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

Lewis Jefferies / Blackfinned anemonefish (Amphiprion nigripes) family seeks shelter in safety of Anemone's stinging tentacles, South Ari Atoll, Maldives, Indian Ocean.

Terry Whittaker / Two Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) cubs playing together near den, Hornvik, Hornstrandir Nature reserve, Iceland, July.

Terry Whittaker / Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) cubs playing with feather, playfighting and chasing each other near den, Hornvik, Hornstrandir Nature reserve, Iceland, July.

Simon Littlejohn / Female American mink (Neogale vison) entering a Kingfisher (Alcedo atthias) nest and taking a chick, Stour River, Dorset, UK, July.

Simon Littlejohn / Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) perched outside its nest, opening its wings and beak in an aggressive display to a Common blackbird (Turdus merula) which eventually flies away, River Stour, Dorset,...

Terry Whittaker / White-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus) singing on old bicycle wheel, River Mersey, Greater Manchester, UK.

Terry Whittaker / White-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus) returning to newly-fledged chick to feed it before flying away, River Mersey, Greater Manchester, UK.

Kim Taylor / Song thrush (Turdus philomelos) cracking a Garden snail (Cornu aspersum) on stone 'anvil', Surrey, UK, June.

Kim Taylor / Female Red mason bee (Osmia bicornis) stocking her nest in a glass tube with nectar and pollen before laying an egg, followed by her sealing the cell with mud, Surrey, UK, April.

Kim Taylor / Male Cockchafer beetle (Melolontha melolontha) unfolding its wings before taking off to fly away, Surrey, UK, May.

Richard Hopkins / Slow motion shot of Short-eared owl (Asio flameus) taking off from the ground and flying out of frame, Gloucestershire, UK, March.

Richard Hopkins / Field vole (Microtus agrestis) cleaning itself in nest before leaving, Gloucestershire, UK, April.

Richard Hopkins / Female European otter (Lutra lutra) looking directly at camera as her male cub suckles before she turns away from him; he pesters her to feed him again. Shetland, UK, September.

Richard Hopkins / Slow motion shot of Short-eared owl (Asio flameus) flying over grassland searching for prey, before it dives into the grass and then flies away, Gloucestershire, UK, March.

Nick Upton / Heath sand wasp (Ammophila pubescens) excavating a nest burrow in a bare sandy patch of heathland, flying back and forth, carrying away balls of sand between its mandibles and its raised front legs, D...

Neil Aldridge / Slow motion shot of Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) diving for and flying off with fish, Rothiemurchus, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK, July.

Marie Read / Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) excavating nest scrape on beach by squatting and kicking backwards using its feet, Long Island, New York, USA, August.

Marie Read / Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) brooding small chick in nest on beach, Long Island, New York, USA, August.

John Chan / Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) chicks sitting in nest, pestering parent for food before the parent feeds one of the chicks, California, USA, May.

Michael W. Richards / Domestic hen (Gallus gallus domesticus) preening while brooding her chicks in farmyard, when she pecks at ground chicks appear from underneath her, Somerset, UK, September.

Carlos Zorrilla / Male Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus) displaying at lek in tree, Ecuador

Carlos Zorrilla / Male Orchid bee (Euglossini sp.) on an orchid (Lycomormium ecuadorense) flower trying to remove pollinia attached to its back, Ecuador, April.

John Chan / Calliope hummingbird (Stellula calliope) chasing insects before returning to its perch, Southern California, USA, April.