This male hooded merganser caught a crayfish early in the morning. He struggled to subdue and swallow the prey. Although I started out at a spot where I could get close to the water surface but during the struggle, he drifted further and further away from my location to my chagrin. So, I grabbed my gear and I moved to a closer spot to capture the action further. But the bank there was a little high, higher than when the action started earlier. I didn't want to loose the opportunity to capture the action nd just kept on shooting at the "higher" position. Oh, well.
Right after he swallowed the crayfish, he flicked the water with the tip of his beak and started "dancing". Well, maybe he was only taking a bath but his joy was definitely palpable. At the end, he flapped his wings, tucked them back in and swam away... contentedly, I must say.
FYI, I posted some hooded merganser vs crayfish images previously. This set now was captured at the same location but on a different day and this one shows more what the merganser did afterwards.
Please feel free to leave any feedback and thank you very much for looking,
Joshua
Edit: adding numbering to the images - sorry, I forgot to do that earlier.
These are amazing... Your perspective on the bird is just perfect.
Every time I see these birds swallow a crayfish, I can help but wonder how their digestive system manages to break those shells down... one of the endless wonders of nature.
morris wrote:
Excellent set with these tricky to expose birds Joshua
Morris
Thank you very much, Morris!
OwlsEyes wrote:
These are amazing... Your perspective on the bird is just perfect.
Every time I see these birds swallow a crayfish, I can help but wonder how their digestive system manages to break those shells down... one of the endless wonders of nature.
great work.
bruce
Thank you very much, Bruce. You know, I was wondering that myself. The only body parts that they remove are the pinchers. The hard shell there would be probably too hard for the enzyme in their digestive system to break down. The body, including the head of the crayfish seems to be thinner; hence the translucent appearance in #1.
Thank you very much, Bruce. You know, I was wondering that myself. The only body parts that they remove are the pinchers. The hard shell there would be probably too hard for the enzyme in their digestive system to break down. The body, including the head of the crayfish seems to be thinner; hence the translucent appearance in #1.
I've taught crayfish anatomy to probably 1000+ students over the years, and when they molt they actually reabsorb some of the shell's calcium carbonate. As a result, the new shell following the molt is rather soft. Furthermore, calcium carbonate becomes calcium and carbon dioxide when mixed with acid. I guess the real problem is swallowing the hard object so that it can get into the stomach...
If their is food/energy to be had, evolution always seems to find a way to access it
