The mysterious disappearance of the eggs, baby birds, and even an adult from an active bird nest is relatively common. Studies of nesting birds found that predation by snakes is the leading cause of nest failure, and only half of all bird nests are successful.
This article reviews the interactions between snakes and bird nests, identify snake species known to eat bird eggs and baby birds, and proposes ways to stop snakes from raiding nesting boxes.
Birds eating snakes may seem more likely, with hawks and other raptors prey on snakes. However, the opposite is also true – there are a number of snake species that regularly eat birds as part of their diet. In fact, for some snakes, birds make up a significant portion of their prey.
How Do Snakes Catch and Eat Birds?
Snakes have evolved a variety of techniques for catching avian prey:
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Ambush – snakes like vipers rely on camouflage and sit motionless, waiting for an unsuspecting bird to land within striking distance. Their heat-sensing pits allow them to accurately target warm-blooded birds.
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Climbing – arboreal species like green tree pythons and emerald tree boas climb trees and grab perching birds Their binocular vision aids accuracy,
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Raiding Nests – snakes find bird nests by detecting noise and heat signatures. They eat eggs and chicks when adult birds are away from the nest.
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Constriction – nonvenomous snakes like rat snakes grab and wrap their muscular bodies around bird prey, squeezing the bird to death before consuming it whole.
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Venom – venomous snakes like cobras and rattlesnakes use potent toxins to immobilize birds almost instantly after a lightning-fast strike.
Snakes swallow avian prey head first, and their flexible jaws allow them to consume surprisingly large birds relative to the snake’s own size. Their backward-curving teeth grip prey and prevent escape once caught.
12 Snakes Known to Eat Birds
Here are 12 snake species with birds as a significant part of their natural diet:
1. Boomslang
This African tree snake eats nestling birds but occasionally takes adult weaver birds. Its potent hemotoxic venom rapidly kills bird prey.
2. Burmese Python
These massive constrictors eat herons, egrets, and other wading birds attracted to the watery habitats where Burmese pythons lurk in wait.
3. Common Kingsnake
A regular raider of nests, this opportunistic snake devours eggs and nestlings of small songbirds and chickens.
4. Green Tree Python
An expert arboreal ambush predator, this snake eats pigeons, parrots, and other forest-dwelling birds in Australia and New Guinea.
5. Indian Cobra
With excellent climbing skills, cobras raid nests high in trees. Their neurotoxic venom provides rapid takedowns of birds.
6. Emerald Tree Boa
Perching silently in rainforest canopies, these boas strike out and grab toucans, macaws, and other tree-dwelling tropical birds.
7. King Cobra
The longest venomous snake in the world, the king cobra eats other snakes but also preys on birds like cuckoos and egret chicks.
8. Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
Relying on its heat-sensing pits, this venomous snake ambushes ground-nesting quail, grouse, and sparrows.
9. Olive Snake
An adept climber, this snake regularly raids nests in trees and termite mounds to eat eggs and hatchlings.
10. Red Spitting Cobra
By spraying venom, these cobras can disable nesting birds from a safer distance before moving in to swallow their paralyzed prey.
11. Southern Twig Snake
A venomous ambush expert, this slender, cryptically colored snake waits to strike at perching songbirds.
12. Yellow Rat Snake
An excellent climber, this large constrictor uses its muscular body to squeeze the life out of adult birds and raid nests.
Birds form an important part of the diet of many snakes species around the world. Snakes employ an array of specialized hunting techniques and adaptations to successfully prey on various birds in diverse habitats. However, a number of snake populations are threatened due to habitat loss and human persecution. Maintaining biodiversity means protecting both apex avian predators and the snakes that eat birds as part of nature’s balance.
How Snakes Kill a Bird
Eating birds is common both for non-venomous snakes and venomous ones, and various different types of venoms can be effective for immobilizing a bird: be it toxin cocktails that tackle the body’s circulatory system, or the body’s nervous system, for instance.
What’s more, snacking on some bird-nugget is something both tree-climbing snakes and ground-dwelling ones seem to fancy. Birds occupy both these environments, which makes it convenient for different species of snakes that like to hunt in different ways.
“Its not a clean-cut one or the other, we tend to think of it as a continuum,” says Maritz.
Some species are more active foragers, and they search around their environment and try to find cues of their prey to then snatch it — whip snakes, garter snakes, and some species of rat snakes like to play this hunting game. They might actively raid nests both on the ground and in trees, for example. Other snake species might sit still and wait for prey to pass them, and then reach out and grab them. That’s the case for some of the Asian Vipers or American rattlesnakes, or pythons and boas.
The Tale of the Common Egg-Eater
“There are, however, species that exclusively eat a diet of bird eggs,” says Maritz. He’s thinking of a species of African dasypeltis, also known as the common egg eater. “Dasypeltis are these just outrageous snakes.”
This is how they do it. First, they move around the landscape, find a nest, and grab an egg. Then, they swallow it into their throat without cracking it, because they have basically toothless jaws, and they press it with their throat against several protuberances off the back of their vertebral column, which causes that egg to crack. Finally, they drink down the contents and regurgitate the eggshells.
“It’s this really, really cool system,” says Maritz, a system that has also been studied in the Indian egg-eating snake (Elachistodon westermanni), which is ecologically similar. Various rat snakes are also known for eating a bunch of bird eggs, as are bull snakes, kingsnakes, and eastern racers.
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FAQ
What type of snakes eat birds?
- Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta) Unlike black racers, rat snakes show a white throat, neck, and belly. …
- Corn snake (Elaphe [Pantherophis] guttata) Photo: Noah-K.-Fields/Flickr/CC by 2.0. …
- Fox snake (Elaphe vulpine)
Will a garter snake eat baby birds?
These snakes are small and swallow their prey whole so they will eat anything they can overpower. This includes snails, earthworms, leeches, small fish, grasshoppers, and other insects. Occasionally they will eat small birds and rodents.
How to keep snakes away from bird nests?
New research shows adding plastic sheeting (acetate) around a tree trunk can help prevent snakes from reaching nest boxes.Jun 29, 2021
What reptiles eat birds?
Other than snakes, reptiles such as lizards and crocodiles are also good at catching birds. Lizards will eat smaller birds, while crocodiles can devour almost any bird that comes their way.