After becoming prey to a python, a kingfisher is devoured in one bite

Is it a swallow bird? Kingfisher is eaten in one bite after being preyed on by a python in South Africa.

It is recommended to chew a piece of food at least 10 times before swallowing it, but this young python is clearly not one to listen to internet dietitians. These incredible images capture the moment a python devours a kingfisher in one fell swoop, after spending half an hour figuring out the best way to take it down. The snake was seen hunting for dinner in a tree in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, when it took the bird by surprise.

 

The snake can be seen wrapping its body around the poor bird before bending its head back over its body to swallow the kingfisher whole without injuring itself with its sharp beak. Once the python had figured out how to get the bird to swallow its throat, the entire meal was over in seconds.

The footage shows the snake opening its jaws while using its agile body to force the kingfisher into its mouth, all in one fell swoop. David Bough, a photographer from the UK, spotted the tree python while on safari at Panic Lake in Kruger National Park.

He said: ‘Lake Panic always seems to offer fantastic viewing opportunities.

“We had been told there was a python somewhere near the skin and it had been there for an hour or so and we hadn’t seen it, but then we managed to get a look.” “We watched for about an hour and a half as the young python found the best way to eat such a large snack, bending its head and bill back over its body to allow it to devour the bird.”