Australasian Darters Fighting
The Darter hunts fish under water. It skewers a fish and brings it to the surface to throw it in the air and swallow it head first. More info on this territorial battle below the gallery.
Select an image below to view full sized.
Australasian Darter
The Darter hunts fish under water. It skewers the fish and brings it to the surface to throw it in the air and swallow it head first. See Darters with their catch.
Each bird has a territory. All hell breaks loose when another Darter tries to fish that territory. I was present when an invader tried it on in the wrong territory. The battle that ensued lasted several minutes.
At first they were both making themselves look as big as possible and disrupting the other's attempt to fish. Then there was a full on fight. It looked like one of them pierced the neck of the other with her sharp beak while the other one was on top trying to drown her.
It is amazing how big they look when they want to appear threatening.
Eventually the invader scampered off while the victor went back to posturing.
You can find general info about Darters at eBird.org
Australasian Darter
The Darter hunts fish under water. It skewers the fish and brings it to the surface to throw it in the air and swallow it head first. See Darters with their catch.
Each bird has a territory. All hell breaks loose when another Darter tries to fish that territory. I was present when an invader tried it on in the wrong territory. The battle that ensued lasted several minutes.
At first they were both making themselves look as big as possible and disrupting the other's attempt to fish. Then there was a full on fight. It looked like one of them pierced the neck of the other with her sharp beak while the other one was on top trying to drown her.
It is amazing how big they look when they want to appear threatening.
Eventually the invader scampered off while the victor went back to posturing.
You can find general info about Darters at eBird.org
Select an image below to view full sized.
