Bird Versus Centipede
I was hoping to get some photos of the local giant centipedes ever since I saw part of one that had been squished on the road. Last night I saw one, but didn’t have my camera. Luckily, today I got some help from a bird, which was attempting to eat one in the yard next door to the dive shop. As you may be able to make out from the photos, the bird was thrashing the centipede, then gingerly leaping away for a moment to check its progress. When the bird noticed me, I got some pretty nasty glares before it flew off.
The centipede seems to be of genus Scolopendra, which are large, venomous centipedes that capture anything they can hold onto, including lizards and even bats. This particular specimen was approximately 6-7 inches long. It survived the bird attack, and mostly stayed still during the photo session, perhaps trying to avoid drawing attention to itself. I wouldn’t say this technique worked, but then again, I didn’t eat it.
