Learning a language of birds

From a heroic long-distance swimmer to a producer of spectacularly eerie sound effects, the seabirds seen swooping and diving over British waters have all manner of singular skills, says John Lewis-Stempel

The rise and rise of raptor species has been a major success of the past half century, but it may well have been the downfall of the common kestrel

B ecause it’s the school summer holidays, it’s ...

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In the British countryside, it’s common to hear gruff caw-caw-cawing and see large black birds flapping overhead. That’ll be a corvid – but which have you spotted, asks Clare Hunt

Unhurried in flight and with a sideline in stolen goods, the handsome red kite is the gentleman thief of the raptor world