Great Crested Newt

The great crested newt is the largest newt native to Britain and is found widely, though patchily, across much of continental Europe as far east as parts of Russia. Its skin is dark brown to black and warty above with a bright orange-yellow, black-spotted underside, and breeding males develop a tall, jagged dorsal crest along the back and tail along with a silvery-blue stripe running down the tail. It breeds in ponds, favoring larger, fish-free water bodies with abundant vegetation, and spends much of the rest of the year on land in woodland, hedgerow, and grassland habitat nearby. Populations have declined across much of its range from pond loss and habitat fragmentation, and the species is strictly protected by law in the United Kingdom and under European Union habitats legislation, often triggering specific survey and mitigation requirements before land development.