PLENTY OF FISH IN THE SEA - CUTE PUFFIN BITES OFF MORE THAN HE CAN CHEW

This is the moment a puffin delved into the ocean and bit off more than he could chew to collect a beak full of fish. The stocky bird used its huge red and orange beak and strong tongue to grab the sandeels for a quick bite in the North Sea. Also known as the sea parrot, the animals were pictured earlier this year during the breeding season when their colours are even brighter. The pictures were captured by wildlife photographer Ron McCombe on the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland where they breed in large colonies. Puffins select a partner when three to five years old and then mate for life in season when they can be seen billing, a bonding ritual that forms a greeting or a form of puffin kissing. On land at breeding time is the only time the birds are vocal, living much of their lives out at sea in silence.

Other great stories
PARTNERS IN GRIME

MASKED intruders look sinister but really they are a gang of urban exploring pranksters .

EYE-OPENING INSIGHT INTO KENYA’S LARGEST DUMPING GROUND

PILES of trash provide a living for thousands in Nairobi, Kenya .

BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE: VIEW FROM A PILOT’S CHAIR

Working at a height of 36,000ft, pilots may have the best view in the world .

SINGING STOAT

MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .

CHILD SHEPHERDS OF THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS

CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .

WOMAN LOSES 8ST AFTER ENERGY DRINK HABIT NEARLY BLINDS HER

A diabetic who was addicted to energy drinks has lost 8st after doctors warned her habit was blinding her .

TERMINAL CANCER MUM MIRACLE RECOVERY AFTER UK-FIRST OP

A mother told she had terminal cancer by doctors who ignored her pleas for help 13 times has made a miracle recovery following the UK's first operation of its kind .

VISOR FASHION FAIL

FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .

BACK TO BASICS HOTEL

CAMPED out in the middle of a forest, these unusual hut hotels take you back to basics .

PARROT RIDES ON THE TUBE

Pic By HotSpot Media - PARROT RIDES ON THE TUBE - THIS pretty boy could be forgiven for forgetting his Oyst-aaarrrgh-card .

DOCTORS THOUGHT MY 30CM OVARIAN CYST WAS A BABY DUE TO GROWING BELLY – BUT CANCER WAS RAVISHING MY ORGANS

A woman was diagnosed with cancer after a cyst left her so bloated medics were convinced she was pregnant .

BABY BEARS COPY FIGHTING ADULTS

SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .