Elephants get their feathers ruffled by a flock of angry birds

Flock and awe ... birds spook elephants

Caters News Agency

DETERMINED to keep their favourite roosting spot free from unwanted intruders, this is the incredible moment a giant cloud of tiny birds spook a herd of elephants.

Thousands of starling-sized queleas come together to form an imposing barrier which prevents the thirsty beasts from reaching a watering hole.

The five-ton giants soon concede defeat to the possessive flock of tiny birds — and leave to quench their thirst elsewhere.

Photographer Antero Topp, 60, was at the Satao Camp waterhole in East Tsavo, Kenya, when the mayhem broke out.

Wall of wings ... queleas keep control of their territory

Caters News Agency

He said: "The birds spent most of the time feeding somewhere close to the waterhole but every morning and evening they gathered in huge flocks close to the water.

"There are big trees close to the waterhole where the birds landed and at that time we suddenly heard a strong crack.

"A huge branch had been broken by the weight of these tiny birds despite them only weighing about ten grams each.

"All the birds took off and you could hear an unbelievable whoosh and after that birds' ear breaking calls.

Spooky ... queleas are the world's most abundant bird species

Caters News Agency

"Despite their size faced with the huge flocks of birds I was surprised to see the elephants actually back away maybe 50 metres, and some even ran.

"I think the elephants were afraid of the size and shape of the flocks and the almost supernatural whoosh noise made as they all took to the air."

Red-billed queleas are the world's most abundant wild bird species, with an estimated breeding population of 1.5billion pairs.

On top of the world – the climber who felt like he was walking on clouds

Climber ... Remi looks like he's on top of the world

THIS is the moment a climber felt truly on top of the world as he scaled a 4,744-foot volcano.

Surrounded by clouds Remi McMurtry is photographed by his climbing partner from another part of the Snffellsjvkull glacier.

Remi and pal Will Copestake ventured to the Icelandic peak after craving an adventure and pulling the name out of a hat of destinations.

The climb was part of a 27-day hike across Iceland and the pair had to endure the coldest June in Iceland for 59 years.

Will said: "We set off around midday, in summer in Iceland the sun shines 24 hours, so you're not really constrained by light.

"We spent the entire climb in the clouds, not really able to see what we were doing, once we got to the top we had to wait 20 minutes before the clouds cleared enough.

"We both love climbing and the local people said it was a nice mountain to climb as it was quite rounded and not very steep.

"When I looked at the photograph of Remi I thought 'that looks like a stairway to heaven', with the rock pointing out of the clouds he could have been at the pearly gates."

Snffellsjvkull is Icelandic for "snow-fells glacier" or "snow-mountains glacier" and is 700,000 year old stratovolcano with a glacier covering its summit It's a famous location in Iceland, primarily due to the novel 'A Journey to the Centre of the Earth' by Jules Verne, in which the characters find the entrance to a passage leading to the centre of the earth on Snffellsjvkull.

Both of the 21-year-old fearless hikers, who are based in Stirling, were told about the mountain by locals in the nearby city of Reykjavmk The climb was a break from the duo's country crossing fundraising attempts for little known charity, Made in Ullapool, a small social enterprise aimed at providing for vulnerable adults.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Ferrari has unveiled the fastest road-car it has ever produced, ahead of the vehicle’s debut at the Geneva Motor Show (March 8-18)

The F12 Berlinetta can streak from 0-100km/h in 3.1 seconds and continue up to 200km/h in just 8.5 seconds, thanks to a host of powertrain and design changes.

A futuristic bodyframe made out of new alloys has helped bring weight down to 1,525kg, less than the previous V12 Fiorano model, as well as increasing the structural integrity of the vehicle.

Underneath the hood is a 6.3-liter V12 that generates about 740 horsepower, Ferrari confirmed, more than its serious rival the Lamborghini Aventador.

Extensive time in the wind tunnel has helped Ferrari boost downforce by 76 percent and significantly reduce drag, thanks to a hood design to channel air away from the top of the car and ‘Active Brake Cooling’, which only opens the guide vanes to the brake cooling ducts at high operating temperatures, reducing drag.

The automaker’s attempt to jump on the environmental bandwagon has resulted in a reduction in fuel consumption of 30 percent and carbon dioxide emissions of 350 g/km — not bad for a high-performance sports car, but unlikely to win any green prizes anytime soon.

Surat Khalifah Abu Hafs kepada Pope dipamerkan

SEPUCUK surat daripada Khalifah Abu Hafs dipamerkan di Capitol Hill, Rom kelmarin.

ROM, Itali - Sepucuk surat daripada Khalifah Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada dari Maghribi kepada Ketua Gereja Roman Katolik, Pope Innocent IV dipamerkan di sini kelmarin.

Surat itu bertarikh 10 Jun 1250 dari Marrakesh, Maghribi. Abu Hafs memerintah sebahagian kawasan di Maghribi dari tahun 1248 sehingga 1266 Masihi.

Surat tersebut merupakan sebahagian dokumen yang dipamerkan pada pameran Arkib Rahsia Vatican yang diadakan di Capitol Hill, Rom.

Pameran itu dibuka kepada orang awam bermula semalam dan akan berakhir pada September depan.

- Agensi