Page 99 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #05

Q&A

Q BIRDS
Do Britain’s wrens vary
in how they cope with
the cold?

A Yes.A BTO study has
found that birds living in
east Scotland are larger
than those from south-east
England, with five per cent Q MAMMALS
more body mass.This means
they can lay down more fat,
making them more resilient
to chilly weather. SM

A Echolocating bats’ ears function much hand, big ears can help generate lift,
like radar dishes. And the bigger the like subsidiary wings, and can also be
dishes, the more sensitive they are. But deployed as effective air brakes. It may be
big ears are heavy, unwieldy and hamper no coincidence that long-eared bats tend
forward progress through the air. Indeed, to hunt in cluttered woodland habitats,
experiments show that long-eared bats where they can afford to sacrifice a bit of
expend more energy in flight than their speed for better hearing. g.
lesser-endowed cousins. On the other Stuart Blackman

Brown long-eared bats
emerge at sunset for a
nightly insect feast.

Q BOTANY
What’s the difference between

wild and cultivated daffodils?

A The daffodils that erupt in most gardens,
parks and roadsides any time from January to
April are mostly cultivated varieties – bold, bright
and unmissable, though opinions vary widely on
their merits. For some they are joyous heralds
of spring, for others a brash insult to the natural
seasonal flora that they overshadow.
But carpets of native daffodils – as lauded by
William Wordsworth – were once a common
sight across much of Britain. These days their
distribution is patchy, their decline largely
the result of changing land management and
agricultural intensification. If in doubt as to the
provenance of the daffs you see, look at their
size, colour, leaf shape and location. Wild forms
are seldom taller than 35cm; their petals are pale
primrose yellow with a slightly darker trumpet,
and the leaves are narrow and greyish green.
They favour the damp ground of waterside or
woodland locations. To admire them en masse, Wild dafodils
head for the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Dymock, have a distinct
‘two-tone’
Kempley and Oxenhall in Gloucestershire, the appearance.
Cumbrian Lake District or Farndale on the North
York Moors. Amy-Jane Beer