A SCOTTISH photographer has scooped up a prestigious international prize.
Alan Jones beat more than 1700 others to win the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers Bird Photographer of the Year.
He came out top with a shot of a red-billed oxpecker perched on a buffalo’s nose as it drank.
Jones, a 69-year-old retired chartered accountant from Edinburgh, said: “The image was taken at Zimanga reserve in the Kwa-Zulu Natal region of South Africa, which is in the Eastern Cape.
“The reserve has some amazing hides which allow you to collect images at water-hole level.
READ MORE: Scots musician in huge project to rewrite nearly 900 Robert Burns songs
“This image was taken about 6am in late September so the light level was still pretty low.
“Oxpeckers feed exclusively on the bodies of large mammals. It seems the jury is still out on whether they do the animal more harm than good.
“The buffalo appears to tolerate oxpeckers while other species will not.’’
The runner-up was Kevin Nash from Cheshire who photographed a white-tailed sea eagle with the mountains of Scotland in the background, taken on Loch Na Keal during a trip to Mull.
Amateur photographer Nash said: “Myself and a group of fellow photographers chartered a boat to take us out onto Loch Na Keal off the beautiful Isle of Mull, Scotland.
“The white-tailed sea eagle is the UKs largest bird of prey.”
Other prize-winning snaps included a heron tussling with a weasel, a baby penguin waddling in the Antarctic and a kite and a buzzard coming to blows over a dead pheasant.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here