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Why centuries of superstitions cast this bird as a villain and an omen of ill fortuneThe swaggering corvid with the chain-smoker’s rasp carries around centuries’ worth of superstitions. Mark Cocker asks if the magpie’s reputation has been unfairly tarred.
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Country Life's heatwave winners and losers. Spoiler alert: it's good news for tomatoesAs we struggle through another heatwave, we list our winners and losers of the sweltering season.
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'The human equivalent would be able to leap across London's Park Lane': The wonderful world of insectsBe they bioluminescent, possessed of inbuilt violins or builders of Gaudí-esque cathedrals, the insects beneath our feet are worthy of closer inspection, says Charles Harris.
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Pigeons are too successful for their own good — that's why we hate them so muchSpare a thought for these much maligned birds with their soft, crooning seven-note song, writes Mark Cocker.
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Bugs bugs, glorious bugs: 'The little things that run the world'This week's leader celebrates the many merits of the humble insect, from the bumblebee to the butterfly.
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The ultimate noisy neighbours: The antisocial squawking seabirds whose screams have been heard in ParliamentMany of us have heard the shrill cackle of a herring gull at 4am, writes Mark Cocker, but these birds have an ethereal beauty.
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Why have the songbirds that protect the Tower of London been branded 'trickster Gods' and 'butcher crows'?Considering that it was Edgar Allan Poe’s avian muse, the raven has a bloodthirsty reputation that isn’t entirely deserved.
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If the Unloved Birds’ Club has an apex predator in its midst, then it is surely the white-tailed eagleWhat part–if any–did the white-tailed eagle play in the mysterious disappearance of a group of Shetland foals? Mark Cocker investigates
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If England wants to win the World Cup, it should listen to these emperor penguinsAs it turns out, the natural world has a lot of good advice for how to make a great football team. Country Life and the World Wide Fund for Nature break down the keys to success.
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Cheerio Churchill, hello hedgehogs: The British animals Country Life wants to see on our banknotesAs the nation votes on the British wildlife that will appear on the next series of banknotes, our writers argue their case for their favourite animals.
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These iridescently beautiful birds can slow time, reproduce the human voice and sing like angels — so why have we nicknamed them ‘stinker’ and ‘scootie’?A surprising members of the Unloved Birds Club is the starling. Mark Cocker explains why.
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From Worzel Gummidge to the kakashi of Shikoku: The scarecrow is iconic the world overThey might be questionably effective at frightening away birds, but scarecrows remain a quirkily enduring feature of our physical and cultural landscape.
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The marine animals that look suspiciously like dogsFrom Staffie-shaped seals and smiling Samoyed belugas to borzoi swordfish, World Ocean Day seemed the perfect opportunity to tackle one of life's most important questions: which marine animals look most like dogs?
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We rudely refer to them as 'sky rats', but pigeons add a touch of the natural world to our busiest metropolisesMark Cocker defends the ungainly pigeon in this weeks column, where he defends Britain's least likable birds.
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Where to listen to the greatest musical performance on EarthThe dawn chorus is a rich reminder of the beauty of the world we live in, far removed from its many horrors. And you can hear it from anywhere.
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Will AI be the saving grace of Britain's beloved hedgehogs?A group of scientists at the University of Cambridge has managed to identify specific sites that might offer habitat for hedgehogs, writes Will Hosie.
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Why is this British bird sometimes dubbed 'the black death'?In the second instalment of our series on Britain’s most misunderstood birds, the voracious cormorant is in the spotlight.
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'Simply sustaining is not enough — we must rebuild, improve and enhance if we are going to save the planet': Meet the forward-thinking farmers of the CotswoldsThey might struggle with stony, dry Cotswolds-brash soil, but the region's food producers explain why working the land sustainably and regeneratively is the best way to balance food production with wildlife recovery.
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Bertie Gregory: 'You know the cliché line people say “never meet your hero”? Those people haven’t met David Attenborough’Wildlife cameraman Bertie Gregory has travelled all over the world in pursuit of the perfect shot. He talks to Rosie Paterson about a few of his favourite moments.
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'He doesn’t hold back on the fact that that life in the animal kingdom is a brutal survival of the fittest': Happy birthday Sir David AttenboroughThe beloved broadcaster, natural historian and writer turns 100 today — and we have a lot to thank him for.
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What is everyone talking about this week: Why we need more female treesFor too long, urban planners and landscape designers have favoured male trees for easier maintenance — but it's made hay fever a whole lot worse. Fortunately, a solution exists.
