A parakeet attacking a lizard has claimed first place at the Society of the International Nature and Wildlife Photographers Bird Photographer of the Year 2024.
SINWP for short, the competition raises money for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), a charitable organization based in the United Kingdom that focuses on the conservation of birds and other wildlife.
Hira Punjabi from Maharashtra, India won the competition for his photo of a parakeet biting a monitor lizard in a tree in Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, in January 2024.
“This is a bird sanctuary where many migratory birds come here in winter and some resident birds breed here,” Punjabi explains. “January is a very cold month and many times there is a mist and fog, I have observed this behavior of birds attacking snakes and lizards, as they feed on bird eggs.”
“For the last 30 years I have been going here, but this time I was lucky,” he continues. “After observing the same tree for four days, one morning a pair of parakeets along with some 10 or 12 birds started attacking the lizards, the whole drama lasted for an hour or so. I managed to shoot many images, but this one is my favorite.”
Now in its seventh year, SINWP Bird Photographer of the Year has raised £16,138 (over $20,000) for the RSPB since its inception. This year saw 2,300 photographs submitted from across the world. Below, PetaPixel picks out some of the very best Commended images.
More information about the competition, including on how to enter next year, can be found here.
