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
THE UNEXPECTED FRIENDLY GIANT
A baby sperm whale assumed the role of a friendly giant when faced with two awestruck divers .
PORCUPINES COME CLOSE TO VICTORY AGAINST PRIDE OF HUNGRY LIONS
Jostling their quills into the noses of some unlucky cubs, this is the moment two feisty porcupines ALMOST defeat a pride of seven lions .
SHY SEAL HIDES BEHIND ITS FLIPPER
HIDING behind its flipper, this little seal comes over a little camera shy .
WOMAN REVEALS HORRIFIC INJURIES AFTER JEALOUS EX BASHED HER SKULL WITH A BRICK AFTER FOLLOWING HER HOME- HE WAS CAUGHT ON RING DOORBELL CAM, COVERED IN HER BLOOD
A woman has released pictures of the horrific injuries she suffered when her jealous ex attacked her with a brick .
LETTERS TO A SERIAL KILLER: PALS WITH DENNIS NILSEN AND I EVEN HAVE HIS ASHES AND GLASSES
Andrea Kubinova, 30, from London, became great friends with serial killer and necrophiliac, Dennis Nilsen .
WOMAN LOSES 10ST AND DITCHES HUSBAND AFTER 'FAT COW' JIBE
A former size 30 comfort-eater ditched her husband and lost over 10st after he called her a 'fat cow' .
GLOWWORMS LIGHT UP TOURIST TRAIL
IN a galaxy not so far away lies a magical display of lights that could be the latest image from NASA .
STUNNING ICEBERGS
In the calm waters of Greenland, gigantic icebergs dwarf everything around them .
WOMAN SHEDS 15ST AFTER BEATING CHEESE ADDICTION
A woman has lost a massive 15st after beating her addiction to cheese .
MINI BONZAI MODELS - TREE-MENDOUS
These are the fascinating pictures of miniature table sculptures molded around bonsai trees that take up to a painstaking 18 months to create .
REAL LIFE ANIME GIRL
Meet the real life anime girl who looks like a living cartoon character despite never going under the knife .
ANGRY GIRAFFE DESTROYS BIKE
AN ANGRY giraffe gave a bush-riding cyclist a scare when he stomped his £2K bike into the dirt .