Bloodthirsty by Thomas P. Peschak, Germany/South Africa — winner, Behaviour: birds. When rations run short on Wolf Island, in the remote northern Galápagos, the sharp-beaked ground finches become vampires. Their sitting targets are Nazca boobies and other large birds. The finches rely on a scant diet of seeds and insects, which regularly dries up, so they drink blood to survive. ‘I’ve seen more than half a dozen finches drinking from a single Nazca booby,’ says Tom. Rather than leave their nests the boobies tolerate the vampires, and the blood loss doesn’t seem to cause permanent harm. (Photo by Thomas P. Peschak/2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Two friends attempt to balance in the icy conditions in Newcastle, England on February 2, 2019. Boozy Brits across the UK took to the streets last night to ensure they got February off to a wet start after “Dry January”. (Photo by Craig Connor/North News and Pictures)

A woman uses a phone to take a “selfie” photo with cat as she stands along the barbed wire fence demarcating the “blue line” – drawn by the United Nations to mark Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 – while an Israeli Merkava battle tank is deployed nearby, at a position along the border near the village of Kfar Shuba in southern Lebanon on June 11, 2023. (Photo by Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP Photo)

Supporters of Lebanese President Michel Aoun hold up a giant Lebanese flag as he delivers a speech outside the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, October 30, 2022. Aoun left Lebanon's presidential palace Sunday marking the end of his six-year term without a replacement, leaving the small nation in a political vacuum that is likely to worsen its historic economic meltdown. (Photo by Bilal Hussein/AP Photo)

A boy shoots a World War II machine gun armed with blanks at an weapon exhibition during a military show near Kirovsk, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, January 21, 2018. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

A woman dancer prepare a performance during Nyepi celebration, the annual day of silence marking Balinese Hindu new year in Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Most Balinese practice self-reflection and stay at home to observe the quiet holiday, and tourists visiting the island are asked not to leave their hotels and the airport will be closed. (Photo by Firdia Lisnawati/AP Photo)

Actors and dancers perform during the press rehearsal for the “ARISE Grand Show” at the Friedrichstadt-Palast theater in Berlin, Germany, 15 September 2021. Premiere of the show is scheduled for 16 September and will amaze vistors with “extravagant costumes, breathtaking stage sets and artistic excellence” until February 2022 as the theater promises on its website. (Photo by Filip Singer/EPA/EFE)

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) fires his rifle at Islamic State militants as he runs across a street in Raqqa, Syria, July 2017. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)