John James Audubon drew for Birds of America a Chuck-will’s Widow preparing to strike at a Harlequin coral snake. The Harlequin coral snake is also known as the Eastern coral snake. Audubon made it obvious that he knew a lot more about birds than he did snakes by placing a rattlesnake in a tree (Plate 21) and declaring that the Harlequin coral snake was harmless. When the latter bites an adult human being, it takes about 12 hours until the venom starts breaking down the nerve connections between the brain and the muscular system of the body to cause slurred speech, double vision, paralysis, and even death from lung and heart failure.
On top of taking on Harlequin coral snakes, Chuck-will’s Widows played an important role in controlling insects. “The greatest harmony appears to subsist between the birds of this species, for dozens may be observed flying together over a field, and chasing insects in all directions, without manifesting any enmity or envy.” The job that Chuck-will’s Widow and many other birds performed to control insect populations has been replaced by collisions with car windshields, pesticides, and insecticides. As insects keep disappearing, so do the populations of birds that depend on insects for food.