On Thu, 23 Jan 1997, Dannie Carsen wrote:

> Hello Tweeters,
> In a birding topic in the Utne Cafe, I read the following posting from an
> observer of Kestral behavior (somewhere in southwestern US). Has anyone else
> noticed Kestrals feeding on roadkill?
>
>
> Here's a weird thing: the other day I saw two Kestrels going after a road
> kill! I've never seen them interested in anything they didn't kill
> themselves. Could they have been juveniles that didn't know any better?
>
> Leha

I doubt if there exists a raptor that won't scavenge an easy meal at least
once in a while. The anecdote above reminds me of a "roadkill tableau" I
once saw on a country road in Michigan. I spotted an ex-Kestrel in the
middle of the road. I stopped the car to have a look, and it became
apparent that the Kestrel had been feeding on a road-killed mouse that was
flattened four inches in front of him. What made the picture particularly
memorable was that two inches in front of the mouse was a crushed
grasshopper - the food chain, preserved on asphalt.

Chris Hill
Everett, WA
cehill at u.washington.edu