Birds and Rattle Snake Name: Ann T. Date: Tuesday, August 06,
2002 Hello, I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. This
area is basically dry fields in the summer. I have had many
rattlesnakes this year. I have had two experiences with the
local song birds, in a sense, warning me that there was a
rattlesnake about. I have reason to believe that the last
rattlesnake had been killed by some birds that look like very
small crows. They nest around here during the Spring and Summer.
As I approached the snake, I noticed that it was encircled by
several (maybe eight) of these birds. Is this common? Could
these birds really have killed the snake? I would really
appreciate your response. I am not familiar with wildlife of the
Sierra Nevada, but I think it very unlikely small birds killed a
rattlesnake. They were probably scavenging on an already dead
snake. Larger raptors (hawks or owls) might kill a snake. Click
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