A photographer found out it is seldom wise to cross a pelican.

This huge great white pelican at Moscow Zoo took exception to being photographed and lunged forward to peck Nikolay Sotskov's camera.

Fortunately Nikolay was able to step back and prevent his lens disappearing into the vast abyss formed by the pelican's beak and the mouth opening - which is normally the last thing seen by fish, the bird's usual diet, as they are swallowed whole.

The pelican lives at an area of Moscow Zoo called 'Swamp', accompanied by more pelicans and also cormorants. The great white pelican is know as the Rose pelican in Russia due to the rosy hue of its feathers

Nikolay said: 'It was really fun to make these shots as this pelican seemed to decide my camera was some kind of food suitable for pelicans and tried to peck it.

'It was even a bit scary because this is actually a big bird and weighs pretty much.

'But despite my fear I coped to make a couple of shots and I am satisfied with the result as these photos look funny.'

The great white pelican is a huge bird, with only the Dalmatian pelican averaging larger amongst pelicans.

The bird's wingspan can measure from 226 to 360 cm (7.41 to 11.8 ft), with the latter measurement the largest recorded among extant flying animals outside of great albatrosses.

Its enormous bill comprises 28.9 to 47.1 cm (11.4 to 18.5 in) of that length.

Adult males, weigh from 9 to 15 kg (20 to 33 lb), though large races from the Palaearctic are usually around 11 kg (24 lb) with few exceeding 13 kg (29 lb).

The great white pelican is well adapted for aquatic life. The short strong legs and webbed feet propel it in water and aid the bird's rather awkward takeoff from the water surface. Once aloft, the long-winged pelicans are powerful fliers, and often travel in spectacular V-formation groups.

Great white pelicans are usually found in and around shallow, warm, fresh water.

In Africa, great white pelicans occur mainly around freshwater and alkaline lakes and may also be found in coastal, estuarine areas.

Source : dailymail

This brightly coloured bird looks to be having a splashing good time as it shows of its eye catching plumage.

Readying itself to make a big splash the 'Painted Bunting' bird was snapped in these incredible shots, while washing itself in a bird bath.

The multi-coloured U.S. bird tip-toes up to the bath but its not before too long that he dives straight in.

The amazing shots show the bird with its distinctive blue head, red chest and yellow back and were captured by photographer Geoff Powell at Jekyll Island, in Georgia, USA.

He said: 'It was a thrill to witness.

'The painted bunting is arguably the most diversely colourful bird in the U.S., certainly along the east coast.

'I was very excited when he came to bath, which enabled me to get the images.

'Jekyll Island is a great place to view migrating song birds and warblers, which is why I visited the island that week.

He might not be much bigger than a pile of loose change, but Togs the budgie chick is making a big impression at the zoo where he was recently born.

The adorable Togs the budgerigar is lapping up the attention he is getting at the Wild Life Sydney centre in Australia.

He might be tiny but he certainly has a big personality, say his keepers, who are often convinced they are helping to raise a newborn child.

They describe Togs as 'very needy' who cries when he is hungry - just like a baby.

Ben Buchanan, education supervisor at Wild Life Sydney zoo, said: 'All he does is eat, sleep and cry - they are his only functions at the moment. He is currently being fed on baby formula.'

Budgerigars are the birds most commonly kept as a pets in the world.



There are three varieties mainly kept by enthusiasts; Australian bush, Australian and English.

Widely considered to be the original species of budgerigar, the Australian bush budgie is mainly a small green bird, but some blue and yellow varieties have also been spotted.

They are found in much of the inner area of Australia. The Australian budgie is an altered version of the original bush variety and - after many years of breeding - are now found in a variety of different colours.


Bred for their size and show, English budgies are larger than both the Australian bush and Australian varieties. All three are said to be make excellent pets.

Source : dailymail

A forgetful photographer had the shock of his life when this soaring golden eagle made off with his knife.

Dutch snapper Han Bouwmeester had been using the utensil, in Västerbotten, Sweden, to carve up chunks of meat in a bid to attract the birds of prey.

But, busy with the task in hand, the wildlife aficionado clumsily dropped it in the snow.

He said: 'Once it flew away in the sight of my camera I saw something red in his claws and made some shots of it.

'On the display from my camera I saw immediately that it was the knife we used to cut the meat. We surely left it in the snow.

'At such a moment we were firstly enraged with ourselves because this was a fault. But he soon dropped the knife after realising it was useless for him.

'I was happy with the absolutely cracking and unique picture. The eagle is holding it exactly as we should do with it. What a crazy once in a lifetime moment this was.'



Source : dailymail

This is the moment three crazed peacocks got in a flap and ran amok in a school playground - before attacking teachers' cars.

The barmy birds escaped from a nearby animal farm park after they got spooked by high winds the previous night.

Staff and pupils at Broughton Junior School in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, ran for cover after the peacocks swooped into the playground during morning break time on Wednesday morning.

A member of staff said: 'It was pretty scary stuff.

'The children were just starting to go back into lessons when the peacocks suddenly appeared and were racing around the playground.

'Luckily we were able to get the children back into school. A few teachers tried to shoo the birds away but they turned on them and started pecking and scratching their cars.'

Male peacock PeeWee and his two female companions failed to return to a farm park when they were let out into their pen on Tuesday night.

Park staff managed to catch the two female birds while PeeWee flew onto a roof until he was persuaded to join his two birds in the back of a truck.

Christine Goodley, secretary at the school, said: 'The children were absolutely enchanted because of the noise they made.'






Source : dailymail