Shrike the Impaler
A fiscal shrike has caught a lizard which is too big to swallow whole. The shrike's beak and claws are not powerful enough to tear the lizard's body apart. So it flies to an acacia tree, which has all the hooks and spikes it needs. It impales the lizard on the acacia spines to aid in dismembering it. Shrikes treat prey as small as beetles and as large as stoats this way while large prey may be left for a while like hung game, so that the flesh softens with decay. Prey may also be stored for hard times.
Duration:
This clip is from
Featured in...
麻豆官网首页入口 Nature
Be captivated, informed and inspired by the world's wildlife.
More clips from Meat-Eaters
-
Food on the run
Duration: 02:12
-
Vultures descend
Duration: 03:57
-
Stoops to conquer
Duration: 04:21
-
Carnivorous parrots
Duration: 01:59
More clips from The Life of Birds
-
Weka Territory—To Fly or Not to Fly?
Duration: 01:08
-
Feet on the ground—To Fly or Not to Fly?
Duration: 00:51
-
Thirst quencher—The Limits of Endurance
Duration: 03:10
-
Food on the run—Meat-Eaters
Duration: 02:12