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
MY ANOREXIC CAT CURED MY ANOREXIA
A young woman who once weighed the same as 12-year-old girl has told how a severely malnourished cat helped save her life and beat her anorexia .
TRAPPED IN THE BODY OF A 10 YR OLD: TEENAGE GIRL BORN WITHOUT HORMONES
She is about to start driving and soon will be able to legally buy alcohol and get married, but Poppy Webb-Jones still looks and thinks like a ten-year-old girl .
MICK JAGGER'S LUXURY GLASTO YURT
FEAST your eyes onthe £3K luxury yurts that rock legend Mick Jagger will be basking in between Glastonbury performances this weekend .
OPEN WIDE! MONKEY GIVES FRIEND AN UNEXPECTED DENTAL CHECK-UP
This cheeky macaque gets up close and personal as he examines the dental hygiene of his fellow primate .
GOLDEN EAGLE FESTIVAL
RACING through the mountain range on horseback, the Kazakh people practice their ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles .
DAZZLING BEAUTY OF THE MILKY WAY ABOVE UK AND ITALY
A photographer has captured stunning photographs of the Milky Way above picturesque landscapes in the UK and Italy .
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS BROUGHT TO LIFE
BREATHING life back into old photographs, these black and white images are transformed by colour .
STRANDED MOOSE RESCUED FROM FROZEN LAKE
A terrified moose, trapped in a frozen lake, bobs her head above the icey water and awaits her rescue .
WAVE-ING GOODBYE TO RUSH HOUR
HOTSPOT MEDIA - WAVE-ING GOODBYE TO RUSH HOUR: WHILE most workers endure commuting chaos by road or rail everyday, one entrepreneur has come up with a novel way to get to the office - by KAYAK .
PUPPY RUN OVER BY TRAIN GIVEN NEW LEASH OF LIFE
A tiny puppy who lost his front legs after being hit by a train has been given and new LEASH of life with a set of wheels .
FINE CHINA GOLD LINED DOG BOWLS SELL AT £1,500
Posh pooch owners are lapping their pets up in luxury by paying £1,500 for 22ct gold lined fine china DOG BOWLS .