Common Cuckoo by Paul Wilson

This week's fabulous winner, taken by Paul Wilson at Elton Reservoir in Greater Manchester, is a fine reminder of what beautiful birds juvenile Common Cuckoos are. The intricate plumage, with its rufous and brown tones, offset by the yellow of the eyering, bill and feet, make a real impression, and in many ways the unfortunate Cinnabar Moth caterpillar on which the cuckoo is preying complements the bird's plumage. This is a great contextual shot, with lovely depth of field provided by the angle of the wall on which the cuckoo is perched, with the ragwort in the foreground no doubt where the bird found its latest meal. With good cropping and rich colours, this is an image that the photographer can be very pleased with. Well done, Paul!

Other notable images

Scopoli's Shearwater, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Graham Jepson).

Long-tailed Skua, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Ian Bollen).

Puffin, undisclosed site, Shetland (Tony Davison).

Great Crested Grebe, Macclesfield, Cheshire (Mike Barth).

Great Crested Grebe, Drift Reservoir, Cornwall (Martin Webb).

Hudsonian Godwit, Grutness, Mainland, Shetland (Penny Clarke).

Eurasian Oystercatcher, Snettisham RSPB, Norfolk (Malcolm Rowley).

Ivory Gull, Svalbard, Svalbard (Tim Melling).

Caspian Gull, Cromer, Norfolk (Richard Bonser).

Sandwich Tern, Rye Harbour NR, East Sussex (David Rowlands).

Swallow, Elmley NNR, Kent (Evan Atkinson).

Sedge Warbler, Floodplain Forest NR, Buckinghamshire (Mike Haberfield).

European Stonechat, Ashdown Forest, East Sussex (Phil Aylen).