There are few published reports of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) taking vertebrate prey or provisioning their young with vertebrates. We report finding a dead flat-headed snake (Tantilla gracilis) in an Eastern Bluebird nest. Flat-headed snakes feed primarily on soft-bodied invertebrates; thus, it is unlikely that the snake was attempting to depredate the bluebird nestlings. Moreover, flat-headed snakes are fossorial and rarely occur in open habitats. Therefore, the snake was most likely captured by one of the adult bluebirds and brought to the nestlings as a food item.
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1 March 2005
Eastern Bluebird Provisions Nestlings with Flat-headed Snake
Shelby C. Braman,
Darrell W. Pogue
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