Black Rats are uncommon and have black fur, while the common rat is the Brown Rat which is brown.

Mice

The House Mouse is grey-brown and commonly found in houses. The Wood Mouse when it is found in fields is called the Long-tailed Field Mouse, but it is the same animal with chestnut fur and white underside. The Yellow-necked Mouse is similar to the Wood Mouse, but a bit larger, and has a distinctive yellow-brown band that runs around the front of its neck like a scarf. The Harvest Mouse is much the smallest of our mice with a more rounded face than the other mice, and the only one to make a characteristic ball-shaped nest suspended among grass or cereal stalks well above ground.

Voles

In most of Britain there are just 3 species of vole. The Field Vole is sometimes called the Short-tailed Vole as its tail is only about the length of its head, while the Bank Vole's tail is longer, about the length of its body. The Field Vole is grey-brown while the Bank Vole is chestnut coloured. The much larger (more rat-sized) vole seen swimming in water is the Water Vole.

On the Orkney Islands and on Guernsey there is only one species of vole which, although it looks like the Field Vole, is a different species and on Orkney is called the Orkney Vole and on Guernsey is called the Guernsey Vole.

Shrews

These are active hunters of small prey. There are only 3 species of Shrew over most of Britain. As its name suggests the Pygmy Shrew is smaller than the Common Shrew, and indeed the Pygmy Shrew is the smallest native mammal in Britain. However, a young Common Shrew could be confused with an adult Pygmy Shrew. The clue to look for is that the Pygmy Shrew has a proportionately longer tail than the Common Shrew. The Common Shrew's tail is about the same length as its body, while the Pygmy Shrew's tail is equal to its body and about half its head length as well. The Water Shrew is much larger than the other two, and is semi-aquatic found in and around streams and ponds.

The Scilly and Channel Islands have two species of Shrews of their own, the Greater White-toothed Shrew and the Lesser White-toothed Shrew, which both have fully white teeth, whereas the other British Shrews have red tips to the top of their teeth.

Dormice

We only have one native species of Dormouse which can easily be told apart from the true mice by its furry tail and rounder shape. It is a great climber and is most likely to be found in woods in southern Britain that have Hazel coppice and Honeysuckle. The much larger Edible Dormouse is only found in a small area around Tring in Hertfordshire where it was introduced in 1902. It is grey, while the Common Dormouse is orange-brown.

Birds

Scimitar-winged

The scimitar-winged high flyers in Britain's summer skies are often confused by those beginning to take an interest in birds, yet by spotting a few key points they are easy to identify.

Swift - The only one that screams when it flies in groups. Although it is pale under the chin, the overall impression is of a dark fast high flying bird with very long thin silhouette wings. It flies fast up under the eves of buildings into its loft nest sites.

Swallow - These have a pleasing twitter. They are blue-black on their backs, and have white undersides and red chins. They have long tail streamers on a deeply forked tail that they fan out to bank in flight. They typically place their mud and straw nests on beams in open outbuildings and stables. They sit on telegraph wires before migrating.

House Martin - These also quietly twitter. They have dark brown-black backs with the addition of a distinctive white band across their rump, and white undersides. They have a stumpier tail than Swallows. They build delightful domed mud nests under the eves of buildings.

Sand Martin - These are similar in tail shape and appearance to the House Martin, except the Sand Martin has a paler light chocolate back with no rump band, but across its white underside it has a brown collar. They make burrows to nest in sand-banks or sand-cliffs, including sand quarries. (They will also use ready-made holes).

Wagtails

This is another bunch of birds that watchers get mixed-up over. But at least no-one mistakes the Pied Wagtail.

Pied Wagtail - It has the distinctive slim appearance, and continuous tail-flicking movement of a Wagtail. Easily recognised as it is pied, that is black and white.

Yellow Wagtail - One of the most yellow of the British birds! Not just a brilliant yellow underside but the yellow suffuses its back as a greeny-yellow-grey.

Grey Wagtail - This is the one that confuses people for it also has a brilliant yellow underside, but despite that is called the Grey Wagtail for its back is all grey, with no yellow-tinge. It is much more dependent on water than the Yellow Wagtail, and often nests beside fast-moving steams.

Woodpeckers

Newcomers to bird watching hear the tree-tapping of a woodpecker, and know there is a Woodpecker about, but don't know which is which, - yet they are really quite different.

Green Woodpecker - It's hard to confuse this big green bird with any other in Britain, - it's big and it's green! Unlike the other two Woodpeckers it can commonly be seen feeding on the ground. Like the other Woodpeckers it also has red on its head. Its old name is the 'Yaffle', due to its loud laughing call.

Great Spotted Woodpecker - This is a boldly marked, black and white bird, with red under its tail and a patch of red on the back of the male's head, while juveniles have red caps, and female have no red on the head.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - This is also black and white marked, (but less cleanly), but its distinguishing feature is that it is much smaller than the Great Spotted, being about the size of a sparrow. There is no red under the tail, but only the male has a redcap.

Coastal waders

These can be a nightmare for the beginner, for they can all look the same, - masses of grey birds at the shoreline in the distance across the mud. Yet they provide some of the most enjoyable winter watching, and it doesn't take too long to get your eye in, - but you really do need to get a decent pair of binoculars or telescope.

Once set up, some simple tips can make life easier for the watcher. Remember they are feeding on organisms like shellfish and marine worms in the mud, so at low tide they are more spread out with lots of choice. As high tide approaches they are forced together and brought close to you by the water.

Wader Size - Once you get your eye in for size you will be able to sort them out much more easily.

Big: The largest of Britain's waders is the Curlew with a distinctive long downward curved beak and long legs. The Godwits are not quite as big, the Black-tailed Godwits have straight bills, (and black tails!) whilst the Bar-tailed Godwit has a slightly upturned bill (and bars across its tail!)

Some large waders are not the standard drab grey, so are easily recognised. Both the Oystercatcher and Avocet are boldly black and white. The Oystercatcher has a short neck and bright red long straight thick bill, while the Avocet has a dark graceful upturned bill.

Middle-sized: Redshank are easily recognised by their red legs. If disturbed they will rise up and call out a warning. Greenshank are similar in appearance, except with greenish legs. Grey Plover lose their distinctive black chest of summer and when they visit Britain in winter they are grey, - but they keep black armpits seen by binoculars when they fly. They have shorter bills than the Shanks. Slightly smaller in size are the Knot.

Small: The commonest small wader is the Dunlin seen in huge flocks. If you see a small wader, think first "Is it a Dunlin?". They have slightly turned down bills.

However, some small waders are easy to distinguish.

Ringed Plover - the ringed plovers are easy to tell from other birds by their black neck ring. However, do check the differences between Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers. Ringed Plovers have small organge bills with black tips, while Little Ringed have no orange on the bill. The Ringed have yellow-orange legs, - but the Little Ringed do not.

Turnstone - These neither look nor behave like any of the others. They are colourful with brown and black backs and white undersides with orange legs and live up to their name by turning over stones to look for food.

Sanderlings - Despite being small grey birds with white undersides in winter, they do stand out from other waders due to their frenetic runs back and forth with the waves, looking like clockwork toys.

Coastal waders

Wader's bill lengths, longer beeks can seek deeper into the shore mud for food.

Waders from the left on chart: Curlew,
Godwit,
Redshanks,
Knot,
Sanderling,
Ringed Plover.

Amphibians

An incredible proportion of people confuse frogs and toads, yet they are very easy to recognise.

Frog

The Common Frog is out on land in damp places most of the year, but seen in ponds in Spring. They have smooth skin and look quite sleek. They lay eggs in large jelly masses that float towards the water surface. Frogs progress by hopping on land.

Frog tadpoles developing

Toad

The Common Toad also spawns in water in Spring. Its skin is much wartier than the frog, and it lays its eggs in continuous chains of jelly twined around water plant stems. On land it walks rather than hops.

Small fish

Sticklebacks and Minnows are often caught in nets by youngsters sampling freshwater, - but which is which?

Stickleback

The Three-spined Stickleback is the commonest of the small freshwater fish in Britain, and it can be found across a range of conditions from ponds to estuaries. They can swim in large shoals. They have 3 spines on the back (there is also a Nine-spined Stickleback mainly found in estuaries). The male Three-spined Stickleback develops a red underside in Spring. Sticklebacks have wedge-shaped tails with no indentation.

Minnow

These also move in shoals but are mainly found in well oxygenated upper stretches of rivers. They have no spines, but do have more distinctive vertical banding along the upper body. They have indented tails.

Insects

Freshwater nymphs (larvae)

When people first try sampling freshwater they will find what are quite clearly insect larvae each with three pairs of legs on the thorax, and a segmented tail, and a definite head, but have difficulties sorting out which type of larvae they have found. However, by looking at the end of the tail and checking on the number and type of appendages at the tip, its not too hard to sort them out.

No Appendages - This is likely to be a Whirligig Beetle larva.

One Appendage - A single pointed end (although with a fringe of gills down both sides of the abdomen) is likely to be an Alder Fly larva.

Two Appendages - If these are long, it is probably a Stone Fly larva, but if they are short, it could be a Water Beetle larva or a Caddis Fly larva. However, many Caddis Fly larvae are found in cases made of fragments of plant or small-stones.

Three Appendages - If they are long (as long as the combined thorax and abdomen), it is probably a May Fly nymph. If they are quite long, (about the length of the thorax alone), and are in flat plates rather than spines, then it is a Damselfly nymph. These are quite large larvae, as is also the chunkier Dragonfly nymph which has such small protuberances that they can be missed.

Dragonflys and damselflys

These are a great favourite for anyone taking a riverside walk in the summer, for their large size and brilliant appearance makes them unmissable. These are frequently confused, and although sorting out individual species require more care, it is very easy to tell Dragonfly from Damselfly.

Damselfly - A Damselfly has a slender body like a knitting-needle. They are more delicate than Dragonflies, and much more fluttery in flight. When perched at rest on a waterside plant they bring their wings together above the body.

Dragonfly - A Dragonfly has a much more robust build than a Damselfly, and more definite in flight. When at rest they keep their wings out flat on either side of the body. There are 2 main types of Dragonfly, - hawkers and darters (although there are a number of species of each).

- Hawkers: These restlessly fly patrolling up and down their territory. They normally have a slim body (though much heavier than that of the Damselfly).

- Darters: These spend more time at rest on vegetation waiting for food to fly by, when they dart out and grab it. The abdomen is often more cigar-shaped.

Plants

There are far more species of plants in Britain than there are mammals, birds or fish. Many of them are flowering plants. The key to identifying one is to try to put it into its correct family by looking for certain family traits or similarities. To do this it's often a good idea to visualise a typical member of the family. Here are some examples:

Buttercup Family - These have quite a distinctive appearance, usually with 5 petals and quite often yellow like the Meadow Buttercup. Water living buttercups are called Crowfoot and have white flowers with yellow centres.

Poppy Family - These typically have large colourful crinkly petals, red like the Common Poppy or yellow like the Yellow Horned-poppy.

Fumitory Family - These are low growing delicate with thin bell-like flowers like the pale pink flowering Common Fumitory or the Yellow Corydalis that grows on garden walls.

Cabbage Family - These form a distinctive group usually with yellow or white flowers each with 4 petals, and a number are well known as vegetables such as Cabbage, Mustard, Rape, Watercress. The leaves of Black Mustard or Rape are typically quite tough and large, while those such as Shepherd's Purse are much smaller.

Geranium Family - They have 5 simple petals. A big section of the family are the Crane's bills, the commonest being Herb Robert, the seed head of which looks not unlike a Crane's bill, thin and pointed.

Meadow Buttercup flower (Ranunclus acris) typical of a Buttercup family

Single flower of Wild Cabbage (Brassica oleracea), typical of Cabbage family

Herb Robert flower (Geranium robertianum) typical of Geranium family

Rose Family - This is quite a diverse family. A good standard model is provided by either of our commonest hedgerow roses, the Dog Rose or the Field Rose. These have 5 petals and 5 sepals. The Dog Rose has many colour shades, but typically has pink edged petals, while the Field Rose is usually white. These true roses have distinctive leaves and stems with thorns, yet both the Strawberry and the Hawthorn are also in the Rose Family.

Carrot or Umbellifer Family - These are a very distinctive group with upright flower stalks, often tall, with flower heads in the form of often flat umbells (or "umbrella-heads"). Cow Parsley, Hogweed, Carrot, and Hemlock are typical examples. Flower heads are most commonly white but can be yellow like Alexanders.

Mint or Labiate Family - These are very distinctive, with a square stem in cross section that can easily be told by rotating the stem between finger and thumb. They usually have lipped flowers in the form of those of the Woundworts and the Dead-nettles. They often have strongly scented leaves (that become more noticeable if rubbed) such as in Spearmint in the garden, or Watermint beside our rivers.

Text clockwise from top

Daisy, Compositae,
Musk Stork's-bill, Geraniaceae Field Rose, Rosaceae, Wild Cabbage, Cruciferae, Hedge Woundwort, Labiatae

Fungi

Most naturalists love to go on fungus foreys in the Autumn. However, the first thing to realise about fungi is that although they look more like plants than animals, they are neither, they are a separate kingdom.

They are classified as either Basidiomycetes or Ascomycetes, depending on how they produce spores. Most of the more familiar fungi are in the Basidiomycetes group. These can be further grouped according to how they then disperse their spores, some have gills under their caps like the Edible Mushroom, while other have pores or small holes on their underside like most of Bracket Fungi that can be seen attached to trees, such as Birch Polypore.

Some fungi have colourful caps which can help identification. Russulas are one group that have colourful caps and have gills, while Boletes are another colourful cap group but they have pores under the cap.

One group in particular, the Amanites have gills, and a number are poisonous, including the deadly Death Cap. Do not eat any fungi unless you have made certain of identification as an edible species. A good way to learn is by accompanying an experienced naturalist on a BNA branch ramble.

To gain more guidance in identification of wild British species of birds, animals, plants, insects, fungi and other wildlife consult printed guides, such as the BNA Guides, and gain from the experience of expert BNA naturalists in the field by becoming a member of your local BNA branch.