Common pipistrelle
The common pipistrelle is so small, it can fit into a matchbox! Despite its size, it can easily eat 3,000 insects a night: look for it flitting around the garden or a lit lamp post as it chases…
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Brown shrimp
The brown shrimp blends perfectly with its seabed home and is found all around the coasts of the UK.
Common gull
Despite its name, the common gull is not as common as some of our other gulls. It can be spotted breeding at the coast, but is also partial to sports fields, landfill sites and housing estates in…
Common cotton-grass
The fluffy, white heads of common cotton-grass dot our brown, boggy moors and heaths as if a giant bag of cotton wool balls has been thrown across the landscape!
Common laburnum
Common laburnum is an introduced species, planted in parks and gardens. It is most recognisable in flower - its hanging bunches of yellow blooms giving it the name 'Golden rain'. It is…
Common skate
Despite its name, the "common" skate is not so common anymore. In fact, they are Critically Endangered.
Common seal
The smaller of our two UK seal species, common seals are also known as harbour seals. Despite being called "Common", they are actually less common than grey seals!
Common juniper
A sprawling, spiny evergreen, Common juniper is famous for its traditional role in gin-making. Once common on downland, moorland and coastal heathland, it is now much rarer due to habitat loss.…
Common butterwort
The carnivorous lifestyle of common butterwort makes this heathland plant a fascinating species. Its leaves excrete a sticky fluid that tempts unsuspecting insects to land and become its prey.
Common crossbill
As it names suggests, the common crossbill has a large bill that is crossed at the tip - perfect for picking the seeds out of pine cones. Look for it in conifer woodlands, mainly in the north and…
Common hornbeam
Mainly found in Southern and Eastern England, the Common hornbeam is a tall tree of ancient woodlands. Its large catkins appear in spring, and its winged seeds are dispersed by the wind in autumn…
Common sorrel
Common sorrel is a common plant of grasslands, woodland edges, roadside verges and gardens. It is also known as 'sour ducks' because its leaves taste tart.