“I was lucky to visit Varanasi during the [bird] migration. Morning boat rides are the ultimate thing to do during this time,” opines photographer Razz Razalli, who was in India when he captured this flock sweeping over a rowboat at sunrise. “According to the locals, the birds arrive in November and leave at the end of February,” Razalli writes. The annual migration attracts tourists to Varanasi, and for a fee, boatmen take tourists onto the river for an up-close look at the flocks.

This photograph was submitted to the 2015 National Geographic Photo Contest.

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