Our picturesque natural world on Earth Day

Wild bluebells, which bloom around mid-April turning the forest blue as they form a carpet, are pictured in the Hallerbos, also known as the "Blue Forest", near Halle, Belgium.

Italian alpine rescuers climb a frozen waterfall in Malga Ciapela which lies in the Val Pettorina valley, at the foot of the Fedaia Pass in Italy.

A murmuration of migrating starlings flies over a field near Kiryat Gat, Israel.

Murmurations are believed to act as giant signposts, attracting all the other starlings in the area so that all the birds can roost together.

A colony of chinstrap penguins walk along a mountain on Two Hummock Island, Antarctica.

Its name stems from the narrow black band under its head, which makes it appear as if it were wearing a black helmet, making it easy to identify.

A handout picture of the Aletsch Glacier in Fieschertal, Switzerland taken between 1860 and 1890, is displayed at the same location.

The aurora borealis is seen in the sky in Ivalo of Lapland, Finland. Also known as Northern Lights is a dazzling natural phenomenon caused by Earth’s magnetic field interacting with electrically charged particles from the sun. 

Polyps on an Eusmilia fastigiata (Smooth Flower Coral) are open and relaxed as the coral rests in a laboratory at a Florida Aquarium facility near Tampa, Florida. This species of coral is susceptible to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD). 

Lava flows from the Stromboli volcano in Italy. Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing Mount Stromboli, one of the three active volcanoes in Italy.

It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily. 

Victor, a nine-year-old white-tailed eagle equipped with a 360 camera, flies over glaciers and mountains in Chamonix, France, during a preparation flight of the Alpine Eagle Race, an event aiming at raising awareness on global warming.