STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS- This could be the fearsome scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a flock of 40,000 starlings bask in the heat of a wonderful British sunset. The extraordinary light and shadows echoes the 1960s hit film as huge numbers of the birds appear ready to descend and attack earth below. Fortunately it was actually a far more peaceful setting on Brighton Pier as the amazing murmuration of the birds gathered around the coastline of the seaside resort. They swooped around in the winter sun in February this year, as captured by Hove based photographer Alan Mackenzie. He said despite the large numbers of birds, they have dramatically dwindled in recent decades.Alan, 32, said: "Moments like this make me proud to live on such a beautiful planet and appreciative of the fact that, as a human living in the modern world, I am privileged enough to observe it all
These are the faces of orphans suffering from the horrifying effects of chemical warfare .
INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .
TENNIS was a game made for three according to the first Victorian rule book .
FROM a Kung-Fu professional to a mini incredible hulk, these are the babies you wouldn't want to mess with .
Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
SWIMMING next to 40 tonne whales, dare-devil divers take the plunge with these gentle giants of the sea .
Struggling home entertainment chain Blockbuster has been slammed for advertising its workers' jobs while they are still in them in order to scare them into working harder .
MESMERIZING night sky photographs offer a spellbinding look at the stars .
A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .
A photographer has captured spellbinding images of stars swirling above the English countryside .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .