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
STRANDED POLAR BEAR

Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .

HUBBY DRUGGED THEN RAPED ME FROM AGED 15 AND I GOT JUSTICE 30 YEARS LATER

Tina O’Brien, 54, from East Midlands, met Frederick Allchorne, now 62, when she was 15 .

HUNGRY CHAMELEON CATCHES DINNER

EXPERTLY camouflaged, this clever panther chameleon knows how to catch its prey by surprise .

OWLS ARE MASTERS OF DISGUISE IN INDIAN FOREST

HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .

DRIVER TRAPPED UNDER 4x4 FOR AN HOUR IN HORRIFIC MOTORWAY CRASH

This was the chaotic scene when the driver of a 4x4 vehicle became periously trapped under his vehicle for an HOUR when it overturned after a crash on a busy motorway .

LITTLE OWL WINKS FOR THE CAMERA

A Little owl looks down the lens of a camera and gives the photographer a cheeky wink .

MAKING A SPLASH - GORILLA GOES APE IN WATER

While often referred to as the kings of the jungle, gorillas - for all their might - are notorious hydrophobes .

BOSTON BOMBING AFTERMATH - 17TH APRIL

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 .

MESMERIZING STAR TRAILS

MESMERIZING night sky photographs offer a spellbinding look at the stars .

SNAP-SHOT - 18 FOOT CROCODILE SAVAGELY KILLS WILDEBEEST

This daredevil wildebeest tried a walk on the wild side - straight into the snatches of a huge 18 foot crocodile .

MESMERISING FUNGI

With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .

TUNNEL FOR VICTORY

What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .