thats one clever sparrowhawk :D

leifus · #1 (**permalink**) 08-02-2009, 05:27 PM

amazing! We were watching the feeders when a sparrowhawk swooped in a took a song thrush

it then flew off. A few minutes later it swooped past the window again, low over the ground and dropped the thrush. A few seconds later, a male kestrel landed in the bird bath, looked around, then took off again in pursuit of the sparrowhawk, thinking it still had the thrush. A bit later, the sparrowhawk was back, without the kestrel, and took the thrush! One clever sparrowhawk indeed

ellen h · #2 (**permalink**) 08-02-2009, 05:30 PM

Wow!!!
"Birdbrain" they are not apparently

ellen

natureguy · #3 (**permalink**) 08-02-2009, 05:31 PM

They are very clever aren't they? I never see anything like that around here though. (in my garden I mean)

leifus · #4 (**permalink**) 08-02-2009, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by natureguy

They are very clever aren't they? I never see anything like that around here though. (in my garden I mean)

yeah I never realised!

was very interesting to watch

demicav · #5 (**permalink**) 08-02-2009, 05:37 PM

Amazing that it would think to protect its meal from the Kestrel. I wonder which would be the one to back down though in a dispute

leifus · #6 (**permalink**) 08-02-2009, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by demicav

Amazing that it would think to protect its meal from the Kestrel. I wonder which would be the one to back down though in a dispute

in this case the sparrowhawk

but usually id say the kestrel....

tameblackbirds · #7 (**permalink**) 08-02-2009, 06:39 PM

Fantastic Leifus one very intelligent bird thought my experience was amazing the other day but two birds of prey and such clever antics too wow

Picidae · #8 (**permalink**) 08-02-2009, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leifus

in this case the sparrowhawk

but usually id say the kestrel....

Kestrel are very well known for their taking of prey from other predators since they are opportunist hunters - they are pretty formidable and it's usually the other predator that backs down! In winter especially when mammalian food is scarce, Kestrel will hunt small birds but is not equipped so well to do so and will readily take advantage of other birds of prey's catch items. Some excellent shots were posted in a daily national paper recently of a Kestrel repeatedly stealing prey from a hunting Barn Owl. Only when the Kestrel had had it's fill, did the Barn Owl finally get it's breakfast! Sparrowhawk are particularly victim to having their prey items stolen in winter, since the bulk of their food is small birds, the easiest and most readily available during the winter. Crows will mob a Sparrowhawk relentlessly in order to steal food catch.

The ''scientific'' name for this behaviour btw is Kleptoparasitism and it's not so much 'cognitive' intelligence as it is intelligence by 'design' - kleptoparasitism can often involve a life and death situation with regard to availability of scarce food sources during the winter and can lead to avoidance of mutual hunting areas by some species in an effort to avoid starvation.

Incidently, it's not just birds of prey that do this and it's not just during winter months. Last Spring I watched for some time, a Spotted Flycatcher catching flies, only to be repeatedly mobbed by a lazy and opportunist Robin!

Jason Green · #9 (**permalink**) 09-02-2009, 12:45 AM

...robin by name, robin' by nature!

I don't know if this is quite 100%[/i] relevant but I've seen a magpie chase off a kestral, seemingly for no reason. The kestral was on top of a motorway lamp with a few trees a short distance behind when a magpie came down and landed on the opposing extremity. A second later a second maggie appeared and hovered for a sec before it landed its claws lightly on the kestral, which obviously then flew off.

I have it on video if anyone would be interested...