Spider eating a bird caught in its web!
It's pictures like this of a spider eating a fricking bird that inspire horror movies like Arachnophobia:
The pictures show the Golden Orb Weaver spider with its long black legs wrapped around the body of a dead bird suspended in its web. Presumably the bird flew into the web, tired and was set upon by the spider.
The photos were reportedly taken in Atheron, close to Queensland's tropical north (in Australia). Joel Shakespeare, head spider keeper at the Australian Reptile Park was reported as saying "Normally they prey on large insects… it's unusual to see one eating a bird." Mr Shakepeare said he had seen Golden Orb Weaver spiders as big as a human hand but the northern species in tropical areas were known to grow larger.
Queensland Museum identified the bird as a native finch called the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin.
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| Chestnut-breasted Mannikin |
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| Golden Orb weaver Spider |
Like more spider photos? Check out Spider vs Butterfly.
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1 comment:
The last picture on this post shows a black and yellow garden spider, Argiope aurantia, which is completely different from the golden orbweaver, Nephila clavipes.
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