30+ beautifully captured bird pictures by National Geographic

[geni]

"Birds of Australia." – Jongsung Ryu


"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit." –Tahir Abbas Awan


"It was raining and the puffins didn't feel up to fishing. I was lucky to be able to stay near them and watch the beauty of nature on their feathers." – Mario Suarez Porras



"It was very dark in the rainforest of Manuel Antonio, the only light was the bright orange color of the flowers along the way. I noticed something moving very fast and it turned out to be a little hummingbird, looking for food. I really enjoyed watching this beautiful bird in the wilderness." – Barbara Seiberl-Stark


"Two pharaoh eagle-owl chicks stand together in the Kuwait desert." – Mohammad Murad


"I had so much fun photographing brown pelicans in Baja, even if the weather was pretty stormy. Here, brown pelicans gather in numbers and fight for discarded fish scraps thrown overboard by fishermen." – David Robinson


"I saw these ducks in a local Balinese village follow their owner down the side of the road on their way to eat pests in the rice fields. Natural pest control like this is still preferred over pesticides. Some farmers have up to 1500 ducks in their flock. The ducks are guided by a red flag on a bamboo pole." – Duey Moore


"I spent a few days with these beauties. I kept the camera close to the water so I could get the perspective I was after." – Jamie MacArthur


"It was difficult for me to take this photo because the red-headed cranes are very smart and difficult to approach. This photo was taken at The Anlung Pring wetlands in Kampot Province, Cambodia." – Thuần Võ


"Demoiselle cranes arrive in the thousands during winter in the small village, Khichan, in western Rajasthan. I created this lower angle wide prespective using a remote trigger." – Yashpal Rathore


"A grey plover rests on a beach after high tide. These birds spend a few days on the beaches of northern Spain after having traveled hundreds of kilometers in their postnuptial migration. The angle of the shot was done with the placement of the lens at ground level." – Félix Morlán González


"Two bald eagles in Kachemak Bay, Alaska." – Ron Brown


"Thousands of carmine bee-eaters take off from their nesting grounds at sunset on the Sikunya Channel of the Zambezi River in northern Namibia's Caprivi Strip." – Jason Boswell


"A lapped faced vulture looks at me between a bunch of white backed vultures." – Mohammad Murad


"Eastern screech owls like to take over woodpecker nests that have been dug out over the years in pine trees. Screech owls can range in height anywhere from 8-10 inches, so you have to have a sharp eye to find these little birds of prey. This was taken at the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, U.S." – Graham McGeorge


"The sun rises over thousands of cranes at Hula Nature Reserve." – Keren Or


"Flamingos are very social with one another, but I have also noticed a great deal of interest and eye contact while I photograph them. I am fascinated with what they may be thinking when their gaze is on me. This photo was taken at the Los Angeles Zoo." – M. Cormican


"A little egret stands against the water flow." – Mohammad Murad


" An indian eagle in mid-flight. I waited a month for this photo." – Sagar Thakur


"Two gannets fight during a courtship at Bass Rock, Scotland. The island plays host to more than 150,000 gannets and is the world's largest colony of northern gannets." – Mario Suarez Porras


"A platoon of king penguins on Right Whale Bay on the Island of South Georgia in the Southern Ocean. The wounded penguin on the lower right had been attacked by a leopard seal earlier in the day while swimming." – Kitty Kono


"I encountered a friendly parrot at a local garden. I couldn't use a flash without blinding my feathered friend but it turned out for the best. I was admiring the aperture of his eye and I'm sure he was wondering what was up with the aperture of my camera." – Aaron Cawsey


"Every May, about 20,000 flamingos will participate in the mating season in Rio Lagartos, Mexico. I took this photo while standing in waist-deep water." – Baoting (Bob) Chen


"A dalmatian pelican catches a fish thrown by a fisherman. During the winter time fishermen from Kerkini lake feed pelicans and help them to survive." – Marek Jackowski


"A green woodpecker feeding a young chick in Surrey, United Kingdom." – Jon Hawkins


"An eagle and its young scramble over a fish." – Youichi I.


"An unusual snow fall one month after storks arrive at Beyşehir." – Oğuz Ipçi


"I took this photo of a red tailed hawk just as it was taking off in Fayetteville, North Carolina." – Glenn Poplin


"An up close shot of a golden eagle." – Anna Štindlová


"There is a man in Poland who builds artificial islands for common terns for nesting. Every year more and more of those beautiful birds are coming. The islands are a perfect place for birds, because they protect them from their natural anemies like minks." – Marek Jackowski


"Pigeons cuddle on a branch in the rain." – Adrian Baltariu