#848: Wren

There are 80 species of true wrens, all but one species of which are found in North and South America. Wrens from Australia and New Zealand are different species, and unrelated, named for their similarity in appearance to their European namesake. These wee fellow is a Carolina Wren. Wren are small and insectivorous, although they will take other invertebrates and even tiny vertebrates when the opportunity arises. Well camouflaged and secretive, he is more often heard than seen.

#843: Woodcock

The Woodcocks are seven species of wading bird, being related, and similar in appearance, to the snipes. These species are ranged across the Northern Hemisphere, with some ranging down as far as New Guinea. The Woodcock is characterised by his stocky body and long bill. He is one of the few birds to have a flexible upper mandible. His large eyes are positioned such that he has 360° vision. He leads a nocturnal lifestyle, foraging for invertebrates and relying on his cryptic colouration to hide him during the day.

#837: Wolf

The Wolf is a large canine, historically spread across the Northern Hemisphere, although now some subspecies are Extinct or Critically Endangered. She is a pack animal, living in family groups led by a male and a female, and consisting of her growing offspring.  Pups remain with their parent pack for up to 4 years, before dispersing to form their own. Wolves hunt cooperatively, and share their kills, with the adult pair dining first. The Wolf has been shown to morphologically share a common ancestor with the domestic dog, and the two readily interbreed.

#834: Wigeon

The Wigeons are three species of dabbling duck, found in Eurasia and America. All are characterised by their rounded head and large forehead. During the breeding season, the American Wigeon drake sports a colourful face and cream crown. Outside of this time, his plumage is more subdued. They are talkative birds, with the drake whistling, whereas the female grunts and quacks. Found in wetlands and swamps, he feeds by grazing on land, or dabbling in the water; he is also known to steal weed from diving birds such as coots.

#675: Saiga

The Saiga is an antelope once found across the Eurasian Steppes. Now, due to uncontrolled hunting for food and his horn, numbers have shrunk considerably and he is classified as Critically Endangered. Unfortunately, further pressure has been put on the population by a mysterious illness, which by May 2015 had eliminated one third of the living population. Saiga are herd animals, gathering in large groups on the grasslands. Here they feed on a number of plants, including those distatseful to other animals. The distinctive large snout acts to filter dust during the dry summer months, whilst also cooling the blood. In the winter it warms the frigid air as the animal breathes.

#602: Porcupine

The Porcupines are rodents, characterised by their long spines, modified from hair follicles. They can be classified into two Families: the Old World and the New World. This Crested Porcupine is an Old World Porcupine. He can be found in parts of Africa and also in Italy. When threatened, Porcupine will raise their quills, shaking them ominously. If this does not deter predation and the predator attempts to attack, he will be rewarded with a face-full of painful barbs. Contrary to folklore, Porcupine cannot fire their quills, however they dislodge very easily, to become embedded in the potential predator. 

Creature Feature #588: Pika

The Pika is a sweet-faced little mammal, related to the rabbits. There are thirty species, spread across America and Eurasia, where they inhabit the colder regions, particularly in the mountains and high steppes. One species, the adorable Ili Pika of Asia, was first discovered in 1983, then not seen again until 2014, when he became an internet sensation. This species is an Collared Pika, found in the Canada and Alaska. Here she leads a solitary lifestyle, gathering grasses during the spring months, and drying them in her burrow for the cold winter. She does not hibernate. During these lean months, she may also collect any dead birds, killed by the cold, and bury them near her burrow, in snow. When she becomes hungry, she digs them out, pierces the skull and eats the brains.

Creature Feature #569: Partridge

The Patridge is a gamebird, halfway in size between the quail and the pheasant. There are various species, found naturally through Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This fellow is a Red-legged Patridge. He leads a terrestrial existence, foraging for seeds and only taking flight when disturbed. Nests are build on the ground, and chicks are precocious, able to leave the nest within a few hours of hatching.

Creature Feature #523: Nuthatch

The Nuthatch are small passerine birds found in the woodlands of the northern hemisphere. He follows an omnivorous diet, dining on a mix of insects, seeds and nuts. When foraging, he hops vertically up and down the trunk of the tree, using his slender, but strong, bill to probe into crevices. Larger food will be wedged in a crevice, then pecked at repeatedly until it splinters enough to be consumed. Nests are constructed within a tree hole, and some species will reduce the size of the entrance with mud and resin, offering some protection from woodpeckers. Another species smears blister beetles about the entrance, the stink is thought to deter squirrels.

Creature Feature #470: Mole

Moles belong to the Insectivore Family and dine on worms and insects and spend the majority of their life underground.He is superbly adapted to his subterranean life, equipped with powerful front limbs for digging. To survive in these suffocating burrows, his blood cells carry a unique protein, allowing him to re-use oxygen inhaled above ground. His  burrow acts as a "worm trap", when he senses a worm has fallen in he scurries along and captures it. A special toxin in his saliva paralyzes the earthworm, allowing him to store it away in a  larder for future consumption.

Creature Feature #466: Marbled Polecat

We interrupt the alphabet to bring you this charming mustelid!

The Marbled Polecat makes his home in the grasslands and drier regions from southeastern Europe to western China. During the day he retreats into an abandoned ground squirrel burrow, emerging at night to  prey on rodents and other small vertebrates. He may also dig a little himself, balancing on his hindlegs and chin, using his front paws to excavate a den. During the winter, he will line his dens with grass.

Creature Feature #458: Marmot

The Marmot are a Genus of large squirrels, found in the mountainous regions across North America and Eurasia. This Yellow-Bellied Marmot occurs in Canada and the western United States. Social in nature, he lives in a burrow, which he shares with two or three mates. His colony forages during the day, dining on grass and other vegetation, as well as insects and bird eggs. As winter nears, he makes his way into a deeper hibernation burrow. Here he will remain until late spring.

Creature Feature #443: Magpie

The Magpies are various members of the Corvidae Family, spread across three Genera. The most commonly recognised are the Pica Genus, which contains the piebald birds such as this Eurasian Magpie. The Magpie is an intelligent bird, capable of recognising that it is himself in the mirror. He has also been observed engaging in social rituals such as grieving, as well as problem solving and tool use. He forms a monogamous partnership, and will only seek another if his mate is lost. 

Creature Feature #437: Lynx

There are four species of Lynx, a medium-sized feline found in North America and Eurasia. She is characterised by her tufted ears and short tail. The more northern species have a thicker pelt and larger paws - adaptations to the colder climate - and her fur is lighter, allowing her better camouflage on the more open, snow-covered landscape. She is solitary in nature, hunting alone for small mammalian and avian prey. The Canadian species feeds almost exclusively on snowshoe hares, whereas her southern cousin, the Bobcat, follows a more varied diet.

Creature Feature #432: Loon

Loons are diving birds, with species spread throughout North America and Eurasia. He is an excellent swimmers, with his feet placed further back, towards his tail. This enables him to swim fast and dive deep, but his is clumsy on land. Hence his common name of "loon" (derived from either the Old English Lumme or Scandinavian Lum). His favoured diet is fish, along with the occasional crustacean or amphibian. These are stabbed with his sharp bill, swallowing it headfirst and whole.

This fellow is a black-throated loon, of Eurasia and West Alaska.