Wild Wonders of Europe / Unterthiner / Frozen river with small unfrozen patches, Bialowieza NP, Poland, February 2009

Tony Heald / Pigtail Macaques (Macaca nemestrina) crossing purpose-built "primate wires" connecting isolated patches of forest, Kinabatangan River, Sukau, Sabah, Borneo, September 2008

Mike Read / Rainbow over Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) and autumn coloured Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) on heathland at Steephill Bottom, New Forest National Park, Hampshire, England, UK, with rain bearing cumul...

Georgette Douwma / Coralline encrusting algae growing on dead coral patches on Porites, forming a hard calcaerous deposit. Encrusting algae plays an important role in the ecology of coral reefs providing a food source f...

Georgette Douwma / Coralline algae growing on dead coral patches on Porites, forming a hard calcaerous deposit. Encrusting algae plays an important role in the ecology of coral reefs, providing food for many tropical fi...

Nick Upton / Red tube worm (Serpula vermicularis) attached to submerged rock with patches of encrusting red algae low on the shore, near Falmouth, Cornwall, UK, August.

Erlend Haarberg / Patches of melting snow patch, Emstrur, Thorsmork, Iceland, June 2008

Christian Ziegler / Katydid (Mimetica sp) mimicking leaf with small patches of fungus damage, Barro Colorado Island, Panama

Bryan and Cherry Alexander / Snow patches on blue ice at the foot of Patriot Hills with orographic cloud formation over the Ellsworth Mountains. Antarctica, January 2006.

Juergen Freund / Aerial view of estuarine channel with mangroves at the mouth and some barren patches, and siltation at the mouth of the channel, Palawan, Philippines, April 2010.

Juergen Freund / Aerial view showing slash and burned patches of barren land amidst other cultivated vegetation. Philippines, April 2010 . NOT AVAILABLE FOR MAGAZINE USE IN GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES UNTIL 1ST JULY 2...

Juergen Freund / Aerial view showing slash and burned patches of barren land amidst other cultivated vegetation. Philippines, April 2010 . NOT AVAILABLE FOR MAGAZINE USE IN GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES UNTIL 1ST JULY 2...

Juergen Freund / Aerial view showing slash and burned patches of barren land amidst other cultivated vegetation. Philippines, April 2010 . NOT AVAILABLE FOR MAGAZINE USE IN GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES UNTIL 1ST JULY 2...

Chien Lee / Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) male with large cheek patches calling, Kubah National Park, Malaysia

Chien Lee / Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) male with large cheek patches, Kubah National Park, Malaysia

Ernie Janes / Flock of domestic sheep, ewes with coloured patches on bottoms to show mating / tupping, Ivinghoe Hills, Buckinghamshire, UK, October 2006

Ernie Janes / Flock of domestic sheep, ewes with coloured patches on bottoms to show mating / tupping, Ivinghoe Hills, Buckinghamshire, UK, October 2006

Ernie Janes / Flock of domestic sheep, ewes with coloured patches on bottoms to show they have been covered by ram, mating / tupping, Ivinghoe Hills, Buckinghamshire, UK, October 2006

Thomas Marent / Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) male with large cheek patches, Camp Leakey, Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo, Indonesia

Mitsuaki Iwago / Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) male with large cheek patches, Borneo, Malaysia

Bryan and Cherry Alexander / Patches of bare tundra visible through snow as Spring thaw begins near Moriussaq. Northwest Greenland, 1980.

Alex Hyde / Poplar Hawkmoth (Laothoe populi) male showing orange patches on hind wings, as a distraction or startle display. On white background. Pembrokeshire, UK. July.

Daniel Heuclin / Common / Cross adder (Vipera berus) male basking between patches of hoar frost. Finland, Scandinavia. Controlled conditions.

Barrie Britton / Aerial view of Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) herd resting on patches of snow to escape mosquitos. Lapland, Finland. July 2007

Wild Wonders of Europe / Müller / Mountain with patches of snow on it, low clouds, Pollino National Park, Basilicata, Italy, May 2009

Wild Wonders of Europe / Widstrand / Landscape with patches of snow, Sierra de Gredos, Spain, November 2008

Wild Wonders of Europe / Munier / Bog covered in snow with patches of water visible, Forollhogna National Park, Norway, September 2008

Heike Odermatt / Ice patches in stream, Bavarian Forest, Germany

Heike Odermatt / Ice patches in stream, Bavarian Forest, Germany

Heike Odermatt / Ice patches in stream, Bavarian Forest, Germany

Norbert Wu / Sargassum Weed (Sargassum sp) growing on bottom will break off to form large floating patches of sargasso weed, Bahamas, Caribbean

Nick Garbutt / Pigtail Macaque (Macaca nemestrina) on purpose-built "primate wire" connecting isolated patches of forest. Kinabatangan River, Borneo

Nick Garbutt / Pigtail Macaque (Macaca nemestrina) crossing purpose-built "primate wires" connecting isolated patches of forest, Kinabatangan River, Borneo

Pete Oxford / Termite islands in the Delta. These small islands start by termites raising patches of land above the flatness of the land at the same time enriching the soil. Okavango Delta, Botswana, Southern Afric...

Mark Moffett / Mantid (Mantidae) side view showing red patches on forelegs, Myanmar (formerly Burma)

Mark Moffett / Blueweed (Echium vulgare) patches are only a few square meters each, Hazeva, Israel

Michael Hutchinson / Ruppell's Griffon Vulture (Gyps rueppellii), Lewa Downs clearly showing naked shoulder patches, Kenya

Michael Hutchinson / Ruppell's Griffon Vulture (Gyps rueppellii) clearly showing naked shoulder patches, Lewa Downs, Kenya

John Cancalosi / Californian Condor {Gymnogyps californianus} in flight with wing patches identifying individual, Arizona, USA - First reintroduced to Arizona in 1996, now breeding in the wild, in the Grand Canyon-Ve...

DAVID TIPLING / Rainforest with cleared patches, El Valle, Panama.

Dan Burton / Aerial view of Haytor Rocks, granite tor rock outcrop, Dartmoor National Park, Devon, UK. Road and paths through patches of bracken, winter

Nick Upton / Limestone rocks high on the shoreline dappled with patches of Black tar lichen (Hydropunctaria maura / Verrucaria maura) and heavily encrusted below with Montagu's stellate barnacles (Chthamalaus mont...

Nick Upton / Limestone rocks high on the shoreline dappled with patches of Black tar lichen (Hydropunctaria maura / Verrucaria maura) and heavily encrusted below with Montagu's stellate barnacles (Chthamalaus mont...

Nick Upton / Shore / Sea Bristletail (Petrobius maritimus / brevistylis) camouflaged on limestone rock with patches of Black tar lichen (Hydropunctaria maura / Verrucaria maura) alongside four Small periwinkles (M...

Nick Upton / Limestone rocks high just above the high tide line with patches of Common orange lichen (Xanthoria parietina) and Black Tar lichen (Hydropunctaria maura / Verrucaria maura). Rhossili, The Gower Penins...

Nick Upton / Limestone rocks high just above the high tide line with two Small periwinkles (Melarhaphe neritoides = Littorina neritoides) among patches of Common orange lichen (Xanthoria parietina) and Black Tar l...

Nick Upton / Limestone rocks high just above the high tide line with two Small periwinkles (Melarhaphe neritoides = Littorina neritoides) among patches of Common orange lichen (Xanthoria parietina) and Black Tar l...

Onne van der Wal / An aerial view of moored cruising yachts and patches of coral reef, Puerto Rico, Caribbean.

Christian Ziegler / Katydid (Mimetica sp) mimicking leaf with small patches of fungus damage, Barro Colorado Island, Panama

Heike Odermatt / Ice patches in streaming water, Bavarian Forest, Germany

Tui De Roy / King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) in tussock grass showing brilliantly colored auricular patches, Macquarie Island, sub-Antarctica Australia