Gangs of the sky: Crows are riding on the back of a tawny eagle.

One explanation for the strange sight before you is that crows are definitely plotting world domination and now they’re probably going to win because they’ve drafted in the eagles.

But before you start readying for an army of eagle-riding crows, here’s a (slightly) more plausible scenario.

Taken in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, which straddles the border between South Africa and Botswana, this (incredibly lucky!) snapshot captures the moment a Cape crow latches onto the back of a tawny eagle.

“A pair of Cape crows had been harassing the eagle for a while, pecking at it on the ground. When the eagle flew off, the crows followed [and] this one managed to land on the back of the eagle, and get a good enough grip to continue to peck at [it] in flight,” explains photographer Barry Scott.

SEE MORE NEXT PAGE