Rat snakes would also eat a bird egg, but flying squirrels are probably a greater threat. The investigators put up 60 nest boxes and placed quail eggs and simulated eggs of modeling clay in each box.

When a bird drapes its nest with snake skin, it isn't just making an interesting decor choice. Researchers find that for some birds, it keeps predators at bay.

So far, more than 100 species of migratory birds and at least two snakes, including a tiny northern... Among Newark's urban ecosystem of concrete, glass and steel there are goldenrods, ...

When the birds are foraging, they stay submerged with their long, twisting necks sticking out of the water. “It’s really almost off-putting, unsettling like a snake-like movement in the water ...