PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner. The adult barn swallow arrives and hovers in mid-air, with an insect hanging from its beak. The six-legged treat is then delivered directly into the young bird’s open mouth, with the mother bird still hovering above. Wildlife photographer Menno Schaefer, of Zaandam, Netherlands, captured the moment during a trip to an open field in Spaarnwoude, a village north of Amsterdam.
The UK's first hotline - and possibly the galaxy's - for people who have been targeted by aliens has opened to the public .
Lying angelically with a range of expressions etched on their tiny faces, little bundles of joy are innocently captured in their first few days in these adorable photographs .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
POWERFUL bolts of lightning illuminate the night sky in an incredible autumn storm over the Sardinian coastline .
A little boy was left fighting for his life in hospital after a horrific allergic reaction to epilepsy medication made his skin fall off in chunks .
DIVING boffins fired harpoons into 30-foot-long whale sharks in a bid to put the sea-beasts on Google Maps .
A mischievous fox cub demonstrates his playful side by biting his sibling’s tail .
Growing up, Jasmine Price, now four, loved watching her older sister, Mia Price, now 10, compete in beauty pageants .
A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .
ROLLING up snow in its tiny paws, this little squirrel is looking for a snowball fight .
LUMINOUS green rocks could easily be a beach from Superman's homeland of Krypton .