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.
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.
"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.
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