“There were dangers that befell the ones who wandered / But the fern moss just looked pretty in the snow”
So today I was trying to find out how commonly birds (and ravens specifically) eat spiders.
Instead I discovered a spider that eats birds.
Well, okay, one bird. A hummingbird, specifically. As reported by Victorian explorers, who are not exactly known for reliability themselves. But still.
Theraphosa blondi remains known as Goliath Birdeater because of that hummingbird. Never let it be said there isn’t sensationalism in the wildlife biology world, or that one crazy bird-eating moment can’t get a rep that follows you and all your many arachnid descendants forever.
Theraphosa blondi is known to more often eat rodents, frogs, and snakes in the wild. That’s still pretty spider-kickass in my book.
Pet owners are advised to stick to insects such as crickets and locusts, though. (The sites pointing out that making pets of these guys isn’t exactly advised seem to be outnumbered by sites on how to take care of your Goliath bird-eating tarantula. Make of this what you will.)
I read this a while back- apparently Golden Orb Weaver spiders eat birds too-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/3353693/Giant-spider-eating-a-bird-caught-on-camera.html
And some frogs eat birds.
I don’t know about ravens though…
Oh cool!
I think ravens are pretty opportunistic, and will eat whatever they can (once they get past a resistance to new things that kicks in after the first few months), but I’m not getting the impression as I read more that spiders are really among their preferred favorites. 🙂
To be fair, hummingbirds also eat spiders. And flies. Up to 1/4 of a hummingbird’s diet is made up this way. It’s how they get their protein.
Of course, we are mostly taking very small spiders and flies.
The also weave their nests with spiderweb silk. This allows nests to expand as the chicks grow.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled ravens…
Oh, no doubt, Brian. Hummingbirds are among the least gentle birds I know of. So it is only fair.
wow, seriously, like you needed to know this today after a weekend at the FOB…and how can you include THIS in a faerie book…hmmm….
It’s in my raven shapeshifter book instead. 🙂 Where maybe the ravens won’t be eating spiders, but only making pets of them …