Pictures, Images and Stock Photos

An adult Turkey Vulture ( Cathartes aura) in flight over the coastline of central Chile, where they survive largely on dead fish and other ocean flotsam and jetsam, largely dependent on the local fishing industry waste.

Many gnarled, aged Southern Beech Trees (Nothofagus pumilio) growing on the steep banks of fjords in southern Chile

A Patagonian Tyrant Flycatcher (Colorhamphus parvirostris) leaves its perch to pursue a passing flying insect while wintering in central Chile. This tiny flycatcher spends the summer breeding in the far south of Chile but then migrates up to 2000km north to spend the winter hunting insects in the warm, mediterranean climate of central Chile in the austral winter.

Three orange flowers of an horticultural variety of Alstromeria blooming in a Chilean garden

The P&O Nedlloyd Container ship at sea after leaving Southampton, United Kingdom, and heading out into the Atlantic through the Solent.

Volcan Corcovado, with a height of 2300 metres, looms over the Gulf of Corcovado and the island of Chiloe in the Chilean Southern Lake District. The mountain is an ancient, and currently quiet, volcano eroded by sequential glaciations into a stepped profile.

A Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) surfaces to breathe in the waters of a Chilean Fjord

A Flying Fish (Exocoetus volitans) glides low over the waves of the North Atlantic, where its flights can cover as much as 400 metres.

A single, blue flower of the endemic ‘Suspiro de Mar’ (Nolana paradoxa) growing on a sandy beach in the Atacama region of northern Chile. The genus ‘Nolana’ is very specific to Chile, with 45 of the 48 species occurring in the country being endemic, with the remaining three species also occurring in neighbouring Peru.

Extremely rare and infrequently observe, a male Cuvier's Beaked Whale breaks surface in the clear, deep waters of the Bay of Biscay, before diving to a depth of over a thousand metres in search of food.

Two Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) perch and preen on the tops of old grape vines in central Chile

A breeding colony of Imperial Cormorants (Leucocarbo atriceps) on a small, rocky island in the Chilean fjords near Puerto Chacabuco.

Two American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus) fly over the white-water surf of the Pacific Ocean in southern Chile

Three flowers of wild Magellanic Fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica), one of the ancestors of many horticultural varieties, in a forest in southern Chile

A juvenile Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) in central Chile, with one leg badly entangled in a beach fisherman’s lure and nylon fishing line.

An artisanal fishing boat cruises the inshore waters of the Araucanía Province southern Chile, the poorest province in Chile where many in the population make a living from a mixture of farming and fishing. This boat has been long-lining for Merluza (Hake) and is heading back to its home port at the mouth of the River Tolten, surrounded by shearwaters and pelicans

An adult House Martin (Delichon urbicum) arrives at its nest with a load of food as one of its several chicks begs loudly in its ears

Two sturdy lambs, just two weeks old, play together in a meadow of lush, green grass

A True's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon mirus) breaching in the southern Bay of Biscay. One of the very few photos ever taken of this species in life.

A single Bengal Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis) sunbathes on the dry ground in Yala National Park

A single Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) leaps over calm water near the Straits of Gibraltar

A Flying Fish (Exocoetus volitans) takes flight over the waves of the North Atlantic, leaving a wake with its furiously beating tail

An adult male California Quail (Callipepla californica) perches on a park bench in central Chile, where they were introduced in the last century as a game-bird for hunting.

A Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus) rests among Heather in Speyside, in the Scottish highlands

Developing fruits and leaves of the Soap Bark Tree (Quillaja saponaria), endemic to central Chile but cultivated around the world for the medicinal and industrial properties of its soapy bark.

An adult Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) soars over the Pacific Ocean off central Chile

Several flowers and leaves of the Pimpinella (Anagallis alternifolia) growing in the High Andes near Santiago de Chile. This compact alpine species is nearly always found with its roots in permanent water, near mountain streams and lakes.

Flowers of a European Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), sometimes called May Flowers, one of the earliest trees to begin to flower in an English spring

A small flock of Brown-hooded Gull s(Chroicocephalus maculipennis), already in winter plumage after breeding in November, flies over the Pacific Ocean in the south of Chile in the austral autumn

An adult male California Quail (Callipepla californica) perches on a park bench in central Chile, where they were introduced in the last century as a game-bird for hunting.

An adult Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) flies over a distant, semi-desert valley in the Andes of central Chile

A Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) in breeding plumage looks for for along a sandy beach in northern Chile. The species is distributed mainly along the west coasts of North and South America and is regarded by conservationists as Near-Threatened due to expanding development of coastal habitats throughout its range.

Water Buffalo herd by an Oil Palm plantation near Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia

A Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) swims in green lake water

A single Andean Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus) walks across lake bed in Atacama salt lake, Chile

Four Grey Gulls (Leucophaeus modestus) wait in the surf of a beach in central Chile for prey to appear as the water recedes. This species breeds well inland in the Atacama Desert but winters on beaches all over South America and even into sub-Antarctic regions.

Fruits and leaves of the Chilean Nightshade or Chilean Potato Vine (Solanum crispum), a close relative of the cultivated potato and tomato but which, in common with many other nightshades, has toxic foliage and berries. These fruits are initially green, then orange, and finally turn blue or purple.

Five Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus), or “Loro” to the locals, a widespread and common Chilean species, perch on a garden fountain in a suburban Santiago garden. Originally centred on the plains of Argentina, this species has become more widespread in South America and, through the pet-trade, managed to colonise parts of North America.

Two Chilean seine-net fishing boats fish for anchovy just off the Chilean coast in the Araucania region near the estuary of the River Tolten, in autumn, surrounded by seabirds.

Extremely rare and infrequently observe, a male Cuvier's Beaked Whale breaks surface in the clear, deep waters of the Bay of Biscay, before diving to a depth of over a thousand metres in search of food.

An inflorescence of a species of Showy Mistletoe (Tristerix verticillatus), in the family Loranthaceae, growing in central Chile. Members of this group infect host trees and bushes with a seed that penetrates the bark as it germinates, and the mistletoe then extracts some nutrients from the host plant as well as having functional photosynthetic, green leaves itself. Hence they are generally regarded as hemi-parasites (“half-parasites”).

Developing fruits and leaves of the Soap Bark Tree (Quillaja saponaria), endemic to central Chile but cultivated around the world for the medicinal and industrial properties of its soapy bark.

An adult Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) flies above a wooded hillside near Santiago, in central Chile

A flock of thirteen Imperial Cormorants (Phalacrocorax atriceps) flies over blue ocean waters in the fjords of southern Chile.

Close-up of an adult Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus), with its distinct black and white plumage and white collar, soaring against a blue sky in the Andes mountains of central Chile. The bird shows the distinctive, coloured skin and wattles of an older, adult bird and a yellow crop (stomach) full of food protrudes among the chest feathers.

Two species of Dolphin, a Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba, upper animal) and a Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis, lower animal) leap over the waves near the Straits of Gibraltar

A single, male Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis) sings among Blackberry bushes in Galicia, northern Spain

A Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) runs to take-off from the calm water of a sheltered fjord on the coast of Chile.

A pilot vessel operates to help shipping move in and out of the Chilean port of Puerto Montt, the gateway to the southern Chilean fjords.

Flowers and leaves of the Thorn Apple (Datura stramonium), a plant native to central and north America but now naturalised over much of the world. It has been prized and feared for its medicinal and hallucinogenic properties throughout the ages, all parts of the plant containing concentrations of atropine high enough to kill many animals, including humans. The beautiful flowers are pollinated by moths.

Three Red-legged Cormorants (Phalacrocorax gaimardi) in flight over the blue waters of a coastal fjord in southern Chile

A domestic goat grazes among rough grass in Speyside, in the Scottish highlands

An adult Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) flies over a distant, semi-desert valley in the Andes of central Chile

A single Rufous-chested Dotterel (Charadrius modestus) wades in a shallow pool on the Pacific coast of central Chile. The species nests among mountains and moorland but winters along the South American coastline.

A single Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) flies over a Pacific Ocean coastal lagoon in central Chile.

A single, female Upland Goose (Chloephaga picta) rests in shallow waters in one of the many fjords of Chilean Patagonia

A group of four Upland Geese (Chloephaga picta) rest in a grassy meadow near one of the many fjords of Chilean Patagonia

A male Jewelled Tree Lizard (Liolaemus tenuis), sometimes also called a Thin Tree Lizard and endemic to Chile, emerges from the shadows in woodland in central Chile

A single White-backed Stilt (Himantopus melanurus) on a Pacific Ocean beach in central Chile. This species is sometimes considered a sub-species of the North American Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus).

Five Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus) patrol the surf in central Chile. These will be non-breeding birds, perhaps immatures, “summering” in winter South America as breeding Whimbrel should be currently nesting on the North American tundra.