Name: Ann T.
Status: other
Age: 50s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: Tuesday, August 06, 2002
Question:
Hello, I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
This area is basically dry fields in the summer. I have had many
rattlesnakes this year. I have had two experiences with the local song
birds, in a sense, warning me that there was a rattlesnake about. I have
reason to believe that the last rattlesnake had been killed by some birds
that look like very small crows. They nest around here during the Spring
and Summer. As I approached the snake, I noticed that it was encircled by
several (maybe eight) of these birds. Is this common? Could these birds
really have killed the snake? I would really appreciate your response.
Replies:
I am not familiar with wildlife of the Sierra Nevada, but I think it very
unlikely small birds killed a rattlesnake. They were probably scavenging on
an already dead snake. Larger raptors (hawks or owls) might kill a snake.
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