Whooops, pressed deliver before I had a chance to write anything .....

Dennis sez

> One extensive study showed that bird-eating hawks are
> successful no more than 10% of the time, and I imagine
> shrikes are no different.

A strange sight is seeing a Kestel (the Eurasian kind) chasing a
Skylark, with the Skylark singing away. One study done in the UK
showed that the likelihood of the Kestrel making a kill was related
to how vigorous the Skylark was singing. The relationship being that
if the Skylark is fit, it sings like crazy to show any falcons that
they have no chance and are wasting their time.

I have also seen the same sort of thing with Parasitic Jaegers
(Arctic Skua) chasing Kittiwakes. The Kittiwake will call if it is
not carrying fish, to let the skua know of the fruitless nature of
the chase. The does not work with Great Skua, known in Scotland as
Bonxie (even in bird reports), where the object of the chase is the
Kitiwake and not its meal !

Any similar things over here ?

Stuart MacKay