chris pp Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 This small (35cm) grass snake must have just been killed and about to be eaten, one small peck directly in the back of the head / neck, perfect precision for a clean kill. It would have been a small, maybe blackbird size bird "wot done the job".Neat or what?Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 No other signs of a fight? If not it would suggest suprise...from above maybe? Buzzard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkhunter Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 find that one really strange chris, usually other marks where the assailant has had a hold of the snake, hawk or buzzard etc. I don't know of any blackbird size killers with the cohonas to tackle a snake, even one as small as this. Any chance it was a mammal os opposed to feathered, thinking of stoat/weasel type animal failing that an eager heron?? Did you find it in a field by any chance, hugh ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted November 18, 2006 Author Share Posted November 18, 2006 It was in a court yard garden, quite a small one with a house and some other buildings. It's totally fascinating for me, no other damage what so ever, not a mark on the skin, nothing, but I wonder how often this happens? Another 5 minutes and it would have been gone, no one any the wiser.I have examined it in great detail, in fact it's "sitting" next to me at the moment, the size of the hole can only have been made by a small / medium size bird, it really is a clean pointed "peck", no marks on the underside of the head, so not a bite as such. Great find, Chris . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Maybe a pellet Chris, you had a look inside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkhunter Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Would a jay attack a snake if it was close to its youngsters? May seem a daft thing to say in November but i sat and watched doves nest building today!!! Chris, why are you so sure it would have been eaten within 5 mins, are there cats in the area or perhaps fouine, maybe even the culprits. PS was it lying straight out or curled up?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted November 18, 2006 Author Share Posted November 18, 2006 Just had my surgeons glasses on, poked about and checked inside, nothing, bear in mind that the head is only about 1 centimetre wide, very small, the photo creates a bit of an illusion.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted November 18, 2006 Author Share Posted November 18, 2006 Sorry Hugh, missed your post. First it was lying more or less how you would expect to see a snake when it is moving, not straight but not curled or coiled in any way.Defence is an interesting thought and it wouldn't have to be a Jay, although it could be, and yes, this fairly mild weather is producing some interesting happenings with wildlife, with some species still breeding that wouldn't normally. I assumed (bad thinking) that it would have been eaten, but that may not have been the purpose.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Crows will eat most things, I've seen then following mole tracks repeatedly stabbing the earth.Perhaps a peck to the head on hard ground and it hasn't penetrated far due to the hard undersurface? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkhunter Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 Chris, any more on the mysterious dead snake? Was it found near to where you live, sometimes worth while leaving it to see if anything came back for it, if it was indeed a food kill as opposed to defence of area/nest. wonder if we will ever get a conclusion to this one ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Animal Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 Are there any chickens nearby? They kill snakes don't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted November 19, 2006 Author Share Posted November 19, 2006 No, Hugh, not near where I live, but as Christine points out, chickens do eat snakes and it is well known that larger birds of prey take quite large snakes, so logically there is no reason why a smaller bird shouldn't do the same, or attack them at any rate.BTW, Christine, no chickens in the vicinity.Slightly different, but I only discovered the other day that some birds of prey take a substantial number of bats.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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