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A Great Blue Heron Goes Fishing (8/9)
Photographer Gregg Thompson captured a quick succession of images of a Great Blue Heron striking - and then swallowing - an unlucky fish. Herons have modified vertebrae, which allow them to hold their necks in an "S" shape and recoil quickly to capture fast-moving prey. Besides fish, a Great Blue Heron's diet may include small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and even birds.
See the other images in this sequence, from strike to "GULP!":