Red kites, great spotted woodpeckers and pink-footed geese are only a few of the birds doing brilliantly in the British Isles right now. Mark Cocker celebrates their success stories and looks at what might be learnt from them

The new Turner Prize (this time, for craftspeople) ...

Hoarding is a common animal behaviour. Lots of creatures cache food for times of scarcity. You probably know that squirrels hide nuts and wood mice store seeds, but did you know that fire ants stockpi

Avian plumage doesn’t simply enable flight–this miracle of Nature provides birds with protection, shape and colour and remains a highly desirable fashion accoutrement for us, too, finds Charles Harris

AMELIA arrives home from her half-day at work. She has the week’s shopping and quickly squirrels everything away, leaving just her children’s magazines on the kitchen table. Seeing she only has three-

IT began as an unremarkable day. Leaves falling into mud on the riverbank, the sun shy behind ink splodged clouds. Jays screeching in the oakwood. I stopped. Mammal tracks drew my eyes. I knelt. These