Video shows a blue heron devouring a giant rat in Central Park

The majestic bird recently turned Central Park into a makeshift restaurant, settling into a grassy patch to dine on its latest catch, which turned out to be the rat it had been carrying in its throat.

Commonly seen in both New York City and New York State, blue herons typically nest near waters such as ponds or marshes, where they forage for frogs or fish, according to NYC Parks.

But instead of devouring the rat straight away, the blue heron took its time. The video shows the large bird trying to make the most of its plentiful prey, holding the lifeless rat in its beak for a few minutes while it looked for a place to perch and eat.

Then, in one fell swoop, he devoured the rat.

While rats aren’t typically part of a blue heron’s diet, they can and will eat “any type of small animal they find,” Dr. Dustin Partridge, director of conservation and science for the NYC Bird Alliance, told the New York Post.