The moment a woodpecker battles a starling in the sky in a dramatic fight for food has been captured on camera.
The ‘once in a lifetime’ encounter between the starling and the great spotted woodpecker was witnessed near Colchester, Essex by retired horticulturist Charles Whitfield King.
Images show the two birds locked in battle mid flight, using their beaks and claws to attack each other.
‘The starling and woodpecker were in conflict, likely over food,’ the 68-year-old from Ipswich, Suffolk said. ‘The woodpecker flew in on a flock of starlings that were feeding.
‘The starlings then made it very clear it was not welcome. After a few seconds of scraping the woodpecker left the flock of starlings to it.’
The moment a woodpecker battles a starling in the sky in a dramatic fight for food has been captured on camera
The ‘once in a lifetime’ encounter between the starling and the great spotted woodpecker was witnessed near Colchester, Essex
It is thought the two birds were in a ‘very uncommon’ battle over food
Images show the birds locked in battle mid flight, using the beaks and claws to launch their attacks
It is thought the images are ‘once in a lifetime for a wildlife photographer’
‘It’s very uncommon, I’ve never seen anything like this before, let alone being fortunate enough to photograph it.
‘This was probably a once in a lifetime for a wildlife photographer.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
