Pelican swallows pigeon in park

[Canuckistanian]

Families and tourists in a London park were left shocked when a pelican picked up and swallowed a pigeon.

The unusual wildlife spectacle in St James's Park was caught on camera by photographer Cathal McNaughton.

He said the Eastern White pelican had the unfortunate pigeon in its beak for more than 20 minutes before swallowing it whole.

An RSPB spokesman said: "It is almost unheard of for a pelican to eat a bird. Their diet should be strictly fish."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6083468.stm

Anyone ever heard of such behaviour in pelicans?

[semillama]

1. that's definitely weird

but considering it's an urban bird and not strictly wild, I guess it's not actually too surprising.

That's possibly one of the best "oh, SHIT!" photos I've seen in a while though.

[BikeWriter]

2. YIKES!