Do Owls Eat Snakes Which Predator Rattle S Snakes The Most

Owls are nocturnal creatures falling under the category of birds of prey.Snakes are members of the Reptilia family. Snakes are great predators but can be prey to owls.Owls can be great predators when it comes to killing snakes. There are a few types of owls that hunt snakes and are known to be fond of snakes. There are primarily four species of owls that consume snakes. These four species are the great horned owl, eastern screech owl, barred owl, and burrowing owl. The Eastern screech owl and the burrowing owl usually feed on small ones. Whereas horned owls feed on bigger ones.Owls Preferred DietOwls are nocturnal birds considered to be birds of prey. These birds kill other animals and insects to feed on them and survive. So we can say that the owls are carnivores in nature and their diet consists of small mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates.When we talk about an owl’s diet, the invertebrates include small insects like spiders and earthworms. Amphibians like snails and crustaceans like crabs are also their prey. Apart from these, there have been instances where they eat snakes. This can be surprising as larger snakes are considered one of the major predators in the world and these snakes eat owls. But the smaller the size of the snake, the higher are the chances of it being prey to the owl. Other than these, owls eat mice and voles. Large owls hunt foxes and birds which can be as large as a duck. Birds like Asian fish owls and African fishing owls are good at fishing and mostly eat fish. But there could be a few owl species that eat the prey which is found in the habitat with not many strict preferences. Although the primary prey for most of the owls is considered to be mice, squirrels, rabbits, and frogs.Which owls eat snakes?When it comes to the category mentioning the owls that eat snakes we must remember that snakes in reverse eat birds. So for the snakes to be attacked by the owls, the former needs to be smaller in size so that they can easily be captured.One of the major reasons for the owls feeding on the snakes is nothing but survival. Owls are known to feed on deer mice, large insects, and small fish. In case of scarcity of these animals, the owls eat snakes. The great horned owls are large birds found in North and South America. They can be spotted in forests, deserts, as well as in grasslands. They are seen to feed on mostly hares and rabbits, but occasionally they feed on small snakes as well. Barn owls are small owls that feed on small snakes while the burrowing owls feed on the smooth green snake. The long-eared owl looks for very small snakes to hunt and feed on them.Types Of Snakes They EatThere is a specific type of owl known as the Eastern screech-owl. These owls are comparatively smaller owls feeding on snakes like the common garter snakes, eastern hognose snakes, rattlesnakes, rat snakes, and the Eastern ribbon snakes.Since Eastern screech owls are smaller in size, they mostly feed on the smaller snakes. The snakes are easy to kill and are available in the woody forest areas where the owls live. Barred owls are comparatively larger than the former and are known to eat snakes. They feed on the common garter snake, ribbon snake, and rat snake as well. There are owls like the burrowing owls that are typically small owls. They feed on the smaller snakes like the smooth green snakes. So basically the most common snakes that are hunted on by the owls are the rat snake, common garter snake, Eastern hognose and eastern ribbon snake, and the smooth green snake.How do owls hunt and catch snakes?Wild animals including common snakes like poisonous snakes or venomous snakes eat owls. These owls are generally small owls. But generally speaking, the owl attacks the common snakes comparatively way more. For the big owls, the snakes may not be the main prey, but they are definitely considered to be the preferred prey.Unlike other birds, common owls have eyes on the top of their faces. So they are considered to have binocular vision. These nocturnal birds are known to have eyesight that can go very deep even at night. The eyesight is a plus point for the owls to spot a snake and then attack them. This entire process can be risky if the owl is not careful. The strong eyesight helps the owls to attack the snakes maintaining silence. The birds take the help of their sharp claws to pick up the snake and bring them on the branch. The claws pierce through the body of the snake injuring them severely. Even though snakes are known to have a strong belly they cannot fight back without a surface beneath them. So once they are lifted up from the ground the chances of their survival are very less.Will a fake owl keep snakes away?As we know based on the entire article, owls eat snakes. Be it the garter snakes, the small snakes, or the blind snakes, owl eats them all. But in this case, the owl is known to be a real one. There have been a few practices including a fake owl adopted by humans to keep the snakes away.There has been a common practice that has been adopted by farmers to keep the snakes away from the field. There have been instances where snakes were seen laundering within the garden areas of the residence. They usually go to these gardens in search of wooded swamps to take shelter or to build a nest. So there was an initiation of a business of selling fake owls. The sellers claimed that keeping a fake owl in the garden would frighten the snakes. As snakes consider the owls to be their predators and thus will not enter the garden. As birds are scared of scarecrows it was presumed that the snakes will be scared of the fake owls. Snakes were noticed to disappear after installing a fake owl. This incident has been considered to be a coincidence as there has been no scientific proof of this incident. Few residents claimed that the number of rat snakes has declined after the fake owls were present in the garden. But there has been no science that can back up this behavior of the snakes when they see a fake owl. So this method of repelling the snakes with the help of the fake owls is not really approved by the scientists and is considered to be a mere coincidence.

Owls are nocturnal creatures falling under the category of birds of prey.