Often painted as a thief and a troublemaker, the magpie’s high intelligence and shimmering beauty are shadowed by misunderstanding and ancient fears

My sky is never empty. At dawn there may be just a lone crow beating a steady path north, or at dusk, the curiously undulating, huge wings of a heron heading to roost in a willow above the ditch. Duck

In the heart of South America, the world’s most powerful eagle perches high in a tree on the fringe of remnant rainforest. Female harpy eagles like this individual can weigh up to 9kg. “These birds ar

DOMINIC COUZENS ON THE...

30-minute birder Amanda Tuke enjoys some slower birding on the south coast of England…

It’s a cold, clear February evening on Brighton beach. The sun has not yet dipped below the horizon and the last of the light is that strange, luminescent blue that presages dusk. Hundreds of pairs of