Birds

Birds

Great Skua have incredibly brutal hunting methods

Impaling on spikes, water bombing and stabbing – birds are more brutal than you realised. Here's 5 gruesome techniques they use to kill

Discover the brutal techniques used by some British birds to catch their prey - from impaling on spikes through to stabbing
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A kingfisher fishing underwater with a fish

7 astonishing underwater kingfisher photos that show the beautiful bird is just as at home below the surface as above it

These remarkable photographs show how a kingfisher dives and the ingenious way it is adapted for underwater
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Long-tailed tit nest

It's made from 1,500 tiny white feathers, bound together with spider silk and takes up to 3 weeks to construct

When it comes to intricacy, few animal nests can compete with those constructed by long-tailed tits. This is how they make them
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Bohemian waxwing

It has a bandit mask and punk-rocker crest – and can eat a whopping 1,000 berries a day

Meet the waxwing – the exotic-looking bird with a penchant for berries.
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Picathartes: ancient birds that live in the forest in Congo

Forget gender wars! These bizarre birds have had equality sorted for some 44 million years - watch them in action

These ground-loving birds mate for life and work together to protect their young
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Bald eagles

Power and majesty of bald eagles revealed in 16 staggering photos

Spectacular images of bald eagles – from the snowy mountains of Alaska to the dramatic inlets of the Canadian coast.
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Snow geese

“Like being in the middle of a snow globe.” Thousands of noisy white birds are flooding into Pennsylvania, Missouri and Maryland

A whiteout of wings and a riotous racket signal the departure, or arrival, of these beautiful birds
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King vulture - bird of prey

"It appears as one of the ugliest animals in the book The Ugly Five and doesn't look a million miles away from a turkey" – 12 weirdest birds of prey on the planet

They are fast and dangerous but these birds of prey are also supremely weird. Here's 12 of the oddest hunters of the sky
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Iguazu Falls

It spans 2.7km, borders two countries and can be seen from space – and is home to one of the most daring animals on Earth

South America's Iguazu Falls is the world's largest waterfall system. Yet, despite its imposing size, a devoted bird flies through its crashing cascades to raise its young.
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Scarlet honeycreeper

“Millions have been released.” Hawaii’s beautiful birds are dying. But scientists have a controversial plan to save them

Endemic birds on Hawaii are being wiped out by avian malaria, but is GM technology the answer?
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Stalring murmuration Brighton

“They’re like giant airships crossing the city.” This monumental gathering may be the world’s most incredible natural spectacle

In Brighton, tens of thousands of starlings gather to form incredible murmurations
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Doomsday Glacier

A rapidly melting ‘Doomsday Glacier’ and a monstrous deep-sea fish: 6 of nature’s doomsday signals that could warn of the end of the world

Whether these signs are rooted in science (like the Doomsday Glacier) or simply popular myth, they have been associated with the end of the world – or at least life as we know it
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Peregrine falcons London

It’s the fastest animal on Earth and ruthlessly kills prey in mid-air – and it’s taking over London’s skyscrapers

The fastest animal on Earth is proliferating among the skyscrapers of central London
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Coral bleaching

From coral reefs to songbirds, the natural world is losing its colour. Here’s why scientists are worried

Colour is far more than beauty – it's a powerful indicator of ecosystem health. And the planet is losing its hues
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A majestic Harpy Eagle

"The blow was unbelievably powerful, like being hit with a baseball bat. To make it worse, one of her talons pierced my neck, leaving it numb and bleeding."

The harpies were mythological spirits that took the dead to hell, but this harpy eagle was intent on taking James out.
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A cassowary roaming in a rainforest area.

"They attack without hesitation and can rake down the front of a frail human body in seconds, with horrifying consequences" 10 violent birds that attack humans

Watch out folks! There’s an angry bird about!
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Chincha Valley

It existed 800 years ago, was home to 100,000 people – and was powered by poop

New research suggests that seabird guano may have been one of the main driving forces behind the rise of Peru's Chincha Kingdom.
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Workers help remove oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a laughing gull at the Mississippi Wildlife Response Center in Gulfport, Mississippi, on West Ship Island in Mississippi on Saturday, July 3, 2010. (James Edward Bates/Biloxi Sun-Herald/MCT)
Oil on a bird's feathers leads to flightlessness © James Edward Bates / Biloxi Sun-Herald / MCT / Getty Images

Why is oil so deadly for birds' feathers?

Oil spill incidents always involve birds being rescued and cleaned – but why is oil so damaging, and in many cases fatal, to birds?
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Sociable weaver, Philetairus socius, sparrow bird on a branch in Namibia, big nest on a tree

Weighing a tonne and packed with hundreds of rooms – each home to a family — it can house a staggering 500 households. Is this the ultimate apartment block?

It’s the heaviest, largest, most densely populated bird nest… that's been built and extended over decades
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Harpy eagle carrying monkey

9 brutal photos of the world’s most powerful bird that can rip monkeys and sloths from branches  

These incredible images reveal the power and brutality of this extraordinary eagle
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Vultures Feeding on a Buffalo Carcass in Kruger National Park

11 ferocious vulture photos that demonstrate the power and brutality of life for these scavenging predators

These striking images highlight the brutal (yet essential) behaviour of vultures
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Portrait of a lioness snarling

11 deadliest females on the planet: Discover some ferocious female animals that you wouldn't want to mess with

'For the female of the species is more deadly than the male' – here are our top 11 deadliest females that prove just that.
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Whooper swans

“It can make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up”

The call of a whooper swan is one of winter's most atmospheric sounds, says naturalist and author Ben Hoare.
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Port Lockroy is a bay with a natural harbour on the north-western shore of Wiencke Island in the Palmer Archipelago, Antartica. The base with the same name, on Goudier Island is the most southerly post office in the world.

It’s the size of a soccer pitch and is home to 1,000 adorable penguins – and the world’s most southerly post office

Known as the ‘penguin post office’, Port Lockroy is a former British military base-turned-research station
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