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flamingos feeding their young
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This shot of a gray heron in Hungary won a silver award in the attention to detail category.
Photograph by Ahmad Al-essa

13 Photos Capture the Beauty and Ferocity of Birds

See winning images from this year's Bird Photographer of the Year contest.

September 02, 2017

From nesting flamingos to hunting owls to a snake-wrestling heron, photographers from around the world captured a variety of winged wonder in this selection of images from the Bird Photographer of the Year competition, which recently announced its winners. The flamingo image won top honors, including a prize of £5,000 ($6,475).

"The standard of photography was extremely high and myself and the other judges were treated to some fantastic bird photographs," says Chris Packham, head judge on the panel of experts, "but congratulations must go to Alejandro Prieto Rojas for his sublime image of flamingos, an incredible balance of colour, composition and emotion.”

The second annual contest, which is run jointly by Nature Photographers Ltd and the British Trust for Ornithology, recognizes excellent bird photography in categories including attention to detail, bird behavior, and birds in the garden. Among these colorful, dramatic photos, you're bound to find a bird you've never seen, or a new facet of one you already know.

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