It isn’t unusual for some bird species to regularly attempt to swallow prey that is too large to go down the hatch. I see American White Pelicans and Great Blue Herons make such attempts fairly often but around here Pied-billed Grebes and Western Grebes seem to be the kings of Gluttony Hill.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
Nine days ago at Farmington Bay I watched as this Western Grebe surfaced with a fish (most likely a young carp) and then tried to swallow it. They usually swallow small prey items under water but bring larger ones to the surface and pinch them repeatedly with their bills before swallowing. As it tried to get the fish down this bird was swimming away from other grebes in an attempt to prevent food theft (kleptoparasitism). I wish I’d been a little closer or had my 1.4 teleconverter (tc) attached to my camera but even with the bird this small in the frame I think you “get the picture”.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
With the bird turned a little more toward the viewer you can see that the body of the fish was significantly wider than the head of the grebe so there was actually little chance that the fish could be swallowed but that didn’t prevent the bird from giving it the ol’ college try. Western Grebes capture many smaller fish using their bills as forceps but deep-bodied fish (such as this apparent carp) are often speared with their long, sharp bills. Based on what appears to be a puncture wound just below the dorsal fin I suspect it was the latter that happened here. Eventually the grebe dived with the fish and when it resurfaced it was “fishless”. I believe it’s likely that the fish was simply released underwater rather than swallowed.
Perhaps an avian version of “catch and release”…
Ron
Incredible illustrative images. Eyes MUCH bigger than belly. A failing across a lot of species. Including our own.
Thank you, Elephant’s Child. I hope you’re having a better day today than you did yesterday!
Great photos, as usual, Ron. It can be surprising how some of these situations end. I have a series of photos I took of a Double-crested Cormorant which had taken a bullhead that I thought was much too large, especially considering the stiff spines on the pectoral fins. The cormorant carried the fish for nearly 20 minutes and seemed to have no success at swallowing. But, apparently, it wasn’t really trying hard to swallow the fish. Eventually, a second cormorant swam up and attempted to steal the fish from the first bird. It wasn’t easy, but the first bird did swallow the fish to prevent his meal from being stolen and did so rather quickly once the need was there.
Interesting story, Dan. The threat of losing the meal can be a real motivator to “just get it done…”.
Pretty amazing behavior, and well captured. The reflection in both shots makes the size of the fish even clearer. It rather makes me gag to see what the bird is trying to do…
You’re right, Susan – the reflections do help us to realize the relative size of the fish.
I’ve watched this behavior in the Mexican Broad Tailed Grackles around here. They grab a huge chunk then skip and hop away as they try to bolt their food. Often they only get a portion of the large piece due to their fellow thieves.
I think it’s a fairly common behavior in quite a few species, Arwen.
Great pictures. Made me laugh looking at them.
Ellen, situations like this are some of the few times I kind of wish I’d shot video. It truly is funny to watch as they try to swallow the fish at the same time as they’re trying to avoid the potential thievery of other birds.
Great behavioral shots Ron!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.