No

I have four feet and scurry about at the side of a pond. I am a mammal so I breathe air, but I am clever at holding my breath, so I can swim under water for a while. My favourite place is mud - ah, lovely mud, so I live in a burrow in the mud bank. What do you think I eat? Do some research to find out if your ideas are correct. I am quite cute - don't you think?

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Yes

I am good at hanging on to the underside of the surface tension and at gliding over surfaces because I've a special muscular foot. I also have a unique mouth with a rasping "tongue" called a radula, that grazes algae. My shell hides me and protects me from predators and it also has space for an air bubble so I can breathe through my lungs. I have to watch out for fish, newts and birds though, as they would eat me for dinner!

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No

I am a bird with large wings and can fly long distances. My legs are long and slender for standing in the water and my beak is long, too, for spearing fish, frogs and shell fish. I am brilliant at keeping still - much better than you !! The stiller I keep, the better chance I have of catching my dinner.

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Yes

I whirl round and round on the surface of the water. This movement makes ripples across the water and I can then sense any other creatures nearby. I'm clever because I can dive and swim too, for short periods of time, as I can carry a bubble of air under my wings to breathe. Although I spend most of my time on the surface I can fly and so can move ponds if I need to. I don't like the cold, so in winter I hibernate in the mud.

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Yes

I love skimming and hopping about all over the water surface and can do this because my long beautiful legs spread my weight so I just glide on the water tension. I breathe through my skin. My tummy is hairy which helps me float, and is really useful as I can sense vibrations when my dinner is nearby! I dart out to insects that have fallen in the water and eat them with my piercing mouth. Got you!! Yum yum!!

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Habitat Conditions

• Oxygen. There is plenty of oxygen here, which dissolves in the water from the air above. The animals here breathe through their gills, lungs or skin.
• Light. There is plenty of light here!
• Shelter. The only shelter is among the surface plants like water lilies.
• Food. Many small animals live here.
• Predators. Birds, fish, some mammals and the larger insects.

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