great scope fo r the inquisit ive naturalist to discov er a n amazing dive rsity of wildlife within a small area. Th is book explores the va ried habita ts of the Br itis h Isles and the ora and fauna t hat inhabits them, giving y ou al l you need to enj oy and und erstand t heir marve ls, from soaring eagles to minute spider s, bumbling badgers to dar ting dragonies, and insecti vorou s bog plants to ancient fo rests. W hile we do not hav e hi gh mountains like other par ts of Europ e, our moderate peaks oe r spectacular cli s and tundra-like plat eaux. Low er dow n, extensiv e aci dic moors and some of th e nest watery peatlands in t he wor ld can be found, as w ell as f orests with endangere d W il dcats and rare Pine Martens, and dry h eaths wit h warm th-loving re ptiles. Chalk downlands add specialist wild ow ers and butte ries th at are not fo und in other habit ats. Britain and Ireland's wetl ands, including reedbeds, sw amps, lak es and riv ers , and more recently -ooded gra vel pits, prov ide marve llous wildlife-watch ing opportunit ies. Coast al marshes and estuar ies are fanta stic wildlife hotspots on lowe r-lyi ng coasts, and clis and islands come into t heir own in summer , when millions of seabirds breed. B ritain and Ireland are ga rdening nations, too, and wildlife likes comfort able places close to home muc h of it coming in from nearb y woods. In short , there is wildlife t o be discov ered a nywher e and eve rywh ere, from the tow n centre to the most remote oshore rock . All yo u need to do is to get out, if yo u can, to discov er it for yo urself. It is a fantast ically rewarding occupati on. Rob Hume.