A total mockery! Tiny mockingbird dive-bombs hawk and touches down on its head

These striking images capture the moment a small but determined mockingbird repeatedly dive-bombed a large hawk to protect its nest.

Mark Koster, 70, from Scottsdale, Arizona, photographed the scenes near his home last week.

The images show the mockingbird swooping in with wings spread as it targets a perched Harris’s hawk after it ventured too close to the bird’s nesting tree.

In one frame, the mockingbird darts in from behind the hawk mid-flight, while another shows it flying past the raptor’s head. In a particularly striking moment, the smaller bird can even be seen landing briefly on top of the hawk’s head as it continues its attack.

A further image captures the hawk looking skyward as the mockingbird circles for another pass.

Mark said he has been following the same family of Harris’s hawks since 2016 and regularly checks in on them.

He said:

“It’s quite something to watch a small bird take on something so much bigger.

“The mockingbird just kept going at it again and again. The hawk mostly sat there and tolerated it, but eventually it had enough and flew off.”

He added:

“It’s a great example of how determined these birds are when they’re protecting their nest.”

Harris’s hawks are unusual among raptors as they are known to live and hunt in groups.