I’m trying to get some sleep! Moment angry squirrel sends noisy woodpecker packing
- A squirrel appeared to scream in anger at a woodpecker knocking on its tree
- The shocked woodpecker was sent flying backwards when the squirrel appeared
- The hilarious encounter in southern India was caught by bakery worker Ravi Raji
A photographer has captured the hilarious moment an angry squirrel appeared to scream at a noisy woodpecker.
The rodent was ‘trying to get some sleep’ when the woodpecker began knocking on the tree where its nest was housed.
The Indian palm squirrel lunged out of a hole in the three with its face scrunched up and its mouth open as if shouting.
The woodpecker then appeared to fall backwards in shock.
A photographer has captured the hilarious moment an angry squirrel appeared to scream at a noisy woodpecker
The Indian palm squirrel lunged out of a hole in the three with its face scrunched up and its mouth open as if shouting, sending the woodpecker falling backwards, apparently in shock
In one photo, the squirrel appears to have drawn its claws towards the woodpecker.
The encounter took place in Coimbatore, a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, last month.
It was captured by Ravi Raj who heard the persistent bird pecking away about 25ft up a tree.
He was heading home from his bakery when he happened to witness the squirrel’s wrath.
In one photo, the squirrel appears to have drawn its claws towards the offending woodpecker
The rodent was ‘trying to get some sleep’ when the woodpecker began knocking on the tree where its nest was housed
The offending bird was likely a common flameback, a woodpecker found across the Indian subcontinent and as far east as Indonesia.
According to ornithology.com, woodpeckers peck trees to uncover insects, their eggs and larvae to eat.
They also drill holes for their own nests in dead or dying trees but the pecking can also be a form of communication.
The distinctively-striped Indian palm squirrel is found naturally in India and Sri Lanka. It is considered sacred by some Hindus.
The woodpecker is seen inspecting a hole in the tree before the squirrel pops out of it and frightens the bird