Nature can be cruel but a bird's got to eat and unfortunately for this heron, starling was on the menu at the , Llanelli yesterday.
Look away now if you're squeamish...
Steve Gunter from our (you need to be logged in to view) sent in these remarkable images and had this to say about the deadly encounter:
"The heron grabbed the starling whilst it was on the ground in the grass just behind the two. It then proceeded to attack and drown the starling."
"This played out over about ten minutes. The heron had several attempts to swallow the starling but just couldn't get it right. He did eventually swallow the poor thing though."
It's not uncommon for herons to do this as they're not particularly fussy when it comes to eating but it's rare to capture it on camera. Their normal diet consists of frogs, fish, small mammals, small water birds and fish but they're also partial to the odd starling!
Gull