Snake Tries to Escape From A Bird's Mouth to Avoid Being Eaten, Mudsnake's Struggle for Survival Captured by a Photographer

Bird Vs. Snake: Who Won the Fight?

Houston-native Kitchens said that she frequently goes to Brazos Bend State Park because of its abundance of wildlife. The state park includes 5,000 acres of bottomland and upland coastal prairie located southwest of the expanding metro area of Houston.

Kitchens told local news outlet KSAT that she was hiking and looking for great wildlife moments when she captured the once-in-a-lifetime shot of an American Bittern eating a red-bellied mudsnake on Saturday, March 5. The hobbyist photographer said that she was covering up a productive morning for photos and stopped to take a turtle photo when someone called her attention from a few yards down to look at the bittern eating a snake.

She immediately obliged and ran right over to where the event was happening. She told the news outlet that the snake was obviously fighting pretty hard, but the bittern still managed to get it down. On the other hand, the snake is brave enough to try coming back up with its head popping out of the bittern's mouth.

But the bittern swallowed the snake again, and it became clear that none of the two animals were willing to give up. So when the snake came back up again, Kitchens got the shot of it popping out from the bittern's mouth. She and the person who called her there looked at each other in disbelief at the fight between the two animals before them.

Kitchens sent a copy of the crazy scene to Brazos Bend State Park and the state park shared it on Facebook. The hungry bittern finally won the fight and completely swallowed the snake.

"Photographers all hope to have that ONE photo...we mentally picture something beautiful, artistic, and ethereal. What's the shot everyone likes? A snake impersonating an alien," KSAT quoted Kitchens.

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What Birds That Eat Snakes?

According to the website A-Z Animals, the behavior of routinely eating snakes is called ophiophagy. Many animals have been recorded to eat snakes regularly and occasionally, including themselves, to survive. Meanwhile, some species of birds are also known to eat snakes using their sharp beaks, talons, and hunting instincts to catch these serpents in the wild.

Here are some of the birds that eat snakes either as their primary food or just consume them occasionally:

• Red-tailed hawk
• Great Blue Heron
• Secretary Bird
• Laughing Falcon
• Great Horned Owl
• Brown Snake Eagle
• Chicken

These birds are just some of the snake-eating species as there are more to be found in the wild. Even turkeys are known to combat snake infestation in the yard as much as chickens.

Check out more news and information on Snakes in Science Times.