photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Tom Grey | all galleries >> North American Birds by Type >> Shorebirds >> Stilts > Detail, snake seizes egg
previous | next
24-MAY-2015 Tom Grey

Detail, snake seizes egg

Edwards NWR

The snake appears to be biting the middle one of the three visible eggs. A fourth egg was still intact in the nest, hidden by the snake's body. I left after watching this scene for about a half hour, during which the snake didn't break any of the eggs. When I came back after another hour, the nest was empty, with no eggshells and no snake, and the two adult stilts were standing nearby. I later learned that the snakes swallow the eggs whole, then crush the shells by contracting the digestive tract.

Back to main image: http://www.pbase.com/image/160182209 .

Canon EOS-1D X ,Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM
1/4000s f/11.0 at 500.0mm iso3200 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
comment | share