“You Have That Crab…Or Does It Have You?”

Yesterday I was watching these two white ibis fishing in the salt marsh at low tide. One of them plucked a nice little crab up from out of the marsh mud, but surprisingly it quickly shook the crab off it’s bill and dumped crabby back into the mud! The clearly distressed ibis then flew off, immediately followed by his friend. I couldn’t figure out why they both left the crab which normally would’ve been eaten until I looked closely at the photos later. That crab had really latched onto the ibis’ bill and gave it a good pinch which was more than enough to deter the ibis from any further action. So…crabby wins one this time and lives to tell the tale of how he fought off a hungry ibis!

56 thoughts on ““You Have That Crab…Or Does It Have You?””

    • Thanks much! I was thinking the same thing about their bills considering the way they jam them under and around the oyster beds with no apparent discomfort. But that crab pinch must be more forceful and painful then we would think. I have seen this on more then one occassion where a crab ‘explains’ to a bird how bad of an idea grabbing him was.

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  21. Heh. I’ve always known there’s not much logic to it, but I can’t help but pull for the underdog in nature – although, I guess now I think about it I’m not certain that crab could be considered an underdog…

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  23. I’m kind of surprised that a pinch to the bill would cause the Ibis to let go? I always thought their bills were more tough and less fleshy. Great captures as always!

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    • I think they do have a very tough bill, but the pain of a crab pinch must get through somehow. I have seen it before where a crab gets a bird to let go of it by really clamping down on the bill. I guess Crabby knows right were to bite!
      Thanks for looking!

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