Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) at Bird Feeder

Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) at Bird Feeder

Black Rat Snakes are notoriously ingenious at climbing trees to raid bird's nests. This series of photos shows one snake's efforts to turn bird feeders into snake feeders!

David DiGiuseppe and Nina Frankel documented this enterprising Rat Snake's exploration of their bird feeders near Chapel Hill, NC on May 18, 2006.

Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) at Bird Feeder

See Black Rat Snake for some photos of other Rat Snakes.

Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) at Bird Feeder

Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) at Bird Feeder

Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) at Bird Feeder

This must be the most decorative rat snake I've ever seen!

All photographs and text ©2013 by Will Cook unless otherwise noted.