CROSSWORD

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ACROSS

9 Poisonous plant also known as monkshood or wolfbane (7)

10 Sea creature of the order Actiniaria or flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae (7)

11A young hare (7) 12 Month of the year in which large numbers of redwings arrive in the UK (7)

13 Climbing tropical plant with toxic bead-like seeds that contain abrin (6, 3)

15 The ___ seals include fur seals and sealions (5)

16 Mite that can cause severe itching and dermatitis (7) 19 In biology, a type of cell division (7) 20 Hummingbird that might be bronze-tailed, red-tailed or greybellied; also a celestial object (5)

21 Lark-like coastal songbird, Anthus petrosus (4, 5) 25 Marine mammal noted for its single long tusk (7) 26 Leafy Brassica grown as an annual vegetable crop (7) 28Wild plants of the genus Dipsacus, much loved by goldfinches (7) 29 Evergreens belonging to the family Lauraceae (7)

DOWN

1 ___birds stitch together leaves to make their nests (6)

2 2008 nature memoir by Esther Woolfson, subtitled A Life With Birds (6)

3 West ___, Brighton landmark noted for starling murmurations (4)

4 Widespread perennial grass, Agrostis gigantea, also known as black bent (6)

5 Asian plant that is a source of nutritious starch (4, 4)

6 Plant of North Africa and the Middle East with plume-like bristles (10)

7 Birds of the genus Molothrus, which lay their eggs in other birds’ nests (8)

8 The nature reserves of St Kilda and Balranald are in the Outer ___ (8)

14 Large cetacean that might be North Atlantic, North Pacific or Southern (5, 5)

16 Drupes or seeds of a palm in the genus Cocos (8)

17 ____ jellyfish, Turritopsis dohrnii, is a sea invertrebrate known for its ability to revert to the polyp stage (8)

18 Belief in the values of the countryside (8) 22 Small saltwater bivalve mollusc (6) 23 See 27 24 The ___ fly is a biting insect that can spread sleeping sickness (6)

27/23 The ___ ___, 2001 BBC nature series about ocean life (4, 6)