PRAIRIE DOG AND STARLING STAND-OFF
This starling and prairie dog will not back down an inch as they have a fearsome stand-off over who gets to eat a nut. The cute rodent and the adult bird locked horns at a US zoo earlier this month to go to face to face to see who would stare the other out and grab the food. Despite the dog picking up the nut moments before, ready to chew down on his tasty find for lunch, the starling flew in to challenge him. And it was the feathered thief who won the battle as it simply pecked the nut out of the hands of the white tailed dog and flew off to target its next meal. Photographer Scott Spaeth,42, grabbed the fascinating stand-off at St Louis Zoo, Missouri, and said it was commonplace for the starlings to wait for their furry friends to find food and then steal it from them. He said: "The two of them were facing off to see who got the prairie dog's lunch. "As so often in life the cunning one won and the starling got the prize. Not that the prairie dog seemed to care much, there was plenty more food laying around everywhere. "The prairie dogs eat a variety of food pellets and fresh vegetables, and they seem to know that there's no threat of shortage. "So when the starlings, who are not indigenous to North America, come and take the food right out of the prairie dog's paws, the reaction is to simply pick up another piece of food and continue eating." Scott explained the birds in the vicinity of the zoo have such power over the smaller animals around them, they always win the fights over food. He said: "What I find interesting about the starlings is they will not pick up the food from the ground. "If a prairie dog picks up a new piece of food too close to the starling that just stole from him, the starling will drop the stolen food to go after the prairie dog again. "It's just an incredible sight, and I've never seen anything like it elsewhere, outside of humans that is.
Other great stories
I LOST HALF MY WEIGHT AND BECAME A WOMAN
Pinning a purple flower into her bleach blonde hair, pretty Ava admired herself in the mirror .
BRITAIN'S MOST INSPIRING CALENDAR GIRLS
Forget One Direction and Cheryl Cole, a new calendar is celebrating Britain's real heroes - the nation's most inspiring mums .
MUM LOOKED LIKE A MONSTER AFTER HAIR DYE ALLERGIC REACTION
A mum-of-one was left looking like a ‘monster’ after suffering a horrific allergic reaction to hair dye while pregnant .
DADDY DAY CARE: CARDINALFISH FATHER CARRIES EGGS IN MOUTH
It’s a role reversal in the Visayan Sea as HUNDREDS of tiny, glistening eggs are carried around inside the mouth of their cardinalfish father .
LONDON LANDSCAPES PHOTOGRAPHED FROM ROOFTOPS
A British photographer has captured the beauty of London in a stunning series of landscapes shots .
NERVOUS SQUIRREL
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
MIRACLE MAN SURVIVES 13,000ft FALL WHEN PARACHUTE FAILS
A skydiver cheated death after plunging 13,000 feet without his parachute opening but survived after landing in a bog .
WOMAN TOLD BY EMIRATES STAFF SHE’D BE ‘BANGED UP ABROAD’ OVER DIAZEPAM
A woman with a fear of flying claims she was humiliated after an Emirates airline staff member told her she could ‘go to prison for four years’ for possessing diazepam medication .
19ST WOMAN LOSES 9ST AFTER GIVING UP GREGGS ADDICTION
A woman who was addicted to GREGGS has lost 9st after giving up her favourite food .
TRANS WOMAN'S £100K TRANSFORMATION FUNDED BY ONLINE FANS
A transgender woman has revealed how she was able to fund her transformation using £100K gifted to her by online admirers .
HUBBY LEFT ME FOR BEING A COUCH POTATO...SO I LOST 13 STONE
Most women would jump at the chance to put on some lipstick, sling on a pair of heels and head out for a romantic meal with their other half .
LITTLE OWL WINKS FOR THE CAMERA
A Little owl looks down the lens of a camera and gives the photographer a cheeky wink .