Table Manners

I can tell you from first hand experience that swamp rats
don't really like tomatoes - but they wish they did!
For several days I have been collecting ripening tomatoes from the self sown plant
just outside the window where the rats visit daily.
Many of them have bite marks, but are not eaten
However, they seem to have the attitude
"just one more day and they'll taste a whole lot better"!
You can almost see the disappointment on the face
And the tomato hangs in there bravely, scarred by its daily nibbles.
I'm keeping a close eye to see if a very ripe tomatoe
is more to their liking
Sometimes the doves chase away the rat when it tries to join the group
so I leave just a few seeds in front of the flower pot
If there are any peanuts among the bird mix I leave one for the rats
They seem very fond of peanuts - and wheat
I have never seen them eat directly from the ground
unless it is to nibble a bit of grass (or sprouted seed which I haven't pulled out)
but they don't seem to eat much green leafy stuff either
The odd piece of dried banana seems to be amongst the bird seed
and this also goes down well
Everything they eat appears to picked up in their claws
and eaten while being held
I wonder if this is just how they prefer to eat............
............or is it so they can hold their heads upright ..............
........................and keep a watchout for danger?