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
An Italian photographer travelled to Chile where he visited several star-gazing sites, home to some of the world's most advanced telescopes, located in the spectacular setting of the Atacama desert .
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
A baby sperm whale assumed the role of a friendly giant when faced with two awestruck divers .
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .
With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .
THE CRAZE for mimicking the video game Streetfighter has spread to the streets of London .
This brave Hyena finally catches his pray among the thousands of flamingos, Lake Nakuru, Kenya - OUTNUMBERED among thousands of flamingos, this bold hyena is not put off from hunting for a morning snack .
A US firefighter has battled osteoarthritis and four hip replacements to break the world paddleboarding record .
An Australian beach is illuminated by an enticing neon blue glow as a rare phenomenon lights up the water .
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
This longhorn beetle demon-strates a dark side as it looks just like the devil .