Nearly as big as Wales, hotter than 50°C – Inside the inhospitable and rugged Death Valley, where not everyone gets out alive - yet inconceivably wildlife thrives
Welcome to one of the harshest, hottest most inhospitable places on Earth
"The only way a female avoids starvation is by being fed by males hoping to mate with her. Females might have up to five males in attendance..."
Often male birds are more colourful than their female counterparts, but the ecelctus parrot bucks the trend, as zoologist and broadcaster Lucy Cooke explains.
Do eggs really need sperm? Can they manage without?
Discover the intricate relationship between eggs and sperm.
Three wildlife tours that can help protect fragile ecosystems — and bring you face-to-face with incredible species
Tailor your next wildlife trip to help affect change
"Both are large, heavy, beefy animals with thick skin, pillar-like legs and enormous heads..."
Both are big, intimidating and dangerous at close quarters...
Underwater robot discovered record-breaking creature the size of a car that could be thousands of years old, one mile down in the Pacific Ocean
All you need about the biggest sponge in the world
"The ghostly trunks of a vast forest, submerged for tens of thousands of years, rose out of the sediment. These mighty trees had lived for hundreds of years before their watery grave"
The mystery of 60,000-year-old trees that still smell like fresh incense
10 deadliest, most venomous spiders on the planet: Are these dangerous spiders as fearsome and lethal as their reputation?
Here are the most venomous spiders in the world, but just how deadly are they really?
Are humans still evolving or is this as good as we get?
It’s often said we’ve transcended our biological constraints and stopped evolving, but that’s simply not true…
“This colossal, complex city – the size of 2 tennis courts with thousands of rooms, from classrooms to ventilation units – was built by millions of hard-working architects”
Birds
Crow vs raven: what's the difference between these two very similar-looking black birds?
Don't know how to tell a crow from a raven? Stuart Blackman explains how to tell the difference between these two common corvids
What's the slowest bird on the planet? Clue – it's also a pretty slow walker and fairly dumpy...
Contenders, ready! Stuart Blackman ponders which bird would win the slow race of the skies
Oregon’s biggest city was drowning in crow poop. Then a new predator came to town
As thousands of crows darken the winter skies above Portland, Oregon, it makes sense to mind your step
“An entire colony of breeding penguins disappeared.” Bird flu is out of control – now it’s reached the Antarctic
The spread of avian flu to Southern Ocean islands is an alarming sign that the virus is out of control
A great predator has returned the towering cliffs of Yosemite National Park
New peregrine nest sites herald a record-breaking year for the world’s fastest bird.
It's the size of a teaspoon, mates for life with their forever partner and lives in a tight-knit village of 50
Discover fascinating facts about the tree sparrow
How to identify wildlife
Red squirrel vs grey squirrel: Think you know how they differ? Think again as the differences between these two squirrels will surprise you
We take a look at how the red squirrel differs to its American grey cousin
Brown rat or water vole: How to tell the difference between these two lookalike-rodents
When all you've seen is a flash of brown fur, it can be hard to know whether it was a water vole or rat. Though the two species tend to live in different habitats, there are areas where they overlap, potentially leading to cases of mistaken identity. So how do you tell rats and water voles apart?
Mink or otter? What's the difference between these two slippery, semiaquatic lookalikes?
How do you tell the difference between otters and mink?
LRPs, PG Tips and Jizz: Cracking the secret language of birders
You’re sitting in a hide and overhear other birders talking. The conversation ranges from ‘LRPs’ and ‘roosting Leos’ and you scratch your chin as you try to decipher their code – welcome to the world of birding jargon.
It's the fastest animal in the world and its deadly claws can catch prey mid-air: Meet one of the world's most incredible birds of prey
Peregrines are the ultimate urban predator. Learn all about them, including how to spot them ‘stooping’ to catch prey
Save 30% when you subscribe to BBC Wildlife Magazine, plus receive Simon Barnes’ latest release, Spring is the Only Season
Save 30% when you subscribe to BBC Wildlife Magazine, plus receive Simon Barnes’ latest release, Spring is the Only Season
Plants
"It explodes with a loud bang, flinging toxic seeds at speeds of up to 150MPH." 8 weirdest, wackiest trees on the planet, including one that walks...
Meet some of the weirdest and oddest trees on the planet
"It looks like an extra-terrestrial being that fell to Earth and behaves like a subterranean vampire." 10 weirdest, wackiest plants on the planet...
Meet some of the weirdest and oddest plants on Earth.
It's famous as one of the world’s deadliest flowers – but it became a miracle treatment that changed medicine forever
How one plant revolutionised heart treatment after one curious doctor tested it on himself.
"There wasn't a curve in sight." Straight bananas found growing on remote Caribbean island
Is it the end of the bendy banana?
