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)

Omar Gamal, a 28-year-old pigeon keeper, stands next to his pigeon coop on his rooftop in the Egyptian capital's twin city of Giza on February 21, 2021, with the Pyramids of (R to L) Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), and Menkaure (Menkheres) in the background. An ancient tradition handed down through the generations, the practice of domesticating pigeons stretches across borders from the banks of the Nile to north Africa and beyond, with people not only training birds for competitions, but also serving them up as a dining delicacy. (Photo by Khaled Desouki/AFP Photo)

A boy flies a handmade kite from a roof, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). in Old Cairo, Egypt on July 26, 2020. (Photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

Christopher Blevins from the USA in action on his way winning the Cross Country Short Track Elite Men UCI XCC Mountain Bike World Series race in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, 25 May 2025. (Photo by Maxime Schmid/EPA)

A vehicle leaves light trails in a long exposure photograph as it drives beneath the 500-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope in Pingtang county, China. Construction on the device began in 2011 and is nearing completion. (Photo by Liu Xu/AP Photo)

A young woman takes pictures of the city with her mobile phone, from the glass-floor observation platform, in the Oriental Pearl Tower, in the financial district of Shanghai, on May 9, 2019. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

A commercial airline landing at the Princess Juliana International Airport in St Maarten on July 9, 2018. Ukrainians Oleg Kolisnichenko, 36, and Yulia Nos, 25, have been blasted for the “stupid stunt” on Maho Beach, which lies next to the main airport on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. The stunt was met with criticism rather than praise from social media users. (Photo by SWNS: South West News Service)

Russian Orthodox priest, Father Nikolai Gensitsky, speaks with believers while having a festive meal during the Easter celebrations in a church in the village of Yekaterininskoye in Omsk Region, Russia on April 19, 2020. (Photo by Alexey Malgavko/Reuters)