More birds kill and eat snakes than snakes kill and eat birds. Eggs and newborn birds are snake food. Top predators seldom prey. While both birds of prey, hawks and falcons vary in size and wing form. Hawks live up to 12 years and are found worldwide.
Key Ideas
- Snakes are less likely to attack, kill, and eat birds than birds are to do the same to snakes.
- Snakes usually eat eggs or small baby birds. It is rare for top predators to become prey. Hawks and falcons are both birds of prey, but they are different in size and wing shape.
- Hawks live up to 12 years on average and can be found on every continent.
- Check out what happened to this hawk if you think making dinner for your family is hard. Just when he thought he had something good to eat, the snake he had just caught turned the tables and got the hawk.
- The hawk has caught the snake when the video starts. A few people are watching from close by. One of them has thick gloves on and looks like he knows how to handle these wild animals.
The hawk’s skills amaze them, but they don’t seem surprised. Hawks go after snakes all the time and are very good at catching them.
What they don’t expect is that the snake will wrap itself around the hawk and make it stop moving. Even though a man tries to pull the snake away from the hawk, it won’t let go.
The man closest to the camera says, “No, it’s not a rattler.” It’s important to know what kind of animal you’re dealing with before you touch it.
Due to their poisonous bites, rattlesnakes could have been very dangerous for the hawk or the people to handle.
“Yeah, it has the bird,” the man says as they watch.
So, the bird went and got it, says someone else. They know about the circle of life, and no one seems sad about what happened to the hawk. It is a surprising turn of events, though, and some people don’t believe it.
Who is the hunted?
As the people keep trying to help, they see that the snake has wrapped itself around the hawk’s leg. The hawk is helpless as it lies on the ground with its wings spread out. It’s possible that the hawk is just as surprised by what has happened as the people around it.
The person who is holding the snake is able to get it off the hawk’s leg in the end. The hawk takes off as soon as it is safe to do so.
The man applauds for him, but the snake isn’t too happy that it failed. As people move away, the snake raises its head.
The man tells the snake, “You’d better crawl away,” and tells his friends to make sure they get a video of the snake’s behavior. The snake decides that it has been insulted enough and goes back to the ground to slither away.
Is it common for snakes to try to kill birds?
The simple answer is yes, but this is not a very common thing to do. Snakes will attack birds if they get the chance, but it’s rare for them to try to catch and eat an adult bird. Snakes will only attack and kill adult birds if they have the chance to.
Snakes are less likely to attack, kill, and eat birds than the other way around. In order to protect itself, a snake is more likely to attack an adult bird.
Most of the time, snakes eat eggs or small baby birds.
Hawk vs Falcon
Is there no doubt that the bird in the video is a hawk? Yes, but it’s easy to confuse a hawk for a falcon or the other way around. Both are birds of prey, but they belong to different species.
The shape and color of their heads are the same, but they are different in other ways.
The size difference between the two is the one that stands out the most. The average length of a hawk is between 18 and 30 inches, while a falcon can be anywhere from 8 to 26 inches long.
The wings are another way they’re different. The wings of a hawk are short, wide, and round, while the wings of a falcon are long, thin, and pointy. Find out more about how hawks are different from falcons here.
Where are Hawks’ homes?
Every continent except Antarctica has hawks. Hawks live in North, Central, and South America, as well as in Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
They can live almost anywhere, but they prefer deserts and fields where it is easier to find food. Some hawks settle in urban environments, in city parks and gardens.
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How Long Do Hawks Live For?
Hawks can live on average up to 12 years, but if in captivity they often live longer, being in a protected environment with their shelter and nutrition needs met.
Birds in the wild face more threats, with young hawks especially at risk from other predators or starvation, due to needing to develop hunting skills as soon as they leave the nest close to 50 days old.
Hawks in urban areas also have to avoid being hit by cars, becoming entangled with or electrocuted by power lines, and colliding with man-made structures.
See how the hawk in this video manages to live another day, despite becoming the snake’s prey!
