After catching a fish, this hamerkop was looking forward to a well-earned meal. However, a cheeky passerby ran in, hoping to get a meal for itself.
Regular contributor Mark Fox sent this unusual moment to Latest Sightings. He filmed it while on a game drive in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Hunting hamerkop
We join Mark on his game drive as he and his companion watch a hamerkop hunting. With a split-second dart, the bird catches a small sharptooth catfish.
The name hamerkop literally translates to hammerhead, in reference to the bird’s peculiarly shaped head crest. Surprisingly, the birds’ closest relatives are pelicans and shoebill storks.
Wash before eating
Pleased with its prize, the bird dips it in the water and rinses it off.
In the video, we hear Mark say that he suspects it does so to make it slimy, and therefore easier to swallow.
Whatever the reason, having done so, it then starts manoeuvring the fish so that it swallows it headfirst. Fish-eating birds do this to prevent fins or spines from injuring them internally.
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Meal interrupted
Before it can swallow the fish, however, the hamerkop raises its wings in alarm. It has detected a threat, as yet unseen.
Moments later, as a small rodentlike creature appears on the right of the frame, the bird decides it’s time to flee the scene.
But what is it, and what does it want?
Threat identified
As the bird flies off, more of the unwelcome intruder comes into view. We can now see that it is a type of mongoose.
Subsequently, when the whole animal is visible, we hear Mark’s companion identify it as a slender mongoose.
This species is easily identified by its russet-coloured body and black-tipped tail.
Meanwhile, the hamerkop lands nearby. However, it is not clear whether the mongoose is after the bird or its meal.
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Taking no chances
Accordingly, the hamerkop decides it is better to err on the side of caution and flies off once more. Strangely, all the mongoose does is sniff the ground where the fish was caught.
However, when the bird flies off, it seems to startle the mongoose, who, in turn, turns tail and runs back to where it came from.
Peace at last
Subsequently, the hamerkop lands on the rocks on the opposite bank. Hopefully, it can now enjoy its meal without further interruption by nosy neighbours.
All three of the species featured: the hamerkop, the catfish, and the mongoose, are common throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Interestingly, the hamerkop is sometimes called the lightning bird, a name stemming from an indigenous belief that you will be struck by lightning if you rob its nest.
Be that as it may, the chances of seeing a sighting like this one again are even more remote.
