Most of us get pretty upset when we see a rat stealing food from a bird table, but what if we spotted a rat eating the birds right out of the trees themselves? That's precisely the moment a photographer captured on camera in Lincolnshire.

The photograph captures perfectly the disturbing moment a brown rat captures a robin straight out of the tree it was resting in. 

Rats aren't known for being picky eaters, but this picture is one of their more exotic meal choices. 

Gary Howard, from BPCA Servicing Member, Monitor Pest Control in Kent originally came across the unusual photograph. He remarked:

“This is fascinating and unusual behaviour.

"The photographer observed the rat take two robins in the same session - it did better than a Sparrow Hawk he was observing on the same day!"

He continued: 

"Whilst rats are known to attack live prey, this is normally in captive situations, for example, bird aviaries and chicken coops.

"They will go for easy or slow victims first - eggs, chicks and slow or cornered adults. They have also been known to attack pigeons in the open because they are slow moving.

"However, for a rat to climb a tree and catch two robins is very interesting, as you would assume that small birds in their wild habitat should be too fast for a rat.”

BPCA Field Officer, Natalie Bungay, commented on the photograph:

"Whether it's food waste, your vegetable patch or bird eggs - rats will make a meal of almost anything convenient."

"We've seen that rats will eat ground-nesting birds, leading to environmental issues such as those in South Georgia.

"That being said, I've never seen a rat successfully pluck a bird right out of a tree before.

"Hopefully the general public will see this photograph and help dispell the myth that rats can't climb!" 

SPOTTED SOMETHING WORTH SHARING?

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