Birds don’t have it as easy as we think! As much as we help our backyard birds, they still have to deal with living in the wild.
Birds share space with hawks and falcons that hunt them, cats, and many other predators. In rural and wild areas, birds also have to be careful of snakes!
How often do snakes prey on birds? And do they prey on eggs and nestlings, too?
Are Snakes A Danger For Birds?
Falcons, some hawks, and cats catch a lot of birds. However, they aren’t the only predators that birds have to watch out for.
Snakes can be major predators of birds too, especially in regions with warm and tropical weather. A number of snakes catch birds if the chance presents itself, even if they usually prey on rodents and other small animals.
For example, rattlesnakes and various other snakes let their camouflage hide them as they sit and wait for small animals to venture too close. If a small bird hops within range, the snake is probably not going to pass up that feeding opportunity.
There are also snake species that specialize in catching birds. Various arboreal snakes feed on birds including Boomslangs, vine snakes, and arboreal boas. They can actively pursue birds, although most lie in wait and then snatch a bird that comes within striking range.
Copperheads, Horned Adders, Green Tree Pythons, and some other species also wiggle the brightly colored tips of their tails to bring curious birds close. While those species have tails that resemble a small worm, the Spider-tailed Adder of western Iran fools birds with a tail that looks just like a spider!
Preying on nests
If they can catch them, snakes won’t pass up eating an adult bird. However, snakes really prefer the contents of bird nests. Several snakes eat adult birds, but an even wider variety of snakes feed on their eggs and young.
I have worked several birding jobs, often monitoring bird nests. You’ll see a lot of birds, but I can also promise that you’ll see your fair share of snakes! At least I did, and several were snakes sitting near nests after having eaten the eggs or nestlings.
Milk Snakes, Rat Snakes, and other snake species won’t hesitate to climb into bushes and up trees to track down a bird nest. They are just as pleased to feed on ground-nesting birds too. We can’t blame them; that’s how nature is. Snakes need to eat, and a bird’s nest might be the easiest food they can find.
Snakes and other predators are partly why baby birds grow so quickly. Predators know that birds in a nest are extremely vulnerable and target them as much as possible.
In Costa Rica, I sometimes see one of those predators: the accurately named Bird-eating Snake. This fairly large snake is the main predator of many bird species in Costa Rica, especially during nesting season.
What Kinds Of Birds Do Snakes Eat?
Snakes aren’t picky. They’ll eat any bird they can! However, most feed on smaller birds simply because larger species are too big for them to swallow. The exceptions are pythons and large boas. Those big constrictors eat just about whatever they can catch, big birds included.
Boa Constrictors can be a real problem in chicken coops. Chicken breeders in tropical regions where boas occur have to be very careful about keeping their chickens in a snake-proof cage. If not, a Boa Constrictor might eat a couple of chickens one night, come back the following week, and keep returning to feed!
In the meantime, other large snakes might also enter the chicken coop to attack the birds.
A similar situation happened in Costa Rica at a nesting colony of White-collared Swifts. These big tropical swifts usually escape predators by nesting and roosting behind waterfalls. However, on one occasion, field biologists noted that a Bird-eating Snake managed to climb up next to one such waterfall.
It caught the birds as they flew back and forth and may have eliminated the entire swift colony!
Defense Against Birds
Snakes eat birds and their young, but in turn, they become food for lots of birds! Many birds eat snakes, even some surprisingly small bird species. Shrikes in particular, regularly catch small Garter Snakes and other small snake species.
However, the biggest snake predators are raptors and herons. Many hawks prey on snakes as do most heron species. In North America, most feed on small to medium-sized snakes although big Great Blue Herons can probably tackle three foot long watersnakes, and other fairly large species.
In tropical forests, two large eagle species, the Solitary Eagle and the Crested Eagle also frequently catch boas and other hefty snakes.
To counter being caught, snakes use some different defense mechanisms. Most hope they can stay hidden, especially during the day. However, if they are attacked, most snakes will at least try to bite the bird. If the snake is venomous and manages to bite the bird attacking it, the bird probably won’t survive.
However, that seems to be a very rare occurrence. Another rare but more regular situation is when a Red-tailed Hawk tries to catch a snake too big for it. If the snake can wrap around the hawk, it might kill it even if the snake dies in the attempt.