Get your own lunch! Furious robin dive bombs chubby rat at high speed because it was eating its bird seed
- Wildlife photographer caught rare sight while sheltering from rain in Merseyside
- Kevin Birchall, 49, filmed the rat eating some bird seed before robin swooped in
- Mr Birchall's video shows rat was sent flying through the air after bird dive bomb
This is the hilarious moment a territorial robin attacked a rat who tried to steal its dinner.
The video shows the angry bird dive bombing the greedy critter and sending it flying FIVE FEET through the air.
Kevin Birchall, 49, was sheltering from the rain at Sefton Park, Merseyside, on Saturday when he decided to film the cheeky rat as it gobbled down bird seed scattered on the ground.
Wildlife photographer Kevin Birchall (pictured) was taking shelter from the rain in Merseyside when he spotted a rat nibbling away at the bird seed and ended up filming a rare act of aggression from an angry robin who wanted food for itself and sent the rat flying into the air
The bird moved so fast it can only be seen in slow motion as it dive bombs the oblivious rat and can be seen here seconds before it makes contact with the rat who was eating the bird seed
The wildlife photographer was stunned when seconds later a chubby robin swooped down and pecked at the rodent's bottom - sending it leaping through the air in shock.The tiny bird moves so fast that the clip has to be played in slow motion to see the redbreast and wings swoop in behind the rat, before it is flung into the air as if electrocuted.
Kevin, from Wavertree, Merseyside, said: 'The rat really went flying, it flew about four or five feet through the air.
'It was fine, it just got a shock and jumped. It's a one-off thing you'll never catch again, it was funny.
'I was really lucky, I'd only been sat there for two minutes. It was the right place at the right time.
'You never catch things like that - even after months and months - you wouldn't catch it again.
'People have said it was amazing. It was a one-off thing.'
The decorator, who has been photographing birds for three years, said he'd never seen a robin reveal its territorial nature in such an extreme way before.
As the bird makes contact with the rat, it becomes started and both animals are seen mid-air
Mr Birchall estimates the rat was sent about five feet into the air and was left stunned by attack
Like other walkers and families in the area, Kevin had enjoyed scattering seeds for the birds to keep their tummies full through the colder season.
Kevin said: 'I was sitting under a tree out the rain and I just got my phone out filming the rat eating the seed.
'The next minute, the robin flew down and attacked the rat that was eating some bird seed.
'We feed the robins all the time so they know it's their food. They're very territorial, so the minute it saw the rat eating the food it attacked it.
'It knew the seed was its food and the rat was stealing its dinner. The robin pecked the back of it and it jumped up in the air.
'Rats are everywhere where there's food. I've seen robins attack other birds, but nothing the size of a rat.
'If another bird goes for their food they'll try and scare them off too.'
No comments: