Below you will find ten descriptions. Each is either the description of a British bird or a wildflower. See if you can figure out what exactly is being described, make a note of your answers, and check them against the solutions at the bottom of this post.
Leave your score in the comments!
Questions
1. This grassland plant can be found on embankments, in meadows, and roadsides. It is quite a bit taller than a true daisy, it's got stiff, branched stems, and white and yellow flowerheads that are up to 5cm wide. It grows up to 80cm in height and the flower has a yellow central disc.
2. This is one of Europe's most recognisable wildflowers and common to farmland. The petals are large and scarlet in colour. The hairy flower bud nods on the end of a stem with fine hairs of its own.
3. No. I didn't say pigeon! This is a very attractive dabbling duck, and a winter visitor to many parts of Britain. It's a bit smaller than a Mallard and has a pointed tail, and a small pale blue-grey bill with a darker tip.
4. Table top football game anyone? Or, shall we go birdwatching instead? This handsome little falcon with bold white cheeks eats dragonflies on the wing, but will also make a meal of small birds. Often hunts near water and is active in the evening.
5. A bit of a misnomer, since this bird is outnumbered by its Arctic relative. In the summer, this black capped seabird comes to visit, but winters in Africa. So, it's your turn, over to you - do you recognise this graceful relative of the gulls?
6. Right, let's have a chat about this! This little bird is about the size of a robin and has a call that sounds like two stones being knocked together. In the summer, the male has a dark head but a white collar. Both the male and female have a peachy-orange chest.
7. A flock of these birds is a real 'charm'! In fact, they're worth their weight in gold! This little bird might be red-faced, but it has nothing to be embarrassed about.
8. This is a wild ancestor of beetroot and sugar beet, and is found on coastal shingle and dry, salty ground close to shore. Sometimes the whole plant has a reddish tinge. A slightly fleshy, glossy leaf.
9. Another coastal plant, with fleshy leaves and tall clusters of yellow flowers. The wild ancestor of cabbage, broccoli, and other cultivated vegetables. The fleshy, undulating leaf has a thick midrib.
10. This wildflower can be found on field edges and in grassy spaces. It's flower is a lovely and brilliant blue. A wonderful sky-blue. Sorry, I don't mean to be corny. There are garden varieties of different colours.
Solutions
1. Oxeye daisy. 2. Common poppy. 3. Wigeon. 4. Hobby. 5. Common tern. 6. Stonechat. 7. Goldfinch. 8. Sea beet. 9. Wild cabbage. 10. Cornflower.
How did you do? Let us know in the comments!
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