The crossword

8 Filter structure in the mouths of some whales (6)

9 African bulbul that may be red-tailed or simple (4-4)

10 Insect in the order Lepidoptera (4) 11 Small seabird with black head in summer (6,4)

12 Beak (4)

13 Pill bugs (4-6)

17 Yellowjacket, for one (4)

18 Steve ___, Australian conservationist and broadcaster (5)

19 Beaver construction (4)

21 Tree, Prunus padus, also called hackberry (4,6)

23 North American rail (4)

24 Writer and broadcaster known as ‘The Urban Birder’ (5,5)

28 Upland habitat (4)

29 Reproducing adult female in the family Formicidae (5,3)

30 ___ fish, tropical species that strikes prey with jets of water (6) 1 Flowering quince (8)

2 Squid or octopus, perhaps (10)

3 Marine fish that hunts with a lure (10) 4 ___fish, turbot or plaice, say (4)

5 Scut or brush, possibly (4)

6 Garden gastropod (4)

7 Develop, perhaps through natural selection (6)

14 ___ Guinean forests, region of tropical forest in West Africa (5)

15 Plant in the mint family (10)

16 Name for the cuckoo flower (5,5) 20 Small monkey (8) 22 International programme for tracking migratory animals in flight (6) 25 Holly genus (4)

26 Foliage component (4)

27 Fruit with a shell and kernel (4)

Across: 1 dipper, 4 zoetic, 8 bunnies, 9 Minerva, 11 hen harrier, 12 Oahu, 13 sprig, 14 giraffes, 16 cockatoo, 18 India, 20 nest, 21 cordonbleu, 23 cheetah, 24 biology, 25 tusked, 26 emerge. Down: 1 drupe, 2 panther, 3 eyebright, 5 osier, 6 The Wolf,

7 cave hyena, 10 king cobra, 13 stonechat, 15 Rhizobium, 17 kittens, 19 dabbler, 21 crane, 22 eagle.