During a birding safari in the Kruger National Park we spend time watching a large bird called a grey heron, standing dead still in the shallows of a river. This specific heron was hunting for fish and showed an enormous amount of patience by standing dead still for long periods of time, waiting for the perfect time to strike. The heron’s diet ranges from mainly fish to worms and occasionally rodents and small birds. While admiring this bird’s enormous amount of patience, something a little further away in the water suddenly grabbed its attention. The bird immediately made its way to the movement and unexpectedly catches an aquatic reptile in a shell called a terrapin. These reptiles are extremely smelly and bites anything that comes near them. The heron held the terrapin by the neck while taking it out onto the side of the river. The bird drops the reptile on the ground, pinning it down with its bill while thinking what to do next with its unusual sized meal. The heron picks up the terrapin one more time while the terrapin attempts to bite onto the bird’s long bill at the same time. The heron drops the terrapin again and watches it swimming away. The confused looking bird washes its bill in the water and shakes its feathers. This behaviour clearly shows that the bird realized the taste and smell of the terrapin was awful. At the same time the shelled reptile was way too big to go down the bird’s long thin throat and into its stomach. The hungry heron gave up on its uncommon catch and continued looking for an easier meal in the shallows of the river.