See the Spectacular Winners of Smithsonian Magazine’s 23rd Annual Photography Contest
Tracy Scott Forson
Like rebellious bandmates onstage, the three chicks featured in the grand-prize-winning image of the 23rd annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest are “full of attitude, energy and individuality,” says photographer Jacqueline Burke, who playfully titled her entry “The Punk Rockers.” Their unruly, spiked plumage gives the unmistakable look of tiny mohawks, she says.
Photographed at a New Jersey rookery, or breeding ground, the egret chicks, playing and fighting with one another, stood out among.