Snake eats baby bird

When a Golden Tree Snake (Chrysopelea ornata) appears near the nest of a Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, trouble looms.
The tree hole belongs to the nest of a pair of Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, with probably one nestling inside that refuge . However, Southeast Asia is home to a few species of arboreal tree snakes, and some of these inevitably will look for avian nests and feed on small birds. The Golden Tree Snake, one of the few arboreal snakes capable of gliding flight but is not a native snake to Singapore (probably introduced via the pet trade), had managed to locate the nest of a Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker. And while the parent birds are away, the Golden Tree Snake sneaked in to pull out the baby bird.....
In the later part of the video, the parent birds would attempt to swipe (while in flight) and peck at the Golden Tree Snake, but to no avail.
This nest has remained empty till today (Nov 2021), unfortunately.
Pls note that this is an act of nature, and I am not in a position to interfere (anyway this hole is several metres up in the tree; no way I can reach it). I was there to film a Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker (notified by a friend), hoping to document its wonderful vocals and its super fast wood-pecking behaviour, like this individual at a nearby location ( • Calls of a Sunda Pygmy... ), but I was caught by surprise by the presence of a Golden Tree Snake.
This was recorded by Matthew Lim ([e-mail]) at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore in May 2021.
Filmed with Nikon Z6ii, 200-500mm, ZTC, TC1.4
#wild
#snake
#predator
#nikonsg
#reptile
#nature
#wildlife
#singapore
#birds
#woodpecker
#wildnature
#natgeo
#natgeowild
#bbcearth
#wild
#predators
#constrictor
#animals
#animal
#animalbehaviour
#behaviour
#behavior
#treehole
#nest
#wildnature
#nikon
#nikonsg
#foodchain
#constrict
#forager
#urban
#life
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#avian
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#wildsingapore
#nikonz6ii
#snakes
#reptiles
#ecology
#predators
#carnivore
#carnivores
#carnivorous
#trees
#squeeze

[@michaelh2001]

Imagine watching something eat your baby, and there’s nothing you can do. 🥺

[@matlim]

Actually the parent birds did try to do something (second half of video), flying swiftly and trying to peck at the snake (which is also very risky) but failed. But whether the parents could have prevented the snake from going into the nest prior to the swallowing, that I am not sure cos I was distracted by other animal during that crucial 1min

[@thehonorablejiveturkeyspoo6370]

I know its part of nature but you made this look soooo sad 😥

[@matlim]

I was there to document the bird actually, and it's vocals. But the snake's presence caught me completely by surprise. Surely it looks sad but yup, this is nature. What is probably interesting is, how did the snake even knew where the nest was? Did the presence of the parents, by their vocalizations, or smell of the nestling, gave their hideout away? The nest is very hard to spot, diameter is probably an inch and a half.

[@ADAJ342]

If crocodiles can do the death roll then constrictors can do deaths embrace.

[@matlim]

I guess constrictors have evolved this technique to kill their prey asap (by restricting blood from reaching the brain, ensuring rapid organ failure). Any longer and the snake risks exposing itself to more harm (pecking by parent birds or even birds that prey on snakes)

[@ayushmanff6983]

So, so sad a baby woodpeker chick hunting so so so sad

[@matlim]

Don't worry. This is how nature works. Sometimes the birds lose (in this case). I am sure there are plenty of cases out there where the parent birds would have successfully chased the predator snake away by swiping or pecking on them. The only interesting thing is, this snake is not a native, so from an ecological perspective, perhaps the birds are not familiar with how to handle this snake that they have never met or have rarely met in their lifetime

[@ricardomaia1673]

Beautiful snake.

[@matlim]

Yes, very nice invasive species. I nearly mistaken it as another native tree snake actually.

[@nenga-ch]

いい気分♪