The dining choice of one Central Park bird went viral Sunday after it was caught on video eating an infamous city critter.
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In a series of tweets, the Manhattan Bird Alert Twitter account poked fun at the Great Blue Heron's decision to pass up fish for "a meaty and filling New York City rat."
David Barrett, founder of the account, told The New York Post he captured the footage Sunday morning after the heron killed the rat and carried it to the Central Park pond before eating it.
“Great blue herons eat plenty of fish, but they won’t pass up a meaty and filling New York City rat—this morning at the Central Park Pond,” he said in an earlier tweet.
Barrett told The Post that while it is rare for birds to eat rodents, NYC creatures appear to have their own unique food chain.
"They can take down big fish and also apparently, big rats!” he said. “They eat whatever they can catch!”
Some social media users praised the bird's meal choice as the city's rat population reportedly surged during the COVID-19 pandemic — with more than 12,000 rat report calls to 311, up from over 9,000 in 2019, as The Post reported in November.
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