Pelican vs. Pigeon

An eastern pelican in London's St. James's Park ate a pigeon. Here is how Cathal McNaughton, the photographer of the event, described the scene:

Mr McNaughton, from the Press Association, said: "The pelican was on the towpath preening itself, and there were a lot of tourists watching it.

"Then the bird got up and strolled along until it reached one of the pigeons, which it just grabbed in its beak.

"There was a bit of a struggle for about 20 minutes, with all these people watching. The pelican only opened its mouth a couple of times.

"Then it managed to get the pigeon to go head first down its throat. It was kicking and flapping the whole way down."

Pelicans normally eat strictly fish, but when pigeons are an easy meal, there is less need to be discriminating. That is a great picture.

Tags:

• Pelican
• Pigeon