Close-up Video of Snail Kite Extracting Snail at SWP

While the Snail Kite was hunting on March 22nd, a park ranger set up a Go-Pro beside one of its customary perches. The kite returned with a snail and the Go-Pro recorded the entire grisly process of removing the operculum (the hard plate that protects the entrance to the shell) and then extracting and eating the snail. It looks like a lot of work, but the size of these exotic Apple Snails repays the labor!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVMa9ROcT-U&feature=youtu.be