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The Waldschaf sheep of Germany is a member of the dual-coated landrace. A direct descendent of the Bavarian Zaupelschaf, it is a very old breed that used to be wide spread. It is a small, robust, and frugal landrace, with a calm disposition, high fecundity, and a non-seasonal breeding cycle. It can be bred twice a year and twins are the norm. The breed has delicate limbs and hard hoofs. The head is straight, but can be slightly curved on the ram. Ears stick out sideways or hang slightly.
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Walk is the collective noun for a group of snipe.
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The Walker (Polyphylla fullo) is a genus of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae.
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The Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in north Africa, Europe and Asia in warm, open localities.
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Wall Germander (Teucrium chamedrys) is a perennial sub shrub of the family Labiatae with a woody creeping rhizome bearing tufts of square, ascending, purplish herbaceous stems. The leaves are opposite, dark-green in colour, pointed oval and have rounded teeth. The flowers are pinkish-purple and arranged in whorls of two to six in the upper leaf axils forming extended terminal spikes. The calyx tube has five teeth; the corolla has one five- lobed lower lip, with a large spreading middle lobe. There is no upper lip so the stamens are exposed. the fruit consists of four smooth nutlets.
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Wallaby is the name of several small members of the kangaroo family.
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Wallaces' Line is a biological dividing line passing north-north-east between the East Indian islands of Bali and Lombok and Borneo and Celebes, to the west of which the flora and fauna are distinctly Asian in character, while to the east and south the Australian elements begin to be marked, and very soon become predominant. It was named after the biologist Wallace who clearly defines it in his book 'Island Life' published in 1880.
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The wallflower (Cheiranthus) is a genus of plants of the family Cruciferae. The common wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri) is yellow when wild.
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Wallflower cabbage (Rhynchosinapis cheiranthos) is an erect annual or short- lived cruciferous perennial with hairy leaves usually pinnately cut into lobed or toothed segments. The flowers have bright yellow petals with darker veins. The fruits are slender siliquae.
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The walnut (Juglans regia) is a tree of the family Juglandeae. It was introduced into Britain from Asia in the 15th century. It is a spreading tree and grows to a height of around 15 metres with a short bole which may grow to six metres in circumference and is covered with rugged grey bark. It bears fruit similar to a plum, the stone of which is eaten and the timber is light but tough and makes attractive furniture.
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The walrus or morse (Trichechus rosmarus) is a large pinniped marine carnivore similar to the seal but constituting a special family, the Trichechidae or Odobenidae. It is confined to the Arctic regions and occurs in two varieties, a Pacific and an Atlantic form. It is a clumsy animal reaching a length of 3.5 metres and a weight of 1400 kg. As in the eared seals, the hind limbs are capable of being turned forwards to support the weight of the body, and the first and fifth toes are larger than the three median ones. The toes of the hind feet have, further, large lobes projecting beyond the ends of the bones. External ears are totally absent, and the canines of the upper jaw are greatly enlarged to form conspicuous projecting tusks. The muzzle is divided into two parts by a groove between the nostrils, and the upper lip is furnished at each side with a number of conspicuous bristles. The tail is small, the fore limbs nearly as large s the hind, and there are five small claws on both fore and hind feet. Walruses are usually found in the vicinity of land or floating ice. They are markedly social and except during the breeding season or when attacked are gentle and inoffensive.
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The wapiti (Cervus canadensis) is a North American deer closely allied to the red deer, but much larger and of different colour, and often mistaken for the Elk. The body is fawn coloured with the head and limbs brown. The wapiti stands 1.5 metres at the shoulder. The antlers are greatly developed, are smooth and have the surroyal tines, usually three or more in number in the adult, flattened and expanded, while the beam is markedly curved backwards.
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Waratah is a shrub of the family Proteaceae, characterised by brilliant crimson tubular flowers borne in dense globular clusters at the end of sprays of long oval, oak-like leaves.
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In botany, a wart is a small rounded outgrowth.
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The wart hog (Phacochoerus) is a genus belonging to the pig family found in Africa. Wart hogs are characterised by their very large heads, which bear large wart-like processes at the sides. The tusks are greatly developed, those of the upper jaw being considerably larger than those of the lower.
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Wasp is a popular name for insects of the super-family Vespoidea, sub-order Apocrita, order hymenoptera.
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The Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietis) is a species of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) found in Britain and Europe. The larvae develop in the wood of various deciduous trees and the adults can be found on Beech trees and on flowers in early summer.
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Watch is the collective noun for a group of nightingales.
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The water Carpet (Lampropteryx suffumata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 25 and 32 mm found in temperate Europe and western Asia flying from April to July.
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The water deer is a small, hornless, ruminant, armed with long tusks and coloured dark brown with white stripes. It is found in west Africa.
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The Water Dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) is a lizard found in tropical rain forests throughout much of South-East Asia where they live in trees close to water.
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Water Lily is a general name for the aquatic plants of the family Nymphaeaceae, of which there are about 60 species distributed through temperate and tropical countries. They are all perennial, and most have large floating leaves and showy solitary flowers.
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Water mint (Mentha aquaticavar) is a perennial herb of the family Labiatae with a branched rhizome and erect, square stems, branched in the upper part. The leaves are sessile, opposite, ovate, sharply toothed, wrinkled and hairy. The flowers are bluish in colour, tubular and arranged in slender, terminal, axillary soikes. The calyx and corolla have four equal lobes. The fruit consists of four brown nutlets.
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The Water Ringlet (Erebia pronoe) is a European mountain butterfly of the family Satyridae with a wing span of about 45 mm.
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The water shrew (Neomys fodiens) has a fringe of bristly silvery-white hairs on the hind feet, a double row of hairs act as a keel on the tail for swimming. It is very dark in colour above, but the underside varies from white to grey. Sometimes it occurs as a very dark morph. The ear openings can be closed, and there are four uni-cuspid teeth. The water shrew moults in spring and autumn. Water shrews live generally close to water, that is mostly on the banks of swiftly flowing streams and weirs, and are especially abundant in watercress beds, and are also occasionally found near ditches, ponds and the seashore. They may be found as a temporary visitor in woodlands and grasslands. The nest is a ball of vegetation in an extensive burrow system, excavated by the shrew, using its front feet and nose. The entrance may be above or below water level, and the shrew may re-use mole tunnels. Water shrews eat mostly aquatic crustaceans and insect larvae, and terrestrial beetles, molluscs, worms, occasionally small fish, amphibia and mammals, which are caught both under water and on land. The water shrew produces a venom in its saliva which is effective against small mammals, and is a fast, adept swimmer, a good diver and floats like a cork due to the air caught in its very water-repellent coat. The breeding season is from April to September, with two litters a year possible, each of about six young, but maybe as few as three or as many as fifteen. The animals becoming sexually mature in their second year.
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The Water Spider (Argyroneta aquatica) is a species of British spider, up to about 14 mm long found in weed infested lakes and ponds, and less often in slow-flowing streams. The Water Spider builds a domed, air-filled web among the water plants.
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The Water Veneer (Acentria nivea) is a moth of the family Pyralidea with a wing span of between 10 and 12 mm found in central and eastern Europe in freshwater localities flying from May to September. The caterpillar lives deep on fresh water within the aquatic plants Elodea canadensis and Ceratophyllum demersum, pupating under water in an air-filled cocoon.
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The water violet (Hottonia palustris) is a British pond plant of the family Primulaceae. It bears much divided, subaqueous leaves, and whorls of pink and yellow salver-shaped flowers on a leafless stalk, which rises above the surface of the water.
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The water vole is either of two large semi-aquatic Eurasian voles of the genus Arvicola. The water vole builds its burrow in the banks of rivers and streams. Often wrongly called a water rat, the water voles have a reddish-brown coloured coat and a rounded muzzle.
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The water-boatman is an insect of the order Hemiptera found in fresh water ponds, and having oar-like legs for swimming.
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The water-buck is a large antelope about the size of a donkey, found usually in swampy places in east and south Africa. It is mainly brown in colour and has long, strongly ribbed horns in the male only.
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Water-dropwort (OEnanthe) are a genus of plants of the family Umbelliferae. They bear few-rayed flowers, in compound umbels, followed by globular umbels of egg-shaped fruits.
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Water-hemlock (Oenanthe crocata) is a British waterside plant growing to a height of one metre with clustered tuberous roots, glossy thrice-pinnate leaves, and wedge-shaped leaflets. It belongs to the family Umbelliferae, and bears white flowers in late summer. The whole plant is poisonous.
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Water-pepper (Polygonum hydropiper) or smartweed, is an annual herb of the family Polygonaceae native to the northern temperate hemisphere, with a semi-erect branched stem and lanceolate leaves with undulate margins and glandular below. It grows to between 20 and 70 centimetres tall. The flowers are small, pink or greenish in colour and arranged in loose terminal, interrupted, often nodding spikes. The perianth segments are dotted with numerous yellow glands. The fruit is a three-sided, dull brownish-black achene. The juice of the plant is very acrid, from which it derives its name, and have been used as a diuretic in medicine.
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Water-Plantain (Alisma) is a name for several species of the family Alismaceae, aquatic and sometimes floating, with long-stalked, often large leaves.
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The water-rat is the largest of the British voles, about the size of a common rat. It lives in burrows in the banks of streams and feeds on green food and roots.
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The water-scorpion is an insect of the order Hemiptera, which lives in fresh- water ponds and preys upon other insects.
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The waterbuck (Kobus) is a genus of antelope found in Africa. The waterbuck is more than 1.2 metres tall and has a coarse, shaggy coat that is generally reddish-brown in colour. The species Kobus ellipsiprymnus has a white elliptical ring on the rump. This ring is lacking in the other species, Kobus defassa, known as the sing-sing. The adult males of both species have long, ringed horns. The waterbuck roves in small herds near marshes or rivers, to which it runs for refuge when alarmed.
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Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is a perennial aquatic plant of the family Cruciferae, related to the wallflower and widely cultivated as a salad. It is abundant in small streams, and roots in the mud at the bottom. From the creeping stems arise alternate leaves divided into a varying number of pairs of leaflets. The flowers are small and white and clustered together.
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Watsonia is a genus of South African bulbous plants of the family Iridaceae. They bear long, somewhat rigid leaves, and sessile flowers, one to the spathe.
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The wattle-bird (Anthochoera carunculata) is one of the honey-eaters. It is confined to Australia, but another species is Tasmanian. The distinguishing feature is the elongation of the wattles, hence the name.
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The Waved Black (Parascotia fuliginaria) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 18 and 28 mm found in temperate Europe. A single generation is produced flying from June to September. The caterpillar feeds on lichens, mushrooms and rotting wood.
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The Wax Moth (Galleria mellonella) is a moth of the family Pyralidae with a wing span of between 20 and 30 mm found all over the world in bees nests where the caterpillar feeds on the wax from the honeycomb. The moth flies from spring to autumn.
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The wax palm (Ceroxylon andicola) is a tree of the family Palmae, found in Colombia, which attains a height of around 15 metres. It is crowned with large spreading leaves which may be three metres in length and resemble gigantic feathers. The trunk is lined with a resinous wax.
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The wax-plant or honeywort (Cerinthe major) are plants of the genus Cerinthe, a subdivision of the family Boraginaceae. The popular name is derived from an old idea that bees visited the flowers for wax.
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The wax-tree or gamboge or gutta-gum tree (Vismia guianensis) is a little tree or shrub native to tropical America. It bears corymbs of yellowish flowers in late summer.
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The waxbill is a small seed eating bird found in Africa.
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The waxwing (Ampelis garrulus) is a bird of the family Ampelidae which breeds within the Arctic circle, but is a visitor to Britain. It is about twenty centimetres long and has an erectile crest, long pointed wings, and a short tail. The general colour of the plumage is greyish brown, but the head is marked with black and chestnut and the wings and tail are blackish, with yellow and white markings. About eight of the secondary feathers of the wing and in some cases some of the tail feathers have red wax-like tips at the shafts, hence the common name. Waxwings feed on insects and berries and have a trilling song.
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The weasel (Mustela vulgaris) is a carnivorous mammal of the family Mustelidae. It feeds mainly on voles, rats and mice. The colour is a deep brown above and white below, and the body is snake-like allowing the animal to worm its way through dense undergrowth and into the holes of its prey.
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The weaver bird or baya (Ploceus philippinus), is an interesting East Indian passerine bird, somewhat like the bullfinch. Its nest resembles a bottle, and is suspended from the branch of a tree. The entrance is from beneath, and there are two chambers, one for the male, the other for the female. The weaver bird is easily tamed, and will fetch and carry at command.
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Webb's Wainscot (Archanara sparganii) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 32 and 40 mm found in the temperate zone of the Palaearctic in damp biotopes near water. A single generation is produced each year flying from August to October.
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The Weever fish (Trachinus) is a genus of small European marine fish. They have highly poisonous dorsal spines.
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The Welara is a new breed of American pony developed in 1981 in southern California. The Welara stands between 11 and 14 hands high. The Welara combines elements of the Arab and Welsh Pony making for a kind, intelligent, calm and lively and energetic pony which performs well and is excellent with children.
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The Wellington or Dumelow's Seedling is an English species of apple named after the farmer (Dumelow) who raised it. It was said to be Queen Victoria's favourite apple, and is very good for mincemeat and makes excellent baked apples. The fruit stores very well.
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Wellingtonia was a former name for the giant trees of California. It was superseded in the late 19th century by the term Sequoia.
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The Welsh Black is a breed of beef cattle.
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The Welsh Clearwing (Synanthedon scoliaeformis) is a moth of the clearwing family (Sesiidae) with a wing span of between 24 and 32 mm found in deciduous forests containing birch trees in Europe flying from June to July. The caterpillar lives in the trunks of old birch trees close to the ground.
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The Welsh Cob is a breed of British pony, larger and heavier than the Welsh Mountain Pony, standing 13 hands high. It is thought the Welsh Cob developed from a cross of Welsh Mountain Ponies and ponies brought by the Romans, before later being bred with Spanish ponies and later with other breeds.
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The Welsh Harlequin is a breed of duck.
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The Welsh Mountain Pony is the oldest recorded breed of British pony. They stand 12 hands high and have very good temperaments, making them ideal for children, and they have been widely used for the development of other breeds of riding pony.
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The welsh onion, salad onion or spring onion (Allium pistulosum) is a Siberian perennial plant very hardy in the British climate. Its roots instead of bulbing as in the common onion, are long and tapering and its stems and leaves are hollow. It is cultivated for its young growths used to flavour salads in the spring.
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The Welsh Poppy (Mecanopsis cambrica) is a perennial plant of the family Papaveraceae. It is native to western Europe and grows to 60 centimetres in height with pale green leaves and 4-petalled flowers.
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The Welsh Springer Spaniel is a breed of dog thought perhaps to have evolved in Britain from Springer Spaniels and Clumber Spaniels. A hard working breed of gundog, they are difficult to train, but are versatile, loyal and trustworthy with a keen scenting ability.
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The Welsh Terrier is a breed of dog evolved from the rough breed found in Wales and used for rabbiting and getting foxes out of rocks. It is similar in appearance to the Irish Terrier, except for its colour.
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The Welsummer is a breed of chicken.
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Welwitschia is a genus of plants belonging to the family Gnetaceae.
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Welwitschia mirabilis is a South African plant with a hard, brown, obconical trunk lying just along the ground, and giving rise to two flat, leathery linear leaves often over two metres in length. It bears cymes of small scarlet cones, within the scales of which the solitary flowers are contained.
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The wentletraps (Scalaria) are a genus of marine gastropod molluscs (shell fish) related to Turritella. The shell is very attractive, being usually of a pure lustrous white colour and a spiral in shape with many whorls.
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The Wessex Saddleback is a British breed of domestic pig originally from Dorset and traditionally bred on farms through Hampshire for bacon. The Wessex Saddleback is black in colour with a white band around the shoulders that extends down the front legs and feet. The ears are lopped forwards. A hardy animal, the Wessex Saddleback is now a rare breed but is still farmed at Manor Farm in Hampshire.
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The West African Dwarf (Cameroons Dwarf, Djallonke, Forest-type, Fouta Djallon, Futa Jallon, Guinean, Kirdi, Kirdimi, Lakka, Nigerian Dwarf, Pagan, Savannah-type, Southern, West African Maned) is the predominant breed of sheep in the humid tropics from southern west Africa through central Africa. Their colour is generally black piebald on white. Tan piebald on white, predominately coloured (tan or black) and the blackbelly pattern are also found. Adult males weight approximately 37 kg. They have a well-developed throat ruff and are horned. Ewes have mature weights of 25 kg. The females are usually polled. They can be bred at the age of seven to eight months. They tend to have a short lambing interval.
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The West Highland is a breed of cattle.
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The West Highland White Terrier or Poltalloch Terrier originating from Argyllshire, Scotland. The breed came about by chance after a dark-coloured terrier was accidentally shot and killed by its master, Colonel Nalcolm in 1860. He subsequently decided to breed white coloured terriers to avoid a reoccurrence of the accident. The breed was used for hunting vermin and is today an alert, lively, independent guard dog type of dog.
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The Western Aquatic Garter Snake (Thamnophis couchi) is a species of American Garter snake growing to about 160 centimetres long, and varying in colour with sub-species, but usually with dorsal spotting and a weak dorsal stripe. The dorsal scales are keeled in nineteen or twenty-one rows and usually the rear chin shields arte longer than the front pair.
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The Western grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) is a large, long-necked grebe with a long greenish-yellow bill, red eyes, black crown, face, and nape. The back and wings are dark blackish-brown and the chin, throat, and belly are white. The feet set far back on body.
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The Western Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is a European species of hedgehog that has uniform colouring on the underside. The skull has a short postero- dorsal process on the maxilla, which does not extend behind the lachrymal foramen.
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The Western Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus) is an American snake of about fifty centimeters in length found in relatively dry, sandy prairie areas, scrubland and river floodplains in Iowaand surrounding areas of the USA where it eats frogs, toads, small rodents, birds, lizards, small snakes and reptile's eggs. The Western Hognose Snake is acrepuscular - active during the morning and late afternoon.
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The Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus) is an American species of Garter snake growing to about 123 centimetres long and distinguished by labials greatly offset from the rest of the head by being lighter in colour to the rest of the dark coloured head.
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The Western Terrestrial Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans) is an American species of Garter snake growing to about 107 centimetres in length and distinguished by eight upper labials, the sixth and seventh being usually noticeably enlarged.
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A whale is a large marine mammal of the order Cetacea.
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The Whalesbury is a breed of duck.
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Wheat (triticum vulgare) is a species of hard grass, the seeds of which are ground to make flour.
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The wheatear (Saxicola oenanthe) is a genus of chat birds. The male is greyish blue above, with a black streak at the side of the head, the wings are nearly black, the rump white, the tail black and white, the under surface white with a tinge of buff. The food consists of insects and the bird is commonly found on moorlands near the sea. The nest is often built in rabbit holes or in the crevice of a stone wall.
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Whelk is a name applied to a number of marine carnivorous gastropoda, though it should be restricted to the species of Buccinum and Fusus. The common whelk of British waters is Buccinum undatum, called 'buckie' in Scotland, which burrows in mud and sand from low water to considerable depths. It is both used as bait and sent to the London market for food. The shell has few whorls, is spirally grooved and striated, and has the surface marked with oblique transverse undulations. Allied to Buccinum is the genus Fusus, including the forms called spindle-shells, red whelks, or roaring buckies, which have markedly fusiform shells. The dog-whelk is the common Purpura lapillus, abundant everywhere between tide-marks; and the name is also applied to species of Nassa, of which Nassa reticulata occurs between tide- marks in abundance.
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The whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) is a bird of the plover group, closely related to and resembling the curlew, but considerably smaller and breeding in Great Britain in the Orkneys and Shetland.
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The whinchat (Pratincola rubetra) is a bird nearly allied to the stonechat, which it generally resembles in colour. It is a summer visitor to Britain, wintering in Africa, and is found chiefly on warm sunny heaths where there is undergrowth, but also in grassy meadows whence its other name of grasschat.
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The whip-scorpion is a group of Arachnida of the order Pedipalpi, resembling the spider in having a narrow wait between the fore-part and the abdomen, but differing in having no silk glands. The second pair of limbs are modified as powerful grasping organs armed with spines for impaling their prey and the first pair of legs are turned into antenna-like feelers, resembling long whips in some kinds.
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The whippet is a British breed of dog produced by crossing a hybrid of a fox- terrier and a greyhound with an Italian greyhound. Whippets are used for coursing rabbits, especially in the north of England where the breed evolved. Whippets are quiet, responsive dogs sensitive to the cold.
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The whiskered Bat (Myotis mystacinus) is a small species of bat, little exceeding the pipistrelle in size, the wing-span being about 21 centimetres. The ear is comparatively long and narrow, the notched outer edge ending below the tragus. The tragus is slightly over half as long as the ear, straight, widest a little above its base, and pointed. The first two premolars in each jaw small; the first two lower incisors broad, but the third narrower. The fur is long and thick; it extends a short way on to both surfaces of the wings and the upper surface of the interfemoral membrane. The lips are hinged with long hairs, but not more so than are those of Daubenton's bat. The upper surface is dark or smoky brown, sometimes nearly black; the under surface lighter, the dark hairs there being tipped with whitish. The distribution of the whiskered bat covers all Europe and Asia from about 60 to 65 degrees north latitude southwards. In Great Britain it is common from the south coast north to Scotland, but it is very rare in East Anglia, and has not often been recorded from South Wales. It is practically absent from Scotland, widely spread and probably plentiful throughout Ireland. This species is usually solitary, but colonies of up to a hundred or more have occasionally been found. In summer it usually makes its den in holes in buildings and the roofs of houses, but in winter it is commonly found hibernating in caves, which it deserts in summer. The food consists of flies, moths and small beetles. The flight superficially resembles that of the pipistrelle but is slower and steadier and often confined to a narrower beat.
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The White is a breed of guinea-fowl.
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The White Admiral (Limentis camilla) is a species of butterfly of the brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) family. They have a wing span of about 55 mm and are found in central and eastern Europe and across Asia in damp, wooded valleys with brooks and rocks.
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White arum or lilly of the Nile (Richardia africana) is a South African marsh plant of the family Aroidaceae grown ornamentally in Britain as a house plant.
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The White Austrian is a breed of turkey.
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White Clover or Dutch Clover (Trifolium repens) is a perennial herb of the family Leguminosae native to Britain and Europe, with creeping stems that rise at the tip and root at the nodes. The leaves are long-stalked, ovate, trifoliate, finely serrate and patterned with a whitish angled band on the upper surface. The flowers are white or pink and arranged in terminal solitary, dense, globose, long-stalked heads.
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The White Galloway is a breed of cattle.
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The White Holland is a breed of turkey.
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White horehound (Marrubium vulgare) is a Labiate plant with whitish, downy leaves and stem. The flowers are small, nearly white in crowded whorls. The flowers are aromatic and have a bitter taste. An infusion of horehound was a popular English remedy for coughs and colds.
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White mustard (Sinapis alba) is an annual herb of the family Cruciferae native to the Mediterranean region, with an erect, unbranched stem. The leaves are alternate, stalked, toothed, lyrate and deeply pinnately lobed with the terminal lobe being the largest. The flowers are yellow in colour and arranged in a raceme, the sepals spreading out horizontally below the petals. White mustard is widely cultivated for its oil, for fodder and for culinary mustard.
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The White Park is a breed of cattle.
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The White Plume Moth (Pterophorus pentadactyla) is a moth of the family Pterophoridae with a wing span of between 28 and 35 mm found throughout the Palaearctic, occurring everywhere in Europe except Spain. The single generation flies from May to September.
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The White Prominent (Leucodonta bicoloria) is a moth of the family Notodontidae with a wing span of between 30 and 37 mm found in birch and mixed forests throughout the temperate parts of the Palaearctic. A single generation is produced flying from May to June.
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The White Satin (Leucoma salicis) is a moth of the family Lymantriidae found throughout Europe and Asia, particularly in warmer lowlands. A single brood is produced flying from June to July. The caterpillars feed on willows, poplars and other trees, often completely defoliating them.
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White Swallow-wort (Vincetoxicum hirundinaria) is a poisonous perennial herb of the family Asclepiadaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region, with a rhizome, fibrous roots and a tall, erect, hollow stem. The leaves are opposite, short-stalked, oval to lanceolate with a heart-shaped base, sharply pointed, smooth and dark green in colour. The flowers are yellowish- white in colour and are arranged in loose terminal and axillary cymes. The fruit is an elongate capsule with down seeds.
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The White thorn is the white variety of the Hawthorn tree.
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False Helleborine
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White Water Lily (Nymphaea alba) is a perennial aquatic herb of the family Nymphaeaceae, with a stout creeping rhizome bearing long-stalked, roundish, leathery leaves which are greenish above and often a reddish colour below. The flowers are showy, white in colour, long-stalked and only open in sunshine. Both the flowers and the leaves float on the surface of the water. The fruit is a globose fleshy capsule which ripens and splits open under water.
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White willow (Salix alba) is a deciduous shrub or medium-sized tree of the family Salicaceae, native to Britain, with a greyish, fissured bark, ascending branches and flexible yellowish-green twigs. The leaves are alternate, finely-serrate, lanceolate and white-silky hairy on both sides when young, only on the underside when mature. White willow is dioecious; the stalkless male and female flowers appear with the leaves in erect catkins borne in the axils of scaly bracts. The fruit is a capsule containing seeds with long silky hairs. The bark of white willow and other species of willow trees contain salicylic compounds, and were used in medicine before synthetic preparations of aspirin were invented.
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The White-Banded Carpet (Spargania luctuata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 22 and 28 mm found in central and northern Europe, Asia and North America. One or two generations are produced flying from May to August.
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The White-Letter Hairstreak (Strymonidia w-album) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in mild regions of Central Europe across Asia to Japan in the margins of deciduous woods and open country.
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The white-naped weasel (Poecilogale albinucha) is an African variety of weasel similar in appearance to the polecat but with a striped pattern, small eyes and ears, and a rather bushy tail. The white-naped weasel is mainly nocturnal in habit, resting by day in a hiding place such as a burrow or rock crevice and feeding on small mammals and ground birds.
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The White-Pinioned Spotted (Lomographa bimaculata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 22 and 26 mm found in the temperate parts of the Palaearctic flying from April to August in one or two generations.
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The White-point (Mythimna albipuncta) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 30 and 35 mm found from central Europe east to central Asia. Two generations are produced flying from May to July and August to September.
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The White-shouldered House-moth (Endrosis sarcitrella) is a moth of the family Oecophoridae with a wing span of between 15 and 21 mm found all over the world having been introduced with agricultural products. The caterpillars are a store house pest, feeding on seeds and decaying plant remains, the adult moths fly from May to October.
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Whitebait is the name given to the fry of sprats or herrings.
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Whiting (Gadus merlangus) is a fish of the same genus as the cod and the haddock, from which it may be distinguished by the absence of a barbel on the chin, the more slender form, and the presence of a dark spot at the root of the pectoral fin. It occasionally reaches a length of 53 centimetres. It is voracious and predaceous, living mostly on other fish. Females are twice as numerous as the males.
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The Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) is a Scandinavian and Icelandic swan similar in appearance and size to the Mute Swan, but with a black and yellow bill and a tendency to hold the neck upright.
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In botany, a whorl is a radial arrangement of three or more petals, stamens, leaves, &c., around a stem. In zoology a whorl is a single turn in a spiral shell.
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Whorled Solomon's seal (Polygonatum verticillatum) is a rare perennial herb of the family Liliaceae found in the mountain woods of Scotland. It is distinguished from other species of Polygonatum by its whorls of lanceolate leaves and flowers, and its berry which is red at first and then turns dark blue.
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Whortleberry (Vaccinium) is the name of several species of shrubs of the family Vacciniacea, such as the cranberry, cowberry and bilberry but often restricted to just the bilberry.
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The widow bird is several species of African weaver birds. They trick other birds into rearing their young.
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The Wielkopolski is a Polish breed of versatile horse developed during the late 19th century. The Wielkopolski is used for riding, show jumping, dressage. They stand between 16 and 16.2 hands high and are any solid colour.
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The Wiemaraner is a German breed of gundog developed during the 19th century as a gundog and only became known outside of Germany during the 1940s when the breed was introduced to the USA. An obedient and active breed, they need good training and a good run every day.
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The wigeon or widgeon (Mareca penelope) is a British duck which breeds in Scotland and winters in England. The male is finely pencilled with black above and white below, with a brown and buff head and dark grey quills. It has a whistling cry, hence the name of 'whew' or 'whewer duck', and feeds largely on the sea-grass Zostera. It is a particularly pleasant duck for eating.
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Wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea) is a hairless, branching, biennial or perennial cruciferous plant with stems becoming woody near the base. The lower leaves are long with a thick texture and lobed margins. The flowers have yellow petals and the fruits are siliquae carried on spreading stalks.
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Wild Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) is an annual plant of the family Cruciferae with erect, branching stems and pinnately lobed lower leaves.
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Willow is an amentaceae of the family Salicaceae. Its timber is used to make cricket bats.
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The Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 30 and 38 mm formerly grouped in the genus Boarmia, found in Europe and Asia flying from June to September usually in a single generation.
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The Willow-Herb Hawkmoth (Proserpinus proserpina) is a rare moth of the family Sphingidae with a wing span of between 37 and 42 mm. Originally from the Orient, the moth has penetrated warmer parts of Europe and is to be found by rivers or ponds, on wasteland and similar flying from May to June.
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The Wiltshire horn is an ancient British breed of sheep from the Chalk Downs region of England. Reaching large numbers during the 17th and 18th centuries, they became almost extinct by the beginning of the 20th. Wiltshire Horn Sheep were exported to Australia in the 1950's and again in the 1970's. Both rams and ewes are horned. Ewes have a fairly short backward curving horn. Rams horns make a spiral loop each year till they're fully mature, getting thicker and more impressive each year. Occasionally these horns grow too snugly to the rather massive adult jaw and must be cut off. Both sexes are white, with occasional dime-sized black spots in the undercoat. They grow a heavy coat of coarse hair for the winter, shedding and rubbing it off as warm weather arrives leaving a short coat of straight hair for summer. The mature ram wears a most handsome 'cape' on his chest. Spring shedding starts at the head, going down the back and then the sides.
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Winesap is a species of eating apple with a crisp texture and a dark red skin.
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Wing is the collective noun for a group of plovers.
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Winter Berry or black alder (Ilex verticillata) is a North American shrub with pointed oval leaves, downy on the underside of the veins.
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Winter Cherry (Physalis alkekengi) also known as the Cape Gooseberry and Chinese Lantern, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Solanacea, a native to China and the Caucasus, with a creeping root, wedge-shaped oval leaves borne on long stalks, and an orange-coloured berry borne in the enlarged calyx which assumes the same hue after the white petals have been shed.
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The Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 22 and 28 mm found in central and northern Europe and western Asia flying from September until February, the female has degenerate wings and doesn't fly.
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Winter Savory (Satureja montana) is an annual bushy herb of the family Labiatae, native to southern Europe and north Africa, widely grown as a seasoning herb for cooking, though it has a lesser flavour than Summer Savory.
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Wintergreen (Pyrolas) is a genus of herbs of the family Pyrolaceae. They have a slender shortly creeping stock. The leaves are orbicular or ovate and nearly radical. The plants bear white or greenish drooping flowers, either solitary or several in a short raceme, on leaflets. Common
Wintergreen (Pyrolas minor) is found in woods and moist shady places in Europe, Northern Asia and the extreme north of America, becoming a mountain plant in Southern Europe and the Caucasus.
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Wire worm is the popular name for the larvae of beetles of the click beetle family (Elateridae). Some species damages crops by feeding on their roots.
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The Wire-Haired Pointing Griffon is a breed of gundog developed by the Dutchman Edward Korthals around the late 19th century, and first shown in Britain in 1888. A dedicated and hard-working breed the Wire- Haired Pointing Griffon is a loyal and hardy animal standing about 55 centimetres tall.
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The wirrah (Acanthistius serratus) is a saltwater fish of Australia, with bright blue spots.
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Wisp is the collective noun for a group of snipe.
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Wisteria is a genus of plants of the family Leguminosae. They are climbing shrubs with large downy leaves divided into five or six pairs of oval leaflets, and long clusters of violet-blue flowers.
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Withy (Salix fragilis) also called crack willow is a large tree of the family Salicaceae which attains a height of over 25 meters, sometimes in the space of 20 years.
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Woad (Isatis tinctoria) is a biennial herbaceous plant of the family Cruciferae, native to Europe and north Asia but not to Britain. The stem is erect and smooth attaining a height of one metre and bears stalkless arrow- shaped leaves and elongated clusters of small yellow flowers.
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The wolf is the largest species of wild dog and the original stock from which all domestic dogs were derived.
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The wombat (Phascolomys) is a genus of nocturnal, herbivorous marsupials of the order Diprotodontia, with three species all confined to Australia and Tasmania. They have massive, clumsy bodies and short thick legs. the head is broad and flat and the tail a mere stump. Each foot has five toes and with the exception of the first digit of the hind feet all the toes are furnished with powerful claws by which the animals burrow.
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The Wood Anemone or Windflower (Anemone nemorosa) is a native British plant of the family Ranunculaceae. The Wood Anemone has a firm, fleshy, almost woody rootstock that creeps just below the surface of moist soil and flowers in early spring (March until June). Wood Anemones are to be found in copse, by woodsides and in upland meadows. The sepals vary in number between four and nine, five being the most common occurrence. In the centre is a head of greenish pistils, each with a straight, short tyle, and these are surrounded by a ring of stamens. Both pistils and stamens mature at the same time.
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Wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) is a low creeping downy perennial belonging to the family Geraniaceae, with a rosette of trifoliate leaves, each leaflet being rounded and notched at the tip. The solitary flowers are borne on long stalks and are usually white with purplish veins or sometimes pale purple or violet in colour.
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The Wood White (Leptidea sinapis) is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, with a wing span of about 35 mm it is one of the smallest species of European whites. Two generations are produced in Europe from May to June and from July to August, each generation differing in colour. The male and female also differ in colour, the female being almost pure white, the male having a grey or black patch in the apical part of the forewings. The caterpillars live in dry meadows, particularly on meadow-pea.
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Wood-ibis is an American bird of the Tantalus genus. It lives in swamps where it feeds on snakes, young alligators, frogs and other reptiles.
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The woodcock (Scolopax rusticula) is a British game bird belonging to the sub-family Scolopacinae, and closely related to the snipe. The colouring is a combination of brown, grey and buff with black markings and there are two transverse buff stripes at the back of the head. The birds frequent woods, especially marshy woods and feed upon worms, insects and molluscs. During the breeding season the males have a habit of following certain tracks in the woods - known as 'cock roads' - and while travelling they utter whistling notes. The nest is a depression lined with dry leaves in which four eggs are laid. The young are often carried about by the parents between their thighs.
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The Woodland Brown (Lopinga achine) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae. It has a wingspan of about 50 mm and is found across the middle of Europe and Asia to Japan.
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The Woodland Grayling (Hipparchia fagi) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in southern and central Europe. With a wingspan of roughly 65mm the Woodland Grayling is one of the larger members of the family.
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The Woodland Ringlet (Erebia medusa) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in lowlands living in damp meadows and grassy forests, and in mountains up to an altitude of 1500 metres in meadows and pastures. The butterfly produces one generation in a year which flies from May to July, depending upon the elevation at which it lives. The caterpillar feeds on grasses, particularly crab grass and millet grass.
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The woodlice (sowbugs) are various Crustaceans belonging to the suborder Oniscoidea, family Isopoda. They have segmented bodies and flattened undersides. The eggs are carried by the female in a pouch beneath the thorax. Some woodlice can roll themselves into a ball for protection when threatened.
Woodlice are gregarious creatures, living in communities. The hatched young are carried piggy-back fashion on the backs of the adults. Woodlice are co-operative, if one woodlouse is turned onto its back, another woodlouse will pull it over onto its legs
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Woodpecker is a general name for the members of the large Picidae family of birds of the order Scansores, which is usually regarded as including two sub- families - the woodpeckers proper (Picus) and the soft-tailed wrynecks (Yunx) . The woodpeckers are climbing birds, the feet having two anterior and two posterior toes. The head is large and the neck very muscular and the tongue exceedingly long and worm-like with a barbed horny tip. It can be shot out to a great distance, and is sticky so that the insects upon which the birds feed stick to it.
All woodpeckers are shy solitary birds inhabiting woods. When in search of food they climb trees in a spiral fashion, clinging closely with the claws assisted by the tail. At the breeding season the woodpecker excavates a hole in the stem of a tree at first horizontal and then downward to the depth of thirty centimetres or more. At the bottom of the excavation the pure white eggs are laid.
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Woodruff (Galium odoratum) is a perennial carpeting herb of the family Rubiaceae with an unbranched, hairless, erect square stem that grows from a tangle of rhizomes and rootless in early spring. The tiny, lanceolate leaves are arranged in whorls of between six and eight and have forward-pointing prickles on the margins. The flowers are small, white, star-shaped and arranged in dichasial cymes. The corolla is funnel-shaped with the tube a little shorter than the free lobes. The fruit is a double achene with hooked, black-tipped bristles. Woodruff grows throughout Europe, and has been cultivated since the Middle Ages, being used to flavour wine and placed in linen cupboards to deter moths.
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The woodswallow or swallow shrike is an insectivorous bird of the genus Artamus, belonging to the family Artamidae of the family Passeriformes, native to Australia, India, and Polynesia. It has a long, slightly curved, and sharply pointed bill, long wings, and a short tail. The general colour is black, blue, and reddish above, and white beneath. They are swift in flight catching insects on the wing.
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Woodworm or the Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum) is a beetle of about three to five millimetres in length, so named because the larvae eat seasoned wood.
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Woold or Weld or Dyer's Weed (Reseda luteola) is a native British plant, bearing yellowish-green flowers and having a stem of between 80 and 100 centimetres high. It was formerly used for dyeing.
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Wormwood is a European woody herb (Artemisia absinthium). It yields a dark- green oil which was once used as a tonic against intestinal worms and as a protection against moths and fleas, and is now used as a flavouring in vermouth and absinthe.
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The Wormwood Moth (Cucullia absinthii) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 32 and 40 mm found in sandy localities of the mild regions of Europe and Asia where they fly from June to July.
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Wrasse is a popular English name for any marine percoid fish of the family Labridae, found in tropical and temperate seas. They have thick lips, strong teeth, and usually a bright colouration. Many are used as food fishes.
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The Wrasses (Labridae) are a family of bony fishes including a large number of littoral forms, most abundant in the tropics and generally possessing curiously thick lips. They feed on molluscs and crustaceans, and have strong teeth adapted for crushing the hard shells of these animals. The body is covered with cycloid scales, and is often brilliantly coloured, and there is a single long dorsal fin, whose spinous portion is greatly developed.
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The wren is a small brown bird with a cocked tail of the order Passeriformes, family Troglodytidae. The wren feeds mainly on insects and spiders and grows to about nine centimetres long with a 13 centimetres wing span. It has a life span of about six years.
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Wrightia is a genus of tropical shrubs and trees belonging to the family Apocynaceae. They usually have slender branches, and bear cymes of yellow, red, or white flowers, with salver-shaped corollas.
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The Wryneck (Iynx) is a genus of birds related to the woodpeckers, but differing from them in the soft tail which has no spiny shafts, and the absence of bristles around the nostrils which are partially covered by a membrane. The plumage is curiously mottled with black, brown, grey and white, much as in the nightjar.
Wrynecks feed upon insects which they find chiefly on the ground. They select a decayed branch or post, in whose cavity the eggs are placed.
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The Wurttemberg is a German breed of versatile horse produced for riding and driving during the 17th century. The Wurttemberg stands 16 hands high and is bay, chestnut, black or brown in colour. Excellent competition horses, the Wurttemberg excels at both show jumping and dressage.
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The Wyandotte is a breed of chicken.
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