Originally Posted by nvcdl
Originally Posted by Quarter Acre
This may be a stretch, but I have seed herons (Blue Herons) get spooked and spit out fish on two occasions. They must have been feeding on the fish in the creek behind my house when I popped over the bank and frightened them. Once in flight, the bird spit out the fish they were getting ready to swallow. I have also seen snakes do the same thing in mid-swallow when confronted.

I've found part of a gar skeleton in the area near my pond. There aren't any gar in the pond so I figure a heron dumped it there.

Most birds, including Herons that eat/catch living things eat their prey whole. Herons wouldn't fly around with a fish carcass or skeleton.

Hawks/eagles/owls will pick at things that they've caught and killed, but anything that they can swallow whole they will. I've seen screetch owls suck down a whole mouse, how they do that I have no idea. But Herons don't have a beak to tear food, so they swallow what they catch whole.

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