A red-bellied black snake has been photographed eating a brown snake that was almost its own size.

On Sunday afternoon, Steve Young was slashing on his property at Kanoona, south-east of Bega, when he spotted the 1.6-metre black snake with a metre of its brown-coloured relative sticking out of its mouth, the Bega District News reported.

A 1.6-metre red bellied black snake was spotted eating a brown snake at Kanoona, off the Candelo-Bega Rd, on Sunday. Credit:Steve Young

"I was standing over the top of it taking a photograph and my wife said 'you're crazy'," Mr Young said.

"But I said 'it won't bite me because it's got its mouth full!'"