Fox at Dusk (gouache style)

The red fox is the only wild member of the dog family left in Britain. It has a russet coat, white throat and chest, dark lower legs and a bushy tail, often with a white tip. Foxes are common in towns and cities as well as the countryside, and they're most active from dusk through the night. They eat almost anything, from worms, beetles and small mammals to fallen fruit and scraps.

Fox cubs are born in March or April, often in an earth under a shed or in a bank, and first come above ground a few weeks later. Foxes find plenty of food for themselves, so they don't need feeding. Secure bin lids, and keep rabbits and guinea pigs in sturdy hutches. If you don't want foxes denning under a shed, block the gap in late summer once any cubs have left. Their screaming calls in January and February belong to the mating season.

A red fox stands on a lawn at dusk beside tall foxgloves, with a lit house window behind. Foxgloves flower in early summer, so this is a long, light evening. The picture sets a wild animal against a home, which is how most people in Britain now see foxes: just outside the window, as the day ends.