
It looks like an extra-terrestrial being that fell to Earth, behaves like a vampire and smells like rotting meat
We take a look at one of the world's strangest and smelliest plants

Snakes are hanging from cave ceilings on this Caribbean island. They're waiting for something
Measuring up to two metres in length, the Puerto Rican boas lower their long bodies into the darkness and wait...

Fiery eyes, fluffy 'horns' and a strange hoot – meet one of Britain's most mysterious predators
Long-eared owls are one of the most secretive birds in Britain.

The wildlife traveller's calendar: Plan your year around these wildlife spectacles
Seek wildlife holiday inspiration with this month-by-month travel calendar

"They turn parts of their genitalia inside out and lock them together" 7 weirdest sexual rituals in the animals kingdom
Courtship in the animal kingdom takes all forms. Here are some of the more unusual mating rituals, from birds and snakes to slugs and insects.

Researchers in Oxford have been studying great tits for 75 years. They discovered something odd (and human-like) about their song
As part of the long-running Wytham Wood research project, great tits and blue tits are being studied

Fierce battle between bird of prey and starling among 12 incredible images from the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026
The astonishing image is just one of the winners from this year’s competition, which shines a light on British wildlife

Explosive power of great white shark revealed in staggering slow-motion video
These huge sharks can leap 3m out of the water – that's as high as a school bus!

436-million-year-old fossil found in South China is oldest complete bony fish ever discovered
The discovery of two ancient fish in South China has re-written what we thought we knew about the evolution of early vertebrates.

There’s a cave in Kentucky that’s 426 miles long – and fish-eating spiders lurk in it
Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world – but where is it?

Birds

Why don’t baby birds make less noise to avoid attracting predators?
To be honest making a noise isn't always the best strategy for staying alive...

The 'Great Texas Freeze' killed thousands of beloved songbirds. Scientists are worried about what might happen next
North America’s largest swallow, the purple martin, was hit hard by winter storms in 2021. With erratic weather events becoming more common, experts are concerned about the bird's long-term survival.

Birdwatching may slow ageing of the brain, say neuroscientists
Learning to identify birds could be beneficial for cognition as people get older, according to a new study.

It has a bizarre beak, is twice as heavy as a robin and uses animal hair to make its nest
Meet the common crossbill, the chunky finch with a taste for pine cones.

It has a bandit mask and punk-rocker crest – and can eat a whopping 1,000 berries a day
Meet the waxwing – the exotic-looking bird with a penchant for berries.

It's made from 1,500 tiny white feathers, bound together with spider silk and takes up to 3 weeks to construct
When it comes to intricacy, few animal nests can compete with those constructed by long-tailed tits. This is how they make them
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

Scientists looked beneath one of oldest trees on Earth. What they found is astounding
The researchers discovered a hidden world of life among the roots of Chile's ancient alerce trees. Here's why that's important.

It’s longer than a blue whale, is thousands of years old and drinks fog – meet this weird ‘living fossil’
This living fossil (having unchanged for more than 200 million years) can survive some of the harshest conditions on Earth

Plants play techno, chimps drum and one creature uses its minuscule penis as a bow – why music isn’t just for humans
It’s not just the hills that are alive with the sound of music – ponds and oceans thrum with tunes, too

It’s taller than Big Ben, can live for thousands of years and even regenerates after an entire forest burns down
Did you know the tallest tree species in the world can grow to more than 100 metres? Learn all about them
