SOUTH AFRICA: THINK you’re having a bad day? Try remembering the fate of this unlucky toad who was picked up and tossed around by a hungry bird before being swallowed whole. The poor toad first ran into difficulties when it was spotted by the Hammerkop bird, but things were about to get much worse. These stunning pictures capture the scene perfectly as the toad’s world is turned upside down after he is flung into the air by the Hammerkop in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. The action sequence was captured by award-winning Hungarian photographer Bence Mate.

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Size: 3616px × 2410px
Photo credit: © Media Drum World / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: africa, african, amphibian, animal, animalia, anvilhead, aves, behaviour, bird, birds, feeding, food, hamerkop, hammer, hammerhead, hammerkop, hammerkopf, headed, mouth, natural, nature, open, pelecaniformes, play, playful, playing, predation, scopidae, scopus, south, southern, stork, toad, toss, tufted, umber, umbretta, umbrette, vertebrate, wildlife