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
A group of shelter dogs showcase their loveable personalities in a series of passport-style photographs - in the hope of finding their forever homes .
Complete with core, mantle and crust, these incredible planet cakes are truly out of this world .
Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands .
From vivid greens to glowing pinks, the colours of the aurora borealis fill the night sky above a snow covered Lapland .
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .
A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book .
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .
Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .
DIVING boffins fired harpoons into 30-foot-long whale sharks in a bid to put the sea-beasts on Google Maps .
THESE LOVE BIRDS can’t keep their beaks off each other as they share a very public display of affection .
An osprey soars through the air at 30 miles per hour before swooping down to catch its prey from a lake .