[Mike Collins]

I currently am reading Must-See Birds of the Pacific Northwest. The chapter on Surf Scoters piqued my curiosity with the statement "In winter Surf Scoters are primarily bivalve hunters." I wondered just how a seabird with a bill managed to eat bivalves that I consider tricky to open with a knife. Further research shows that the mussels are pried off of the rocks and swallowed whole. Read it for yourself on page 16 of this study http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ61575.pdf I would never have guessed that. A fun avian factoid.

[Hiker Mama]

Huh, that's cool, I never would have guessed!

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Ever seen a gull attempting to swallow a starfish (I know, sea star, whatever)? It's comical!

[Mike Collins]

In the Galapagos I saw a Great Blue Heron (same species as here) choke down an iguana whole. It softened it up a little by breaking the bones with its beak and then sent it down the gullet head first.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

That's really cool Mike. Never seen anything like that.

[wolffie]

I'm going to try that. We were once invited to the opening ceremonies for a new long house the Makah built at Neah Bay. The traditional food included all you'd expect -- broiled salmon, clams, etc., plus many surprises like gumboot chitons and gooseneck barnacles. The goosenecks grow in tight clusters -- you usually see only the terminal white shells, not their long leathery stalks -- the individuals look look some kind of dinosaur penis or something, so eating one requires ignoring your imagination -- but they are delicious, like crab -- being, after all, crustaceans. But I'm not going to swallow one whole and raw.

[DIYSteve]

Good to know, Mike

[IanB]

I first saw this watching Goldeneyes bring up a whole clam, tip their head back, and somehow open wide enough to let it drop in. What an unbelievable lump in their necks when the clam was halfway down the hatch!