Local NPR for the Cape, Coast & Islands 90.1 91.1 94.3

Chomp! Fish Snatches Bird In Flight: VIDEO

The Smithsonian Channel doesn't call it "the ferocious tigerfish" for nothing.

It's been clear for ages that the African tigerfish is a vicious predator. Just check out those teeth.

Now researchers in South Africa say they've got video that proves something else that's really amazing about "Africa's answer to the piranha":

It can leap from the water to snatch a bird — and not a feathered snack that's just floating or standing around in shallow water. We're talking about a fast-flying swallow. Take a look at the clip, which Nature Newstream has helpfully presented in both real time and slow motion.

It's thought to be the first evidence of a freshwater fish "catching birds on the wing," the BBC says.

The researchers' work is published in the latest Journal of Fish Biology.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
  1. When judges get free trips to luxury resorts, disclosure is spotty
  2. Florida's 6-week abortion ban is now in effect, curbing access across the South
  3. Christian conservatives wrestle with shifting GOP stance on Arizona abortion ban
  4. NPR poll: Democrats fear fascism, and Republicans worry about a lack of values
  5. New York police have cleared Hamilton Hall and the encampment at Columbia University