Leader of the chase

Threatened with extinction in the 1960s, the mighty peregrine–with its astonishing speed and super strength–has staged such a remarkable comeback that its now more successful than it was in the Middle Ages

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

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

Size doesn’t matter when it comes to the fighting spirit of the tiny merlin, a fierce parent and favoured hunting accessory of Mary, Queen of Scots

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

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