People left stumped by sycamore

London: Many of us like to think of ourselves as nature lovers.

But it seems we'd be hard pressed to recognise a great deal of Britain's animals and plants.

And it's not just the rarities that are a mystery to us, it's the everyday species such as sycamore trees and blue tits as well, say researchers.

Less than a quarter of Britons are able to identify a sycamore and two thirds cannot recognise a peacock butterfly, the study for the Natural History Museum revealed.

When shown a picture of a toad less than one fifth of those questioned could correctly identify it. Many thought the amphibian was its close relative, the frog.

More than a third failed to correctly identify a blue tit, with 23 per cent of those asked to look at the images of British wildlife describing the common garden species as simply "a bird."

The poll of more than 1,000 people aged 15 and older by Ipsos Mori featured a questionnaire on six images from Britain's natural world, ranging from the woodlouse to the ammonite.

Only 24 per cent were able to identify the sycamore from its leaf and seeds and only 32 per cent got the identification of the peacock butterfly right.

Less than one in five (17 per cent) were able to identify the ammonite, Britain's most common fossil, and while seven out of ten correctly named the woodlouse, some of those surveyed thought it was an earwig, a beetle or even a slug.

Four out of ten did not get close to identifying a frog, leaving the question blank.

A further four out of ten thought it was a toad and just two out of ten thought it was a frog.

The frog has smooth moist skin while the toad has a more "warty" appearance and dry skin.

Frogs also have a raised back with two ridges down each side while toads have a more flattened appearance. Frogs move by hopping with their strong back legs whereas toads walk.

The survey also asked if six species of wildlife ranging from ring-necked parakeets to the great crested newt could be found in the UK.

Less than one in five (18 per cent) knew the sundew, one of the UK's few carnivorous plants, was found here and less than four out of ten (39 per cent) knew great crested newts were native to this country.

But more than half (58 per cent) correctly said the freshwater fish, the perch, was found in the UK.

However, the majority of those questioned claimed they were interested in wildlife and natural history, although older people were more interested than their younger counterparts.

The survey was conducted to mark the launch of the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity.