Sputnoef

During the 1960s, cold war Paris was awash with spies, with espionage carried out at the highest level. The Russian KGB were among the most technically inventive. Sputnoef was the name given to a egg-sized bug resembling the Russian Sputnik satellite which was found in the Chilean Embassy in 1962, hidden in a bowl of fruit at a dinner attended by Charles de Gaulle.

Cockabindi

Cockabindi is large bird from the Indian sub-continent whose call has been described as "harrowing" "blood-curdling" and "a sound inspiring mortal fear". Plumage resembles nothing other than a bundle of bright rags splashed with paint.

"In the unfortunate queue of species destined for early extinction, Cockabindi is surely at the front." - Mahatma Ghandi.