Monthly Archives: January 2013

Redwing or fieldfare?

Posted on 2013/01/09 by Fay Newbery

Saw a bird in a tree outside HUMS cafe just before Christmas. About the size of a blackbird but in shades of brown. Bright red patch on the body, just below the wing if I remember rightly. Redwing or fieldfare?

Posted in Animals, Birds | 1 Comment

Hypericaceae – St John’s wort family

Posted on 2013/01/09 by Sarah Hanson

Hypericaceae is a plant family containing ten genera (The plant list, 2010), although some classification systems consider it a subfamily of Clusiaceae (Heywood et al, 2007). One of the genera, Hypericum (or St John’s-wort) is widespread with 370 species, especially in … Continue reading →

Posted in Flowering Plants, Hypericaceae, Plants | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Woodpigeon

Posted on 2013/01/09 by Conor Haugh

LATIN NAME: Columba palumbus WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE: Exactly what you’d expect a pigeon to look like, really! It is a grey bird with a pinkish breast and a wingspan of approximately 75cm. The Woodpigeon is distinguishable from other pigeons … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Birds | Leave a comment

Grey Squirrel

Posted on 2013/01/09 by Conor Haugh

    LATIN NAME: Sciurus carolinensis WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE: It’s all in the name really! These big fellas are about 20 inches from head to tail. They’re coat can be any shade from black to pale grey. It is tinted … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Mammals, Squirrels | Leave a comment

Reed or Rush or neither? What’s in a name…

Posted on 2013/01/08 by Helen L

Common names for plants, although easy to remember, can often be misleading. So is the case with the family Typhaceae, which contains the Cattails (accurately describing the classic and unmistakable cylindrical inflorescense). However more ambiguous are the alternative names such … Continue reading →

Posted in Flowering Plants, Plants, Typhaceae | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment