Spider catches, eats bird in web

ATHERON, Australia, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Photographs of a large spider in Australia eating a dead bird suspended in its web are intriguing, scientists say.

Experts say the images taken in Atheron, close to Queensland's tropical north, appear to be real, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Joel Shakespeare, head spider keeper at the Australian Reptile Park, said the spider in the photographs was a Golden Orb Weaver, which are known to grow bigger than a human hand in tropical areas.

"Normally they prey on large insects … . It's unusual to see one eating a bird," he said.

The bird in the photographs was identified as a native finch called the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin.

Shakespeare said the bird likely flew into the spider web and become stuck.

"It wouldn't eat the whole bird," he said. "It uses its venom to break down the bird for eating and what it leaves is a food parcel," he said.