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A complete guide to the sharks you'll find in the seas of Britain (and the one you'll be glad isn't here yet)
From elusive angelsharks to chunky, sprinting shortfin makos and glow-in-the-dark velvet belly lanterns, award-winning marine biologist Helen Scales gets up close and personal with the sharks that swim in British waters.
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Curious Questions: What is Linnaeus’s Flower Clock?
Martin Fone takes a look at one of the most ingenious uses of plants ever imagined by mankind: Linnaeus’s Flower Clock.
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Collective nouns for birds: Why we call it a murder of crows, murmuration of starlings and a conspiracy of ravens
We celebrate our favourite collective nouns for birds, from the weird and the wonderful to the most curious.
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Why are there so many magpies?
Magpies seem to be flourishing, so much so that seeing 'one for sorrow' is more often closer to '11 for a football team'. Martin Fone looks at why these hugely intelligent birds are thriving, and considers why they're so often at the centre of our superstitions.
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England’s chalk downlands: 'The European equivalent of a tropical rainforest'
Every summer, England’s chalk downlands are embroidered with a patch-work of wildflowers — from the horseshoe vetch’s yellow plumes to sainfoin’s pink spikes — all serenaded by an army of butterflies, says Vicky Liddell.
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The 2023 Big Butterfly Count is almost here — and it'll be the most important for a generation
The Big Butterfly Count always gives a vital snapshot of Nature in Britain, but this year more than ever thanks to the extremes of hot, cold and wet we've been through in the past year. James Fisher explains more.
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My 40-year odyssey turning a field into a wildflower meadow that's a buzzing, humming, fluttering world
Country Life columnist Agromenes started turning a field from intensive agriculture to wild flowers four decades ago — a decision which has been proven spectacularly worthwhile.
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Puffins: The clowns of the sea
It might look adorable, but the stumpy and dangerously endangered puffin is a ruthlessly efficient fish killer that’s so hellbent on finding its family a home, it will chase rabbits out of their own burrows, observes Ian Morton. Photographs by Drew Buckley.
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Peacocks: Everything you need to know about 'the limousine of the avian kingdom'
Graceful peafowl have never been shy about coming forward, although most of us admire the males’ flamboyant tail feathers — long a vibrant and striking motif — far more than their grating cries, says Harry Pearson.
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Patrick Galbraith: 'And so I found myself totally naked, walking 12 miles with a bunch of IT consultants, retired teachers and a Frenchman in a little red hat'
Can you truly understand the countryside if you've not walked through it in the nude? Well, probably, but our columnist wasn't taking any chances as he strips off to find out for certain.
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The centuries-old grudge over the name of the tiny Dartford warbler
After years of decline, the Dartford warbler has returned to the area of old Kent where it was discovered 250 years ago, reviving a feud over its name, finds Russell Higham.
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How to tell a blue tit from great tits, coal tits and the rest of Britain's tit population
Ornithologist and author Stephen Moss on the tits of Britain, from the blue tit and great tit to the crested tit and coal tit — plus the pair of 'tits' that aren't really tits at all.
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How to get rid of rats
Getting rid of rats isn't easy: they're a notoriously destructive and stubborn breed, and require patience and determination to eradicate.
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Blue tits: Beautiful birds, wonderful singers... and absolutely no morals
With a cobalt cap, white cheeks and tiny wings, the blue tit might be a picture of songbird sweetness, but its morals leave much to be desired, says Stephen Moss.
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Where to see Britain's last remaining wild orchids, by the 'orchid thief' who risked prison to save these beautiful plants
The enchantingly beautiful native orchid is, tragically, one of Britain’s most endangered wildflowers, but it’s still possible to see them if you look in the right places, says Ben Jacob, author of The Orchid Outlaw.
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Curious Questions: Are rainbows actually circular?
Martin Fone delves into the science — and art — of the rainbow.
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15 of the most incredible pictures from the 2023 British Wildlife Photography Awards
Nature’s fierce beauty emerges forcefully from the 2023 British Wildlife Photography Awards. Our Picture Editor Lucy Ford has the pick of the best shots, from a somnolent fox to a hungry buzzard.
