At 01:42 PM 2/11/98 -0800, Jerry Converse wrote:

>While at the computer and looking out the window (daydreaming) I saw
>what I thought to be the same Merlin take three house sparrows in under
>three hours. Can they eat that much or am I seeing three different ones.

Raptors don't necessarily have to be hungry to take prey. As many of you
know, I band raptors every fall in Nevada. We frequently capture
hawks on our lure birds that have crops which are stuffed full. On one
occasion, someone caught a female Cooper's hawk on a pigeon whose crop
was so full that a chipmunk's tail was hanging out of her mouth! (yes,
Coops do take the occasional mammal as well as birds).


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <dhogaza at pacifier.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net