The snake is seen swallowing the bird head first as it grips its body
Incredible photographs show the moment a large carpet python wraps itself around a king parrot and swallows the bird whole.
The pictures, taken in Agnes Waters, Queensland, show the snake eating the parrot head first while hanging from the gutter of a woman’s home.
The home’s owner took the pictures and sent them to snake catcher Stuart McKenzie, who posted them online.
The Sunshine Coast-based reptile expert told Daily Mail Australia the photos were ‘pretty cool’.
Although he dealt with hundreds of snake-related call-outs every summer, he took time to post them on his Facebook page, saying ‘so cool. Nature at work. Some bird lovers may not like these pictures but the reality is that snakes eat birds, and guess what, birds eat snakes. Circle of life. Enjoy these awesome pictures.
Mr. Mckenzie said carpet pythons, which can grow to about three meters long, often preyed on small mammals and birds.
‘Carpet pythons will take on anything. Any bird that lands too close, they will have a go… they’re opportunistic.’
The parrot had likely landed too close to the python while it was basking and it took its chance and struck, he said.
He had seen instances where they had eaten small pets like guinea pigs, and it was common for them to get into chicken coops and eat chickens.
‘It’s your small pets you have to worry about.’
In some cases, they could take small cats and dogs.
They would bite and squeeze their prey to kill them before starting to swallow them, he said.
Despite not being the largest snake in the country, they were the biggest he relocated on the Sunshine Coast where he was based, and the most common.
‘They are very common – yesterday [Monday] I caught six of them… We have just gone through the breeding season. They are definitely out and about,’ he said.
He estimated the snake in the pictures to be about 1.5-2m long – a medium-sized carpet python.
Once it had swallowed the parrot, the snake would ‘relax’ for several days to digest it.
While not venomous, carpet pythons could still deliver a painful bite.
