A giant Golden Orb Weaver spider caught a chestnut-breasted mannikin bird in its web and made a leisurely lunch on the bird. The photo was snapped in a backyard in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. From the Cairns Post:
“Normally they prey on large insects, it’s unusual to see one eating a bird,” (said head spider keeper Joel Shakespeare at the Australian Reptile Park.)Mr Shakepeare told ninemsn he had seen golden orb weaver spiders as big as a human hand but the northern species in tropical areas were known to grow larger…
“(The spider) wouldn`t eat the whole bird,” he told ninemsn.
“It uses its venom to break down the bird for eating and what it leaves is a food parcel,” he said.
Spider eats bird (Thanks, Jennifer Lum!)