The Shortlist For The Coveted Bird Photographer Of The Year 2018 Awards Has Been Announced

Bird Photographer of the Year is a competition that celebrates the artistry of bird photography and promotes conservation by contributing directly to the British Trust for Ornithology to support their conservation research.

Giant cowbird taking ticks from a capybara, Pantanal, Brazil. (Photo by Petr Bambousek/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

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Water rail, Salamanca, Spain. (Photo by Mario Cea/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Kingfisher diving, Spain. (Photo by Mario Cea Sanchez/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Alexandrine parakeet standing on swallows nest. (Photo by Georgina Steytler/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Dalmatian pelicans, Lake Kerkini, Greece. (Photo by Johan Siggesson/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Toco toucan, Poconé, Brazil. (Photo by Petr Bambousek/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Whooper swans, Janakkala, Finland. (Photo by Antti Siponen/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Northern gannet, Bempton Cliffs, United Kingdom. (Photo by Janine Lee/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Red-billed oxpecker on an impala, Kruger National Park, South Africa. (Photo by Edmund Aylmer/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

White-tailed eagle, Hortobágy, Hungary. (Photo by Ben Hall/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Sanderling wading birds stop during migration, Asturias, Spain. (Photo by Mario Suarez Porras/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Griffon vulture, Alaska. (Photo by Pedro Jarque Krebs/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Ruddy duck, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jess Findlay/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Grey heron, Hungary. (Photo by Bence Mate/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Snowy owl, Canada. (Photo by Markus Varesvuo/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

White-backed vulture, Zimanga, South Africa. (Photo by Clint Ralph/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Northern gannet with discarded netting in its beak, Heligoland, Germany. (Photo by Petr Bambousek/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)