Why Red-Legged Seriemas Slam Snakes Into the Ground Before Eating Them

When it comes to problematic prey, snakes are one of the most challenging. They seldom stay still and allow themselves to be eaten; in fact, many of them fight back. When venomous snakes fight back, the hunter risks becoming the hunted and could end up dead instead of enjoying a meal. Some animals are naturally immune to snake venom, but the birds featured in this startling YouTube clip are not. In the footage, we see a red-legged seriema dealing with an aggressive snake. It survives the encounter but has to give up on the meal. Later, we see how these birds subdue a snake once they have successfully grabbed hold of one. Let’s analyze this behavior in more detail.

Red-Legged Seriema Survives a Snake Hunt

The red-legged seriema (Cariama cristata) is a striking and unusual bird. It has long, pale pink legs and a prominent, loose, tuft-like crest on its forehead. It is found in South America, namely some parts of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. Preferred habitats are open woodland, thorny scrub, savanna, and ranchland. These birds eat mainly arthropods and small vertebrates. This includes snakes.

As you can see in the clip, they are foragers and hunt by walking slowly, searching for prey hiding in vegetation. The plan is to grab the target prey with their bill, but in this case, the snake resisted and fought back. This is when the red-legged seriema relies on its protection mechanisms to stay safe. They are not immune to snake venom. Instead, they are kept safe by having scaly legs and thick feathers. They also have excellent vision, quick reflexes, and agility, which help them see what the snake is doing and move out of the way in time. They also distract the snake by opening their wings, then aim their beak at the back of the snake’s head – away from the fangs. This approach can be highly effective, but on this occasion, it was not!

Throwing Your Food Around

In the second half of the clip, we get to see what happens when a red-legged seriema successfully catches a snake. Grasping the stricken prey in its bill, the bird shakes it violently and then slams it into the ground. The bird does this with such force that its head swings back between its legs. At other times, they smash the prey into a rock or other hard surface. This is called thrashing and it effectively stuns the snake so that it does not fight back as it is being eaten. Smaller prey items are swallowed whole, but larger ones are torn apart using their sharp claws.

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