![]() Some have called it mutualism, which describes a situation where two species benefit each other, but given the fact that the snakes are still sometimes eaten by the owlets (and don't survive well once the nest is vacated), this might really by a commensal relationship, where one species reaps a benefit and the other does its best to deal with the situation. ![]() ![]() This is a remarkable case of symbiosis – a partnership between species. The snakes being brought to the nest alive wasn't simply an accident – they were acting as tiny, unwitting parenting aides! In the end, they found that baby birds living with blind snake roommates tended to grow faster and had better chances of survival. So was the presence of the snakes good for the growing chicks, the researchers wondered? It seemed possible that the reptiles were gobbling up potentially pesky bugs that might otherwise become parasites to the growing chicks, or contaminate their food.įor several weeks they watched, weighed and assessed the nestlings. It turns out the reptilian roomies weren't just surviving in their new digs – they were also finding food: critters like ants, termites or larvae, some of which likely hitchhiked in from the outside world on the momma owl. Close inspection revealed that nests with snakes in them had far fewer bugs. They found that while some of the blind snakes did get eaten by the owl chicks, most ended up burrowing into the debris at the bottom of the nest, where they would continue to live for days, out of sight – and beak – of the birds.īut there was more. Puzzled by the owls' snake-sparing behaviour, the scientists studied their nests for a period of time. Despite their name, they aren't completely blind, but it's pretty close – the snakes use their tongues and noses to track down tiny bugs, which they vacuum up with their bizarre forward-and-backward swinging jaws. ![]() They're typically less than 30cm (12 inches) long and spend most of their time burrowing through soil. The surviving snakes feed on the insect larvae they find in the nest larvae that would. Some are gulped down immediately, but others escape by burrowing beneath the nest. It is only a few centimeters long and has a head so narrow it might be hard to tell which end is which But look close, and you’ll see the little scales and the tiny eyes and mouth that let you know that it’s a snake you’re looking at. Texas blind snakes (or thread snakes) could easily be mistaken for worms. During the breeding season, when Eastern Screech-Owls capture the worm-like reptiles known as blind snakes, they deliver them to their chicks alive and wriggling. The Brahminy Blind Snake looks more like a worm than a snake. Texas blind snakes are unwitting parenting aides.
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