THIS MONTH Barn owls

As a child, i saw owls as mystical beings that operated by night, were difficult to see at the best of times, and hung out in woodland locations far from the largely concrete surroundings of my home i

The beautiful, soft-voiced turtle dove may be synonymous with Christmas, but as a symbol of courtship and love this endearing bird resonates all year round and must be saved, urges Mark Cocker

Quiz of the week 1) Name the BBC’s ...

Nadia Shaikh seeks good company for a search-and-gorge to get her through the ruthless darkness of the winter months

Whether winter-faded ferns, the spindly harvestman or the tyrannical stare of an irate chicken, through-lines from the prehistoric to our modern age are all around us in November, says John Lewis-Stempel