National Geographic Photo of the Day: January 5th of 2017

January 5, 2017

We Have Liftoff

Along the Zambezi River in northern Namibia, a giant flock of southern carmine bee-eaters (Merops nubicoides) scatters into the air. According to Your Shot photographer Jason Boswell, these birds were taking off as a group of bird ringers attempted to ring a few hundred of them, to gather more information on where they go when they leave these breeding grounds. Today is National Bird Day in the United States; the holiday coincides with the Christmas Bird Count, a citizen-led project to take stock of the health of the country’s birds.

Photograph By Jason Boswell, National Geographic Your Shot