52 URBAN HERO Why we have a lot to thank the humble feral pigeon for.

ON THIS MONTH’S COVER

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; flower: Sandra igeon: Paul Hobson/naturepl.com i; p

Verones

Caracal: Federico

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84 52

COVER Federico Veronesi

INSETS S Bartocha/NPL; L Geslin; M Bowler/NPL

FABULOUS FLORA. . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Cowslips, ox-eye daisies and red campion as you’ve never seen them before. CARACAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Stephen Mills celebrates the grace and beauty of one of the world’s most elusive cats. URBAN HERO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Love ’em or hate ’em, you really should be grateful to pigeons, says Steve Harris. TAKE BETTER PHOTOS . . . . 58 Ten of the world’s top wildlife photographers reveal the secrets of their art.

Autumn 2010

46 CARACAL

“The exclamation marks of its ears, like the Cheshire Cat’s smile, were the last to fade.”

Stephen Mills

22 FABULOUS FLORA Flowers are seen in an extraordinary new way through Sandra Bartocha’s lens.

Contents Autumn 2010

HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Brett Westwood picks the season’s finest wildlife and Paul Kay shares his top underwater photography tips. GO WILD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Follow the wildlife trails best discovered by bicycle. RICHARD MABEY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Summer is the ‘silly season’ for wildlife, too. NEWS OF THE EARTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Breaking wildlife and environmental stories from around the globe. DISCOVERIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Fresh revelations from the natural world. SUBSCRIBE TO BBC WILDLIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Subscribe today and get four issues for free.

ON THE COVER

BRITS AND THEIR BIRDS. . . . . . . . 67

Stephen Moss explores how 25 species – from puffins to pipits – have made us mad about birds. Q&A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 All your wildlife questions answered by our experts. OUT AND ABOUT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 David Lindo on the art of ‘twitching’, plus how to understand the behaviour of nesting harvest mice and what causes an Indian summer. YOUR LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Share your opinions on any issues raised. WELCOME TO BBCWILDLIFEMAGAZINE.COM . . 107 Introducing our brand-new website. YOUR PHOTOS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 The editor chooses your best pictures. TALES FROM THE BUSH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Wildlife artist Chris Rose battles with the mischievous sheathbills of South Georgia.

77 BOOKS Our experts review autumn’s top nature reads.

82 TV CHOICE Rachel Ashton selects the month’s best natural-history tv and radio programmes.

ON THE COVER

84 THE LOST WORLD Photographer Kevin Schafer reveals the wildlife secrets of Brazil’s ‘forgotten’ Atlantic Forest.

BBC Wildlife 3