Find something on display: Third Case

This member of the crow family has a mastery of flight, often performing wonderful aerial displays of diving and swooping.

From the East Indies

From Rye in East Sussex

Glows purple under ultraviolet light.

This large bird is normally a winter visitor to our shores and breeds in Iceland.

The Pinna family includes some of the largest shells known. They live attached to rocks with their silky strong byssus threads.

Obsidian is formed from rapidly cooled volcanic lavas with high silica, thrust to the earth’s surface in the latter stages of a volcanic eruption. Because it has no crystal structure it can be break into very sharp pieces so is used to make surgical blades.

Also known as obelia longissima, it is found in temperate (mild temperatures) and cold seas, but not in the tropics. It’s feathery stems resemble seaweed.

Found worldwide, it is also known as a sea bristle. Plumed hydroids are creamy yellow, or brown, and have feathery stems.

Also known as a sea-fir, it lives in a colony. It can be identified by its 3-D-like branches forming a spiral colony resembling a fir tree. They are often found in rocky habitats with strong tides or waves.

The smew shows an example of sexual dimorphism: males and females are different colours.