Ashley Cooper / Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) feeding using its long bill to probe the shallow water and mud, RSPB Leighton Moss, Lancashire, UK.

Ashley Cooper / Small Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) murmuration before birds begin to roost in reeds below, Spurn, Yorkshire, UK.

Ashley Cooper / Panning across misty Langdale Valley at dawn, Lake District, UK.

Bruce Thomson / Scaly-breasted lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus) pair allopreening in a branch of a tree, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

Bruce Thomson / Infra red, slow motion shot of Eastern long fingered bat (Miniopterus orianae oceanensis) flying out of roost cave at dusk, Girraween National Park, Queensland, Australia.

Doug Gimesy / Grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) cleaning its wing after rain, Yarra Bend, Kew, Victoria, Australia, November.

Doug Gimesy / Domestic pigeons (Columba livia) sitting on a roof preening while one bird spins on a whirlybird air vent as it rotates, Australia.

Lewis Jefferies / Close up shot of Pulsating xenid (Heteroxenia fuscescens) feeding , Red Sea, Egypt

Lewis Jefferies / Common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) changing colour as a threat display, Maldives, Indian Ocean.

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Screaming hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus vellerosus) sniffing while looking at camera before approaching it, Parque de Las Leyendas in Lima, Peru. Captive.

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Mentanani scops owl (Otus mantananensis rombloni) juvenile looking towards camera, Semirara Island Aviary. Captive.

David Weiller / Atta leaf-cutter ants (Genus atta) harvesting leaves and pink flower petals, Ecuador, February.