For those interested in this topic, a review and discussion article in a
recent Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association is entitled
'Free-roaming and feral cats- their impact on wildlife and human beings'
(Vol212, pp218-226, Jan 15, 1998), and includes 75 references.

Local bird notes: Still having 3 to 5 Blue Jays at my feeder most
mornings. A flock of Evening Grosbeaks arrived this week after being
absent since September in my yard, the first winter lacking these since we
moved in in 1986. The House Finches that had been around for the past few
years have all seemingly departed as of about a month ago, but the Cassins
are back, after having been scarce for the last several years. (Go
figure.) Sign of spring: Song sparrow songs in the morning.

And thanks to all who made suggestions on the yellowhammer query.
Considering the bombing occurred in Caldwell Idaho on a snowy day in
mid-winter, I'm still leaning towards flicker as the most likely victim.
And while I don't have a mounted flicker on my mantelpiece, I must confess
that there are several flicker feathers in the 'found feather' jar on my
dresser. (There's a likely future Tweeters thread: number and contents of
found feather collections.)

Tom Besser
besser at turbonet.com
Moscow, ID