An adorable baby owl has proved to be a real heart-breaker thanks to its heart-shaped head. Although Griffin the Lesser Sooty Owl might look like a feather duster, the tiny eight-week old chick will soon be ready to fly. And the heart outline that surrounds his giant eyes and beak means he is set to be the star of the bird show at Taronga Zoo, Sydney. (Photo by Caters News Agency)

Many people have seen feathers as decorative items before. Today, ostrich, peacock and bird of paradise feathers can be seen in haute couture and in the costumes of indigenous peoples. They can be colorful and spectacular in their own right, but how much more stunning might they be when used as canvases for artists, eager to demonstrate their talent for the unusual? Alaskan-born and -bred artist Julie Thompson is an astounding exponent of this incredible art form.

The Royal Flycatchers are birds in the genus Onychorhynchus in the Tityridae family. Depending on authority, it includes a single widespread, or four more localized species. The specific epithet of the type species, coronatus, and the common name of all the species in this genus, Royal Flycatcher, refer to the striking, colourful crest, which is seen displayed very rarely, except after mating, while preening, in courtship as well as being handled.

German photographer Tanja Brandt has created a series which captures the absolutely heart-breaking friendship between Ingo, her two-year-old German Shepherd, and a tiny owl called Napoleon. "Ingo is not always the calmest dog, however when he is around the birds, and particularly Napoleon, he is very soft and gentle", said the photographer. "He seems very at peace with them".

Birds fly over the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan July 29, 2015. On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing about 140,000 by the end of the year in a city of 350,000 residents, in the world's first nuclear attack. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Influenced by the shadows scorched into outdoor surfaces by the heat of the blasts 70 years ago, Reuters photographer Issei Kato pays homage to survivors, residents and historic buildings in both cities in a personal project that captures the shadows of today. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

A family poses for a picture in front of the carcasses of sacrificed buffalos a day after the sacrificial ceremony of the “Gadhimai Mela” festival held in Bariyapur November 29, 2014. Sword-wielding Hindu devotees in Nepal began slaughtering thousands of animals and birds in a ritual sacrifice on Friday, ignoring calls by animal rights activists to halt what they described as the world's largest such exercise. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

“The titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum (from Ancient Greek amorphos, “without form, misshapen” + phallos, “phallus”, and titan, “giant”) is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The titan arum's inflorescence is not as large as that of the Talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, but the inflorescence of the Talipot palm is branched rather than unbranched”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Kew Gardens employee Lauren Bird Royal examines the flowering of the Titan Arum lily at the Botanical Gardens at Kew on September 30, 2005 in London, England. For the first time in horticultural history, the Titan Arum lily can be seen at all three active stages in its lifecycle – in flower, fruit and leaf.The flowering corm is nearly three metres tall and weighs 91kg and is very rarely seen outside of the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Azat Shajbyrov reacts with a baby falcon on his head in a village of Bokonbaevo, Issyk-Kul area (270 km from Bishkek), Kyrgyzstan, 22 June 2016, as he dreams of continuing a family tradition of golden eagle hunting. Eagle and falcon hunting is an old Kyrgyz tradition. With their birds, Kyrgyz berkutchy hunt in the mountains and participate in the hunting festival “Salburun”. (Photo by Igor Kovalenko/EPA)