david jenkin, Laughing Boy (ANIMALS 2026)

Like most of us when I went to Africa for a safari holiday I was looking forward to seeing the big animals, but was amazed by the birds there. The diversity in size, shape, colour and behaviour provided no end of surprises, and all perched near our truck, wherever we went. But the bird I remember most, I was going to say fondly but that would be lying, was the Marabou Stork. King of the Ugly Five the Marabou Stork is a wader standing up to 150 centimetres tall with a wingspan of up to 2.5 – 3 metres. This stork, perched on top of a tree has its bill open and looks as if they are enjoying themselves but in fact is cooling itself in the heat of the day.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.