Who doesn't enjoy an early morning snack of spiders? Birds like the Northern Mockingbird pose a serious threat to a spider's survival. Most deaths occur when spiders hunt. Researchers recently studied how dangerous it can be for spiders by looking at three different strategies, including: free-hunting, two-dimensional web, three-dimensional web. From the published paper:

Free-hunting spiders suffered most from avian insectivores and predation rate was significantly higher than in spiders with two-dimensional webs. Spiders with three-dimensional webs were exposed to a predation rate in between those of the two other hunting strategies. 

Free-hunting refers to spiders that rely on venom injections to find their meals. While these insects often inspire the biggest source of willies for humans , they are brought to their demise by a single peck.

Perhaps this news poses an opportunity for birds to finally be the hero in a horror movie? 

Via Gunnarsson, B. and Wiklander, K. (2015), Foraging mode of spiders affects risk of predation by birds. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. doi: 10.1111/bij.12489.

Northern Mockingbird by Beedie Savage